Does an Actor act to fulfil their dreams? It's a scary thought when you see Anthony Hopkins play a Psychopathic cannibal in Silence of the Lambs. His academy Award winning role is so intensely believable, it's no surprise his mother-in-law now looks at him wondering if he really will eat her liver with some fava beans..and a nice Chianti....sorry, couldn't resist....

Who would have ever thought a horror movie (called a Psychological Thriller in Hollywood) would win the five main Oscars...I was thrilled to bits with Kathy Bates winning A Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Annie (it's called hobbling) Wilkes in Misery, this was the icing on the cake....

Trainee Agent Clarice Starling(Jodie Foster) is given the task to get potentially important information from jailed Hannibal "the cannibal" Lecter, a brilliant Psychologist, who either saw too many violent movies (we know they cause people to commit heinous crimes:-), or counselling his troubled patience drove him to it.....The FBI believes he maybe able to assist in capturing the latest serial killer, Buffalo Bill, named so as he skins his victims. The interaction between the fledgling agent and professional psychologist result in some amazing mind games as they milk information out of each other, and during the process form a perculiarly strong bond.

This film has garnered a lot of respect from the industry for its expert handling of the horrific subject mature, which could have quite easily been exploited. That's not to say the director, Jonathon Demme, shyed away from the violence, both physical and mental...far from it....this film is brutal in every sense of the word and i would say this is what contributed to him recieving the Academy's Best Director award. The other four Oscars went to the Film itself, Anthony Hopkins for Best Actor (though you could say his role would have been better suited to the Supporting category, but I won't complain too much about that one), Jodie Foster for Best Actress (is there no limit to this woman's acting abilities) and last but not least, Ted Tally for Best adapted Screenplay...This movie was based on the Thomas Harris novel, of the same name, and is actually a sequel to the lesser known movie Manhunter, based on Red Dragon...Hannibal Lecter was also in that one, but was played by Brian Cox (Long Kiss Goodnight) who is a very good friend of Anthony Hopkins. That film's also worth a look.

So how does this transfer hold up? The main reason for me buying this movie was the fact IMAGE entertainment released it REGION FREE....In a desparate attempt for me to build up my DVD collection I bought this movie along with another IMAGE region free title, ROBOCOP. Had it not been for this fact i probably wouldn't have bought either of them and missed out on 2 great movies. (Call it fate if you will). Released in Widescreen (1.85:1), and not 16:9 enchanced, this is still a very impressive transfer.....bugger all evidence of pixilation, strong colouring, often dark ominous tones And a nice sharp image....I like it a lot....It was great to see the showdown looking through the Night Vision Googles and actually be able to see with great (green) detail Bill's underground Lair...oh the joys of a bleedless image.

I would like to say the same for the soundtrack, but it annoyed me a little..while i don't mind adjusting the volume now and then, I don't like having to do it as often as I did in Lambs....Oh THX, THX, Wherefore art thou THX......This film really needs a good re- eq...you had to up the volume to hear some of the low level dialogue and as soon as you do that, you get blasted out by the music in the next scene, and I found this a tad annoying.....I do love the bass in this movie though, and there is heaps of it.....the scenes in the psychiatric jail ward has a constant deep and low rumble, much like in Shawshank Redemption and the best bit is at the very beginning of chapter 3, Clarice fires a gun directly into the screen and if your Digital Lock is quick enough it'll scare the hell out of you the first couple of times as the firing starts right on the chapter change....very aggressive and very loud...I love a good bang.

At the standard $SU24 for Image the features are basically non-existent. You have you basic chapter selection as you main menu and that's about it. Still it's another great movie and it's on DVD. I do think they need to drop there prices a little as when you look at a Warner title which costs $US20 you see what the others DVD's are missing, and yet they cost more. I recently read this movie is being released as part of the Criterion Collection and will feature a running commentary, deleted sequences, and a few other goodies. The only drawback is that the expected RRP is $US40...ouch!!!!

*** Features ****
Screen Format : Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio Track : English DD 2.0
Subtitles : None
Region Code : 0
Chapters : 18
Running Time : 118 minutes

PICTURE QUALITY (4.5/5...very nice)
SOUND QUALITY (4/5...will wear a thump print into your volume button and put a crater in your floor)

Review Equipment: TV: Mitsubishi DIVA 68cm TV, DVD: Samsung DVD905, Receiver: Marantz SR870, Speakers: B&W 602's (front), Sony (rears), M&K V125 (sub-grumble- growl-BOOM). Cinema Chairs (Gilberton Recliners....okay so there not REALLY cinema chairs but they're very comfy..)