Stories from the set

The film is based on Thomas Harris's novel The Silence of the Lambs (1988).

The role of Hannibal Lecter was offered to Gene Hackman, who was also offered the director's chair. At the same time, Michelle Pfeiffer and Meg Ryan were considered for the role of Clarice.

Besides Hackman, Robert Duvall, Jeremy Irons and Brian Cox were also considered for the role of Dr. Lecter.

Most of the footage was prepared in Pittsburgh. The city was ideal for filming due to the huge number of architectural structures and other beautiful locations. Thus, the crew managed to create the illusion that filming took place in different parts of the country.

This film became the third in the entire history of the Academy Awards ceremony to win all 5 major awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay. Before that, the same honors went to It Happened One Night (1934) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).

Anthony Hopkins, describing the voice provided for his character Hannibal Lecter, called it a "symbiosis of Truman Capote and Katharine Hepburn."

If you look closely at the poster, you can see the image of a skull on the butterfly's body. And if you look even more closely, you can make out that the skull consists of at least three nude girls (there are versions of the poster on which you can count as many as seven girls).

During one of the scenes in solitary confinement, Anthony Hopkins tried to look directly into the camera, justifying this action by saying that from such an angle the viewer would get the impression that his character "knows absolutely everything."

The original plan was to release the film in the fall of 1990. However, Orion Pictures decided to hold the film's release until January 1991 in order not to create competition for another of its hits, "Dances with Wolves," which was also quite successfully competing in the Oscar race.

In preparation for his role, Anthony Hopkins carefully studied the files on the most famous serial killers of our time. He also visited the prisons where these individuals were held and even attended a couple of high-profile trials.