Jonathan Demme

About

Jonathan Demme (1944-2017) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter whose career spanned more than 70 films, documentaries and television productions. He is best known for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), one of only three films ever to win Academy Awards in all five major categories. Starting out under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme built a reputation for remarkable range - from the landmark concert film Stop Making Sense (1984) to the AIDS drama Philadelphia (1993) and beyond.

Oscars for The Silence of the Lambs (1992) - one of only three films in history

total Oscar nominations for films from Demme's career

$5M

box office earnings of the Stop Making Sense re-release in cinemas (2023)

70+

films, documentaries and TV projects throughout his career

What's new

2025-07
In July 2025, film critic David M. Stewart published the first complete biography of Demme titled There's No Going Back: The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme (University Press of Kentucky).
2023-11
The re-release of the concert film Stop Making Sense (1984) in cinemas exceeded the total box office earnings of the original 1984 distribution and earned over 5 million dollars.
2023-09
The remastered version of Stop Making Sense in 4K became the highest-grossing live event in IMAX history and attracted primarily a young audience - nearly 60% of viewers were under 35 years old.
2024-01
Stop Making Sense returned to select cinemas in the USA, Canada, and Great Britain in January 2024 thanks to distributor A24, which also released a collector's edition on 4K Blu-ray for the anniversary.