Silence of the Lambs is high on my list of greatest movies ever made. Next to the Exorcist and Shining, definently one of the best horror/thriller films. Anthony Hopkins became my favorite actor after I saw this movie because his performance was the most breathtaking of it's kinda I had ever seen. And I've yet to come across anything to rival it(I didn't see Hannibal. I read the book and thought it was disgusting. I didn't want anything to tarnish my memories of Anthony's performance or the movie.) It was just so masterfully crafted, every syllable of every word he spoke, every little time he blinked or moved his eyes, every little, rare gesture he ever made- although what made this Hannibal guy so damn scary was that he didn't move. He stood perfectly still and always gave the observer this tense sort of-when-is-he-going-to-jump-up-and-eat-somebody feeling. You kept expected him to do something like that...but he never did. Not when you expected it, anyway. That, I think, is what made the scene with the guards near the end so amazingly frightening. He became almost this animal after a whole movie of never moving, never doing anything untoward. He became likable, even, this genius sociopathic murderer. His great line about the census taker still gives me chills to this day. I could write forever about the brilliant nuances of Hannibal Lecter, but I'm commenting on the movie as a whole, so I guess that will have to wait for another time. Jodie Foster, too, gave an excellent performance, what with that West Virginia accent and her heartfelt descriptions of the screaming lambs. Something that makes this movie so brilliant though, was that besides the chaotic exchanges between Clarice and Hannibal, there was actually a really frightening almost side story about the serial killer, Buffalo Bill. Clarice's scenes in his house were so chilling, they stay with me (as does a great amount of things from this movie) to this day. Johnathan Demme did an amazing job interpreting Ted Tally's outstanding screenplay and gave a such a dark, creepy air to the whole movie. Silence of the Lambs is one of those few movies that you can watch 20 times and still get scared. If you haven't seen it, firstly-are you crazy?! do you live under a rock? and secondly, go see it!!!!! You will enjoy it, I promimse you.