Silence of The Lambs is not just a film; it's a cultural phenomenon that has left an indelible mark on the world of cinema. Released in 1991, this psychological thriller has captivated audiences with its gripping storyline, complex characters, and unforgettable dialogues. The film's characters, particularly Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, deliver lines that resonate deeply, reflecting themes of fear, intelligence, and the human psyche.
As we delve into the most famous quotes from Silence of The Lambs, we will uncover the layers of meaning behind these lines. Each quote offers a glimpse into the dark and twisted world of the characters, making it essential for fans and newcomers alike to appreciate the brilliance of the script and the performances.
What You Will Learn
- The significance of key quotes from Silence of The Lambs
- Insights into the characters of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling
- Themes of fear, identity, and morality as portrayed in the film
- How the film’s dialogue contributes to its iconic status
Famous Quotes from Silence of The Lambs
- “Being smart spoils a lot of things.” – Thomas Harris
- “Why don’t you look at yourself and write down what you see? Or maybe you’re afraid to.” – Clarice Starling
- “Cops look at you to see how to act. It matters.” – Clarice Starling
- “Memory, Agent Starling, is what I have instead of a view.” – Hannibal Lecter
- “But we don’t reckon time the same way.” – Hannibal Lecter
- “You won’t wake up in the dark to the awful lambs screaming.” – Hannibal Lecter
- “I’ve no plans to call on you, Clarice. The world is more interesting with you in it.” – Hannibal Lecter
- “Don’t you feel eyes moving over your body, Clarice? And don’t your eyes seek out the things you want?” – Hannibal Lecter
- “I do wish we could chat longer, but I have an old friend for dinner.” – Hannibal Lecter
- “A pretty young woman to turn him on. I don’t believe Lecter’s even seen a woman in eight years. And oh, are you ever his taste?” – Dr. Frederick Chilton
- “You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube—a well-scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste.” – Hannibal Lecter
- “The intimacy of the detail - why The Silence of the Lambs is quite possibly the Thriller Writer’s bible.”
- “Whenever feasible, one should always try to eat the rude.” – Hannibal Lecter
- “Believe me; you don’t want Hannibal Lecter inside your head.” – Jack Crawford
- “Good nutrition’s given you some length of bone, but you’re not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Agent Starling?” – Hannibal Lecter
Hannibal Lecter's Quotes from the Movie
- “All good things to those who wait.”
- “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.”
- “We begin by coveting what we see every day. Don’t you feel eyes moving over your body? And don’t your eyes seek out the things you want?”
- “Amputate a man’s leg, and he can still feel it tickling. Tell me, mum, when your little girl is on the slab, where will it tickle you?”
- “Billy hates his own identity, you see, and he thinks that makes him a transsexual. But his pathology is a thousand times more savage and more terrifying.”
- “You look like a rube. A well-scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste. Good nutrition’s given you some length of bone, but you’re not more than one generation from poor white trash.”
- “You still wake up sometimes, don’t you? You wake up in the dark and hear the screaming of the lambs.”
- “There are three major centres for transsexual surgery - Johns Hopkins, the University of Minnesota, and Columbus Medical Center.”
- “Advancement, of course. Listen carefully. Look deep within yourself.”
- “I would not have had that happen to you. Discourtesy is unspeakably ugly to me.”
- “Why do you think he removes their skins, Agent Starling? Enthral me with your acumen.”
- “Quid pro quo. I tell you things; you tell me things. Not about this case, though. About yourself. Quid pro quo. Yes or no?”
Buffalo Bill's Quotes from Silence of The Lambs
- “No, nothin’ like that at all. Say, does the FBI learn something? The police around here don’t seem to have the first clue.”
- “It rubs the lotion on its skin. It does this whenever it is told.”
- “Would you f*ck me? I’d f*ck me. I’d f*ck me hard. I’d f*ck me so hard.”
Clarice's Quotes from Silence of The Lambs
- “Most serial killers keep some trophies from their victims.”
- “Are you strong enough to point that high-powered perception at yourself? What about it? Why don’t you - why don’t you look at yourself and write down what you see? Or maybe you’re afraid to.”
- “There’s no correlation in the literature between transsexualism and violence. Transsexuals are very passive.”
- “If Lecter thinks you’re his enemy, maybe we’d have better luck if I went in by myself.”
- “That doesn’t interest me, Doctor, and frankly, it’s the sort of thing that Miggs would say.”
- “Yes, but then I would have missed the pleasure of your company.”
- “That’s only a part of the island. There’s a very, very nice beach. Terns nest there. There’s beautiful.”
- “The wig, the dress, the makeup. Raspail was a transvestite?”
- “I graduated from UVa, Captain; it’s not exactly a charm school.”
Unforgettable Lines from Silence of The Lambs
- “She didn’t give a damn about some of them, but she had grown to learn that inattention can be a stratagem to avoid pain and that it is often misread as shallowness and indifference.”
- “Silence can mock.”
- “Evil’s just destructive.”
- “Coveting is a very literal sin.”
- “Life’s too slippery for books, Clarice; anger appears as lust, lupus presents as hives.”
- “Nothing makes us more vulnerable than loneliness except greed.”
- “I’m not sure you get wiser as you get older, Starling, but you do learn to dodge a certain amount of hell.”
- “Curious how things can work on you even when you recognize them.”
- “He lives down in a ribcage in the dry leaves of a heart.”
- “God’s creatures who cried themselves to sleep stirred to cry again.”
- “I expect most psychiatrists have a patient or two they’d like to refer to me.”
- “Over this odd world, this half the world that’s dark now, I have to hunt a thing that lives on tears.”
- “Problem-solving is hunting; it is a savage pleasure, and we are born into it.”
- “Can you smell his sweat? That peculiar goatish odour is trans-3-methyl-2 hexenoic acid. Remember it; it’s the smell of schizophrenia.”
- “The washing machine’s rhythm was like
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