10 Horror Movie Scenes Filmmakers Regret

Despite being one of the few films in history to win the "Big Five" awards at the Oscars (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay), The Silence of the Lambs is far from a universally beloved movie.

Ever since its release, LGBT commentators have criticised the film for its portrayal of cross-dressing serial killer Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), feeling that his portrayal contributed to a popular association between the LGBT community and violent, psychopathic deviancy.

And prior to his death, director Jonathan Demme spoke extensively about the criticism, noting that he wished he'd clarified Gumb's presentation in the movie. He told The Daily Beast:

"This is my directorial failing in making The Silence of the Lambs - that I didn't find ways to emphasise the fact that Gumb wasn't gay, but more importantly, that his whole thing is that Lecter's profile on Gumb was that he was someone who was terribly abused as a child, and as a result of the abuse he suffered as a child, had extreme self-loathing, and whose life had become a series of efforts to not be himself anymore.

When the film was accused of continuing a history of stereotypical negative portrayals of gay characters, that was a wake-up call for me as a filmmaker, and as a person. My gay friends who loved Silence of the Lambs, including my friend Juan Botas, who was one of the inspirations for Philadelphia, said, 'You can't imagine what it's like to be a 12-year-old gay kid, and you go to the movies all the time and whenever you see a gay character, they're either a ridiculous comic-relief caricature, or a demented killer. It's very hard growing up gay and being exposed to all these stereotypes.' That registered with me in a big way."