The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

To my knowledge, The Silence of the Lambs is the only Best Picture winner to have been filmed in Pittsburgh. I grew up with Pittsburgh as the nearest urban area. I was probably 8 or 9 years old when I first saw this movie and I can remember my dad showing me filming locations for it.

The movie is a story of a young woman (played by Jodie Foster) who is training to become an FBI agent. While in her training, there is a serial killer on the loose that is killing larger women and skinning part of their bodies for unknown reasons. In order to catch this killer before he strikes again, the FBI sends the young agent to see a psychologist with a criminal profiling background to help them get an idea of who is doing it and why. There is just one small problem, the psychologist is locked up for having unusual eating habits.

As a child, I can remember going with my parents to get their VCR fixed or cleaned at this video rental store about 15 miles from their house. The man who owned the place looked just like the serial killer in this film and he scared the hell out of me. He later would dub my North and South Book III tapes for me - I bought them from the UK, not knowing they would not work in the US but by that time I was old enough to realize he was not the same guy.

For a few years, I wanted to be a Criminal Profiler and even started college as a psychology major. A few reasons played in to me changing majors but I think in the back of my mind, I had a fear of one day running into a real-life Hannibal Lector. The Silence of the Lambs came from a book and is the second part in a trilogy by Thomas Harris. I had to read the first book in the series, Red Dragon, in college. One film adaptation of Red Dragon features the adorable Edward Norton in the lead role.

This is one of my favorite Best Pictures winners. I love psychological thrillers. The movie came out long before the television shows such as Law and Order: SVU and Criminal Minds aired. Currently, The Silence of the Lambs is one of only three movies to win all of the Big Five Oscar awards (Picture, Screenplay, Director, Actor, and Actress). And to date, it is the most recent one to do so. The film has also been quoted and spoofed in many films and on television.