Get Your Reps In: “Silence of the Lambs” Is Often Parodied, but Never Topped

What to see at Portland’s repertory theaters.

The Silence of the Lambs (Orion Pictures)
By Mia Vicino

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Jonathan Demme’s twisted crime-horror classic historically swept all five major categories at the Oscars, and for good reason. The infamous cat-and-mouse game between Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) and FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is oft-parodied, but the film’s perfect dual lead performances and creeping sense of dread can never be successfully replicated. Academy, Sept. 7-8.

Blue Velvet (1986)

A new 4K restoration of David Lynch’s atmospheric neo-noir! A college student (Portland’s own mayor, Kyle MacLachlan, at least on Portlandia) finds himself enmeshed in a conspiracy after he stumbles upon a severed human ear. Featuring Isabella Rossellini as a troubled lounge singer and Laura Dern as the girl next door. Hollywood, Sept. 9-15.

High Art (1998)

Twenty-four-year-old magazine intern Sydney (Radha Mitchell) has her world turned upside down when she begins a sizzling affair with Lucy, a renowned 40-year-old photographer (Ally Sheedy) with a penchant for heroin in Lisa Cholodenko’s groundbreaking romance. Screens as part of the Hollywood’s “Thank God It’s Queer” series. Hollywood, Sept. 9.

Misery (1990)

In this Stephen King adaptation, a romance novelist (the late James Caan) crashes his car in a blizzard and finds himself bedridden in a remote cottage under the care of Annie Wilkes (an Oscar-winning Kathy Bates), a fanatic who forces him to write his stories exactly the way she so desires. Screens in 35 mm in honor of King’s 75th birthday (to add to the celebration, a rare first edition of the book will be raffled off). Hollywood, Sept. 10.

Dead Poets Society (1989)

“O Captain! My Captain!” Robin Williams headlines this English class staple as an unconventional poetry teacher who inspires his students (Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard) at a conservative all-male boarding school in 1950s Vermont. Programmed and introduced by Grant High Movie Club students. Hollywood, Sept. 12.

ALSO PLAYING:

Academy: Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Sept. 7-8. National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978), Sept. 9-15. Clinton: Godzilla (1954), Sept. 9. Hollywood: Filmworker (2017), Sept. 8. Get Crazy (1983), Sept. 11. The Running Man (1987), Sept. 11. Shaolin Invincibles (1977), Sept. 13.

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