Demme’s Doubleheader Pt.2
September 28, 2012
“I spoke to Sir Anthony Hopkins a few hours ago,” said Jonathan Demme as he approached the front of the Apollo Theatre, “and when I told him that they are screening The Silence of the Lambs at the Apollo opening he said, ‘They must be mad!’’’
Sir Hopkins may be right, but that doesn’t keep The Silence of the Lambs, the film that swept the 1991 Oscars by receiving awards in all the top five categories, from being one of the best horror films out there.
If you skipped Friday’s late-rainy-night throwback flick, you may have missed more than just the brief documentary that served as a prelude to the film, illustrating the process of the yearlong Apollo renovation and the historical significance of the theater. You missed the ambience of a packed Apollo Theatre that streaming the cult classic on Netflix just can’t provide. You missed an introduction of the movie by the director himself, and you missed the cheering and laughter of the crowd when someone was brutally slain on screen. You missed the popcorn crunching and the Pepsi sipping, the cornerstones of a cinematic experience, and the momentous round of applause when the credits rolled. “I just saw that guy!” Demme exclaimed after spotting the director’s credit.
