The Silence of the Lambs, American suspense film, released in 1991, that was the first psychological thriller since Rebecca (1940) to win the Academy Award for best picture. The film’s tight direction and clever script, together with an indelible performance by Anthony Hopkins as a cannibalistic serial killer, resulted in a sweep of the five major Oscars (best picture, best director, best lead actor, best lead actress, and best screenplay [original or adapted]). As The Silence of the Lambs opens, FBI trainee Clarice Starling (played by Jodie Foster) is summoned to the office of Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn), the head