The Silence of the Lambs

Other mistake: When Clarice goes to Crawford's office, she sees on the board a newspaper article titled "Bill skins fifth", but the article is not about Buffalo Bill. It's about Hannibal Lecter (his capture, the charges against him and so on). Nowhere is Bill mentioned. (00:05:50)

Other mistake: Clarice on the plane with Crawford is flipping through the report about the first victim (third found). Despite being a report on a victim of a case already thoroughly analyzed, it is lacking pretty much every detail about the victim other than the name and an incomplete address, and the data about the coroner in its second page point at Cleveland but with a California 408 area code (this page is realistically visible in detail only through slow motion, even if the relevant aspects - zip code and town name - can be spotted at normal speed). Finally, when Clarice turns page in the next shot to get to the photo part, the page is different. (00:36:15)

Sammo

Other mistake: Exterior views of Buffalo Bill's house showed the house was not very big and his yard space was limited. The amount of rooms, their sizes, and hall space purportedly in the basement were too excessive to believably be under that house. (00:49:20)

KeyZOid

Other mistake: In Memphis, the vain Dr. Chilton is giving an interview in front of the courthouse. So the captions say, because the building he is talking in front of (in actuality the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Pittsburg) has just a dimly lit "Shelby County War Museum" sign. From the look of the hall, the latter seems to be correct. (01:05:10)

Sammo

Other mistake: After Clarice is finished interviewing Frederica Bimmel's friend, they cut to the abandoned house in Calumet City IL. The front yard is full of leaves, but yet there is only 1 lone (pine) tree in the yard, and the homes on either side do not have visible trees either.

Brad Solberg

Continuity mistake: Jodie Foster has very blue eyes. When they flashback to her childhood, when she is crossing the lawn to greet her father, the girl playing the young Clarice has dark eyes. (00:20:10)

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Eye color also can change with age. This happens in 10 to 15 percent of the Caucasian population (people who generally have lighter eye colors).

Babies born with blue eyes can develop brown or darker eyes as melanin is produced. And while eye color can get lighter with age (older than Clarice usually), a child her age with brown eyes won't develop blue eyes. They could turn green maybe, but not the blue color seen.

Bishop73

I just rewatched the scene you were talking about and they're not blue eyes they're actually hazel and the adult Clarice could be wearing contact lenses.

Joey221995

More mistakes in The Silence of the Lambs

Jack Crawford: Believe me, you do not want Hannibal Lecter inside your head.

More quotes from The Silence of the Lambs
More trivia for The Silence of the Lambs

Answer: Knowing about her past gives him an advantage in how he can manipulate her - he understands her fears, weaknesses, strengths, and so on. A psychiatrist normally deconstructs a patient's psychological make-up to better understand and help them, but in Lecter's case, he uses this knowledge against his victims. However, as he learns about Clarice, he becomes sympathetic and protective toward her.

raywest

Answer: Also, he loves psychiatry and analyzing people. He is bored in his cell and this is a chance to do something he enjoys a lot.

Answer: Clarice's answers also enable Lecter to assess her honesty/ integrity and sincerity, as well as ascertain if she is trustworthy - or even worthy - enough for him to reveal certain kinds of information.

KeyZOid

Answer: I remember a scene where he seems to roll his eyes in a kind of ecstasy as he comprehends, then thanks her, and shortly after touches her hand as he passes the folder. "People will say we're in love."

More questions & answers from The Silence of the Lambs

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.