Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme was a filmmaker whose work was marked by a unique blend of artistry and accessibility. His first three films, Caged Heat, Crazy Mama (1975), and Fighting Mad (1976), were directed for Roger Corman's studio New World Pictures. In the 1980s, Demme gained widespread recognition for his critically acclaimed films Melvin and Howard (1980) and Something Wild (1986). Demme's most well-known film, however, was the psychological horror film The Silence of the Lambs (1991), which Academy Awards in all five major categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. He also directed a number of documentaries and concert films, including one of the greatest concert films of all time in Stop Making Sense (1984), which covered the Talking Heads' 1983 concert. Demme's death in 2017 at age 73 was a great loss to the film world, but his legacy lives on through his groundbreaking work and the countless filmmakers he influenced. A handful of his films are usually available to watch online for free and we've collected them here.