The Silence of the Lambs

Revealing mistake: When Clarice is at the archive, she sees two articles, one entitled "Baltimore Psychiatrist Receives Highest Honor" and "New horrors in 'Cannibal Trial'." The column beneath both titles to the right is exactly the same, and in the first article, that same column is repeated at the leftmost and rightmost columns and in the second, is repeated at the rightmost column. That same column is scattered on every article she sees. (00:21:35)

Revealing mistake: During the autopsy at the funeral house, Agent Ray Terry is taking pictures, aided by the funeral home assistant, Lamar. The actress playing the dead body does a great job throughout the scene, but exactly when it's time to take the first picture you can see her blink right as Lamar's hands pass over her eyes. (00:44:35)

Sammo

Revealing mistake: In the examination of the corpse at the funeral house, a bug is removed from the throat of the victim. The bug is lodged deeply into the throat of the girl, to the point that when they pull it out, air is released from the throat it obstructed. But if you look at the first shot when Agent Terry puts his tweezers in the girl's mouth, you can already spot by the molar the tip of the cocoon - the bug is not that big, if the agent had already pulled it by that much the gas release would have happened already. (00:45:15)

Sammo

Revealing mistake: During Lecter's escape, the SWAT team arrives and jumps out of the police car at the courthouse with their Ithaca 37 shotguns. All of them are shown chambering their rounds except the the officer on the right, who pulls back again on the fore stock and asks "ready?" That should've ejected a shell and left the gun unloaded. (01:21:40)

Joey221995

Revealing mistake: When Clarice goes to Crawford's office, on the board there is a newspaper article titled "Bill Attacks Again, Woman Missing..." on the left and another titled "FBI Links 'Skinning..." on the right. The three top paragraphs on the left columns of both are identical (with different spacing). Two of the yellow lines on the right one are the same too.

gf.nekro

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

Hannibal Lecter: I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner.

More quotes from The Silence of the Lambs

Trivia: None of the moths seen in the film are actual Death Head moths. In the interest of avoiding the hassle involved with actually shipping moth eggs over, then halting filming so they could be raised to the proper level of maturity, the production crew simply went with a similar looking domestic breed of moth, and glued false fingernails painted with the trademark skull like visage onto their bodies.

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

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