TS: "Silence of the Lambs" vs. "Seven"

But "Seven" is ultimately far more effective in that rarely does it ever feel like an entertainment. Both films are rooted in b-movies, but there have been few fantastical movies since "Seven" - or before, for that matter - that have been that totally bleak and visceral. Its horror is almost stifling. I mean, "Nil By Mouth" is a much more effective horror film than "Seven," but it trades in verisillimitude. "Seven" is pure comic book style yet remains pretty potent stuff.

This is a comedy staple around my house.

Silence all the way. Lecter gets all the attention, but the movie is really about Clarice; I've watched it at least a dozen times now, and am ever more impressed with the way that it reinforces and builds on its theme of a woman navigating a perilous male environment, with Buffalo Bill as the ultimate threat--a ruthless predatory male looking to conquer and consume/assume feminity itself. It just gets deeper and deeper. Among the many reasons Hannibal sucked ass is that it's about him, not her.

Se7en is great, and in many ways more hardboiled and unerring than Silence, but it's a glorified genre picture at root. Nothing wrong with that, but Silence has more going on than that.

And yes Manhunter > Red Dragon. It's an empirical fact.

Completely, hysterically OTM.

True. Hannibal Lecter became a slightly sinister Charles Nelson Rielly.

they don't make thrillers like this any more do they? they feel sorta like they belong to the same era from this distance imo (1991 and 1995). i like 'Se7en' better these days; the 2 disc DVD is fantastic.

genuine question; what's the best mainstream type Hollywood thriller *since* these 2 movies?

12 monkeys vs se7en seems to me a more natural poll, dunno why

genuine question; what's the best mainstream type Hollywood thriller *since* these 2 movies?

― piscesx, Saturday, April 21, 2012 5:37 AM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark

no country for freakin old men

otfm

need a spinoff franchise where freeman's detective and jones's sheriff travel round the world being ~weary~ at horrific crimes

it took me a decade to work out what Freeman is gabbling about when the box is opened. he goes "Stay back California.." and i'm all 'uh?' as i'm sure most people were.
only recently i checked the deleted scenes on the DVD to find that the SWAT team leader who's in the helicopter above them *goes by that nickname* in one of the scenes that are snipped! it's never mentioned at any other point in the actual film!! i'm baffled as to why the most important and dramatic moment in the film is rendered so briefly and completely nonsensical and why on earth they left that line in. biggest WTF ever.

because life is very often like that

is ncfom the most unrepentantly violent best picture winner since silence? not counting like war films or nazi atrocities here.

i guess the departed had some splatter moments too.

Would you call "Braveheart" and or "Gladiator" war films?

yeah i think large battle scenes are somethin different from a guy biting out another dude's tounge mano a mano, or another guy strangling a cop with his own handcuffs.

lol i forgot about gladiator entirely.

to answer piscesx:

Devil in a Blue Dress
The Insider
Zodiac

I don't think they're all great movies btw but they're decent. As for Seven, I always lol at Pitt's acting in the last twenty minutes but I guess it's a relief from Fincher's hyperventilating.

Seven is very much the better pop Grimm's Fairy Tale. I only sighed at badness a couple times (like when Freeman reads the name of a sin off the wall). Khondji and Fincher made it look and feel so much better than the script -- tho "This is not going to have a happy ending" is a great talk-to-the-audience line.

Nostalgia: when Freeman informs Pitt of the FBI "flagging" library records of potentially dangerous book borrowers, Pitt asks "How is this legal?"

I watched Manhunter last night--second time, but the first was so long ago it basically felt new. Tom Noonan and Brian Cox and (surprise--I generally don't care for her) Joan Allen are good. William Petersen is not. Just seeing Chris Elliott was worth the two hours.

has anyone ever verified the ImDb mention that Michael Stipe was considered to play Spacey's 7 role?

yeah definitely Zodiac no question, i concur!
i must see Devil In A Blue Dress.

we've abandoned the original topic in favor of fanboy fluff, I see

Nostalgia: when Freeman informs Pitt of the FBI "flagging" library records of potentially dangerous book borrowers, Pitt asks "How is this legal?"

pitt obv wasn't around for the 50s

these movies are both bad, morally repulsive

anyway, now i'm going to watch con air

it is in fact obv that Pitt wasnt around for the 50s.

whoa Silence is like Demme's homage to 70s B-movie legends! I didn't realize that was Roger Corman as FBI Director Hayden Burke, obv. Charles Napier's in it, etc.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, August 27, 2004 1:53 PM (8 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

just noticed this (demme co-wrote the story for black mama white mama):

http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q686/tinyservants/Screenshot2012-09-27at74630PM_zpsbbffbd1a.png
http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q686/tinyservants/ttilesilenceofthelambs_zps7f755b6d.jpg

I wouldn't feel spooked living there, not at all.

http://triblive.com/news/fayette/8936263-74/film-bill-buffalo#axzz3jI8iGagS

there was a time I'd have preferred Seven but it seems so uninteresting now aside from its visual look at nasty kills. It's completely fine, I like it! It's still my favorite of the "serial killer with a message for humanity" films. But it doesn't really reward repeat viewing vs SOTL, that is a film on another level.

the atmosphere Demme conjures up without putting on much of a show is really something, it's pretty unsettling from the start, before anything's even happened. The framing and the editing are both very unflashy but he is doing so much work with both before Hopkins even shows up. It's very quietly doing the same thing that Roger Ebert described Aliens as doing, kind of making you feel ill at ease and wrung out and unhappy (in both films, these are compliments!), and unlike Aliens it never really relaxes to let you breathe much at the end.

Hannibal and Red Dragon were major zeroes across the board in those departments. The TV series was great but even that didn't quite nail it like Demme did.

This actually relates back to my post one above: the house was bought, and it'll open as a bed-and-breakfast in March.

i have a hard time picking one over the other - both films v much My Bag (tm)

Silence for cinematography & superiority of adaptation since Demme makes the movie much less pervy abt Clarice, Harris does not gaf abt women the way Demme does. All of that closeup work w Foster & Hopkins, so incredible.

i still appreciate Seven for effects & production design, though. Still enjoy rewatching. the tableaus for the murders & Doe’s apartment etc just so detailed & meticulous & GROSS AF. The journals? The lightboxes for his trophies? Wild.
Rob Bottin special effects king absolutely delivers, Sloth “cough” scene alone STILL nightmare-fuel.
Great ending too.
My only ding is the story is a bit hokey.

think omars post just above on rewatch and *vibe* gets to the heart of it for me

i think se7en is a very good watch, a very good rewatch, not sure have orwould i ever go back to it now. the puzzle is the charm and while performances are good to fine there's no pleasure in watching it again now

but silence builds and flows like a symphony, theres something to focus on endlessly even outside of the big performances

I'm not big on Seven, but I'm glad the last three posts all say good things about Silence of the Lambs. I understand the backlash (even then, hence Philadelphia), but I can still get caught up in it: it's as grim and as intense as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Foster and Hopkins (who crossed some invisible line into camp in the two sequels) are great.

i saw se7en for the first time recently. gasped during that scene where the light shines behind brad pitt’s head. this fincher guy’s got potential

i think conceptually what helps my enjoyment of Seven is that it’s not grounded in a real city ie NY, it’s like a nameless Gotham that (to me) allows for a more heightened reality. It doesn’t jar me the way it would if it was trying to be more realistic

but yeah, if I’ looking for something to rewatch especially if i’m in a “comfort movie” zone I will always put on Silence of the Lambs. so many great moments, great performances & even beautifully composed shots