011: Silence of the Lambs (1991) - CLARICE!

SPOILERS FOR "SILENCE OF THE LAMBS" (1991), SEASON 1 OF NBC'S HANNIBAL, AND SILENCE OF THE LAMBS BY THOMAS HARRIS

Also, the opening song is definitely NSFW.

In this episode:

• Cleolinda Jones joins us for our discussion! W00T!
• Discussion of the 1991 adaptation of Thomas Harris' novel The Silence of the Lambs, including Jodie Foster's performance as Clarice, Anthony Hopkins' iconic performance as Hannibal, and comparing/contrasting with NBC Hannibal
• This is another long one, so here are some time marks for major discussions:
• What is horror? (7:48) The Wikipedia article on horror and terror, featuring the Ann Radcliffe definition Cleo mentions
• Watching "Silence of the Lambs" in the context of NBC's Hannibal (23:20)
• Cinematography and blocking (36:15)
• TV SPOILERS: Abigail's dead, guys, and we need to start the healing process. Also, IT SOMEHOW FINDS A WAY TO GET WORSE. (48:28)
• Ted Levine's performance as Buffalo Bill (1:11:05)
• The problematic nature of Buffalo Bill's confusing trans*?/not trans*?/genderqueer? status, intersectionality, and how to be a fan of problematic things (1:15:24)
• Casting discussion (1:34:52)
• Will NBC get the rights to the Silence of the Lambs characters? Also, possible alternatives. (1:47:14)
• Why people should go ahead and watch "Silence of the Lambs," despite it being the blueprint for future seasons of the TV series (1:51:40)
• Flower crowns: what is the dealio. (1:54:25)
• Cleo sheds light on different aspects of the story and film-making with her notes on the Criterion commentary and deleted scenes.
• Cleo and Fio (holy crap I just realized that rhymes) have both read the books. I have not. They have cool insights into the movie and how it compares to the book. I do not.
• Apparently, Cleo falls out of her chair a lot. X)
• Clarice really is a badass.
• Lecter's "humanity," and how this influenced Hopkin's portrayal
• Here's a list of odds and ends links:
• Tattle-Crime.com's Interview with Lara Jean Chorostecki
• The official answer to the flower crowns question (posted after the recording of this episode, otherwise we would've discussed it on the podcast)
• Will Graham Has a Nice Day, and the picture we reference
• Lecter & Me, the Red Dragon featurette with Anthony Hopkins

THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:

• We had a slight issue with Cleo's audio at some points, but I don't think it gets too distracting.
• I couldn't find the name of the girl Clarice examines in the moment Jodie Foster refers to as "hero accepting her task." If anyone knows, leave a comment or send us an email.
• We did our best in the time we had to discuss the issues of Buffalo Bill's problematic representation/non-representation of the trans* community, but please let us know if any corrections need to be made or if someone better informed than us would like to weigh in on the discussion.
• A lot of stuff happened at the SDCC panel and the fan meet-up, which we'll probably discuss a little bit next episode.
• I'm probably forgetting something. Let us know in the comments or email.

Music:

• Intro: "Put the F*cking Lotion in the Basket" - Jon Kaplan & Al Kaplan | YouTube | iTunes |
• Outro: "Goodbye Horses" - Garvey | YouTube | iTunes |

(Screencaps from screenmusings.org, Neil DeGrasse Tyson meme pulled from knowyourmeme.com)

http://archive.org/download/AMOT011/AMOT011.mp3

010: Manhunter (1986) - Dolarhyde's Chairs

SPOILERS FOR "MANHUNTER" (1986), SEASON 1 OF NBC'S HANNIBAL, AND RED DRAGON BY THOMAS HARRIS

In this episode:

• Discussion of "Manhunter," the 1986 adaptation of Thomas Harris' novel Red Dragon, including Brian Cox's interpretation of Hannibal, the hallmarks of '80s movies, Tom Noonan's interpretation of Francis Dolarhyde, and off-putting chair designs
• Seriously, every time the movie feels like it's not so '80s, you get an '80s power ballad or Will Graham calling Dolarhyde "sport."
• Actually, who does Will think he is, Jay Gatsby?
• Serial killers--did "Manhunter" define their depiction in film? (Martha DeLaurentiis believes so)
• We look at the way Will interprets crime scenes in this movie, and how it compares to the TV series.
• What WAS Tom Noonan doing?
• YOU LISTEN TO HANNIBAL WHEN HE'S SPEAKING TO YOU, WILL GRAHAM.
• Dolarhyde's kitchen chairs! They're very distracting! (Have you heard my new indie-prog-punk-core band, Dolarhyde's Chairs?) (Thanks to Tattle-Crime.com for the find [and Cleolinda for the request]!)
• MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING OF RED DRAGON. In short: Things don't work out quite as well for Will as they do in the movie. (Maybe if he'd done an '80s action-movie window crash...?)
• The Hannibal Book Club on Tumblr
• We're Alive, the Zombie Radio Drama
• We've announced a contest winner!
• Also, the special guest next episode is none other than Cleolinda Jones! Listen in next time as we discuss Silence of the Lambs (1991)!

THERE'S ALWAYS AN ADDENDUM:

• Sensuous. I think that's the word I was looking for when talking about Reba's experience with the tiger. Much different connotation.
• We apologize to the '80s. We really don't hate you. It's just your over-the-top synth ballads that are somewhat disconcerting amidst dark psychological drama.
• SMELL YOURSELF!

Music:

• "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" - Iron Butterfly | YouTube | iTunes | (They only have the single version on iTunes! I KNOW!)
• "Heartbeat" - Red 7 | YouTube | iTunes | (Oh, '80s music videos.)

(Screencap taken from this YouTube video)

http://archive.org/download/AMOT010/AMOT010.mp3