The Silence Of The Lambs
Features: A noticeably better video transfer, resulting in more clarity in several scenes, and a better (more realistic) color palette.
Codec / Resolution: MPEG-2 / 1080p
Movie File Size: 20.74 GB
Average Bitrate: ~19.56 Mbps
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Region: A
Movie Release: February 14, 1991
This Release: March 3, 2009
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 118 mins
MSRP: $34.99
Current Price: Check Price / Purchase |
Pros
- Looks better than any DVD version
- Colors are more accurate
- More life-like faces
- Audio fairs well, but nothing special over the previous DVD offerings
- Pricepoint is certainly worth upgrading
Cons / Disadvantages
Noteworthy Observations
- The Silence Of The Lambs is a pretty good transfer for the age of the film, and the type of film used. You will notice it is "soft" compared to other Blu-ray releases, but this is more to do with the film than the MPEG-2 transfer itself.
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RECOMMENDED PLUS
Audio
The Silence Of The Lambs sounded great. No problems with the audio. DTS-HD Master 5.1 "48/24" (i.e., 48 kHz, 24-bit) is featured at 2764 Kbps or roughly 2.77 Mbps. Not quite the data speed we're looking for in a high-quality audio track, but this isn't a movie where we could benefit from a 4 or 5 Mbps datapath anyway. At the same time, it's much better than a typical 640 Kbps we get with many DVD releases.
Video
The Silence Of The Lambs isn't going to shock or awe you. The film is dated, and the type of film used doesn't bring everything out like you would expect a high-def transfer to bring out. However, this is definitely a worthy upgrade over the Collector's Edition DVD. The close-ups of the faces are probably most benefiting from this Blu-ray transfer. Seeing Scott Glenn, Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and Ted Levine in HD really bring a more life-like presence to the movie.
Aside from the characters, one scene I particularly remember which looks dramatically different, is a scene where we cut to the local funeral home, and the signage which is much more clear, as well as scenes in the embalming room.
Content
We have to remember, The Silence Of The Lambs was one of those first movies which brought out the serial killer phenom to the screen. True, we had Manhunter several years earlier, but it certainly did not have the effect TSOTL did on the public, and definitely did not attract as much interest into the genre. After all, how many quotes from Manhunter do you remember or have viewed scenes in several comedies, making fun of the serial killer genre film. Thought so.
The Extras
The extras on The Silence Of The Lambs are somewhat plentiful. Two good-sized documentaries are featured as well as an HD feature Understanding The Madness which runs about 20 minutes. Of course, everything was ported over to the Blu-ray Disc from the Collector's Edition, so the only additional work was the HD additions...which unfortunately are few.
Conclusion
The Silence Of The Lambs was one of the original movies which spawned several theatrical and television crime thrillers, and especially those forever-running TV series crime dramas where everything is solved within 44 minutes or less (make it an hour if you include commercials). It may seem a little corny after viewing TSOTL and awkward, but we have to remember at its time, it was a film which dared to take a peek into the mind of a serial killer.
The Silence Of The Lambs gets a RECOMMENDED PLUS. After scoring all the aspects of the movie, this release did pretty well. It's a must upgrade for your HD movie collection. |
