In the run-up to the Oscars and all its attendant hoo-hah, the 20th anniversary of one of cinema’s modern classics went by, for it was in February 1991 that The Silence of the Lambs was first released

Before its release, The Silence of the Lambs was seen as merely the filmic adaptation of the bestselling novel of the same name by Thomas Harris.

The screenplay, by Ted Tally, had made the rounds of the major Hollywood studios, with actor Gene Hackman marked to direct and star at one point, and yet it took a long time to get off the ground, the gruesome subject matter possibly too dark for the mainstream studios.

Finally, independent studio Orion stepped in, with Jonathan Demme on board as director, Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, a former psychiatrist- turned-psychotic serial killer now imprisoned in federal jail, and Jodie Foster as rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling, sent to question him with the view of catching another serial killer, nicknamed Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine).

Rewatching the film for the first time in many years, it is easy to be reminded why it struck such a chord with the cinema-goingpublic. It is a near faultless film, its many components coming together to make a perfect whole; scoring highly as a dramatic character study, crime thriller andall-out horror flick.

Ted Tally’s meticulous adaptation from the brilliant book creates memorable, living and breathing three-dimensional charactersin Lecter and Starling and thesupporting parts.

He constructs a coherent, taut and tension-filled storyline from the book’s labyrinthine plot, filling it with sharp dialogue laced with intelligence and more than a little dark humour.

Director Demme keeps the action ebbing and flowing according to the story’s needs, slowly building up exposition here, ratcheting up the tension there; never missing a beat and keeping us on the edge of our seats from the opening shots of Starling running in the woods, to the final shot of Lecter about to have a friend for dinner...

Tally’s script and Demme’s assured direction alone would have made a good film, but what determinedly places The Silence of the Lambs into the realm ofthe greats are its two centralperformances.

Hopkins, at this point in his career a beloved and respected British theatre actor with a handful of films to his credit, became an international superstar and is now considered one the greatest actors of his generation thanks to his flawless performance as Hannibal ‘the Cannibal’ Lecter.

Eschewing the over-the-top dramatics so often resorted to with roles of this ilk, his Dr Lecter is quiet and reserved, polite and considerate, and never loses his cool even when performing the most horrific acts. And yet, underneath that charming veneer lies pure evil, evident in his glassy eyes.

His first appearance, standing rigidly behind the thick plexi-glass that separates him from visitors is spine-tingling: a sensation that doesn’t leave the viewer until well after the final credits roll.

It is a performance that lasts around 16 minutes out of the film’s two-hour running time, yet Lecter’s presence is palpable throughout thanks to Hopkins, who gives an acting master class in the personification of evil with seemingly little effort.

Hopkins is well-matched by an equally astonishing performance by Jodie Foster. This is no superwoman battling evil; Starling is a vulnerable, naive woman in a man’s world and Demme never hesitates to highlight that vulnerability, offering us more than one scene of Starling surrounded by many men much taller than she is.

Yet her tiny physical size is no obstacle, as it is backed up by her startling intelligence, which proves to be more than a match for Lecter’s brilliant mind and pulls her out of more than one dangerous situation.

Foster shows no fear in any aspect of the role; the actress’s own intelligence and courage shining through the incarnation of the character.

Through their interaction,Hopkins and Foster create an unforgettable if mismatched couple, displaying mutual respect despite their very conflicting situations; when Lecter promises her that he will not seek her out, you believe him.

The Silence of the Lambs topped the box office charts in the US in its opening weekend, and remained at number one for the next four weeks and in the Top 10 for a further nine weeks after that, making close to $273 million domestically and internationally on a $19 million budget.

Its success was propelled by strong word of mouth and almost unanimous critical acclaim. It fully deservedly went on to win the so-called top five Oscars: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay, only the third film in the history of the Academy Awards to do so.

The lambs may have stopped screaming, but The Silence of the Lambs continues to prevail as one of the greatest psychological thrillers in the history of cinema.