I think this film might be a masterpiece. I am not sure why because the main character may be a distant relative of jack the ripper but … for some reason, we like Hannibal Lecter. He delivers some of the best lines in film History and (I’m told) manages to be sexy doing it.  Jodie Foster in the FBI role as Clarice Starling holds the film nicely together but she is a mere muse for the main man. This film belongs to Tony Hopkins, and I can think of very few other actors who could have played it so masterfully. The violence has a kind of Tarrantino-esque comedy about it, and this film came out before we had even heard of “Resevoir Dogs” or QT. There is about 8 minutes of brilliantly directed (Jonathan Demme) horror in the middle where one guard has been disembowelled and  strung up (we see him first through a glazed window, looking like an eagle, suspended form the ceiling), and another has had his face cut off to supply Lecter with a new mask to facilitate his escape. Shortly before Lecter removes his face Lecter gives him a casual warning by saying “Ready when you are Sgt Pembry”. I think we all hate ourseleves for enjoying the horror quite so much, and sadly, the sequels “Hannibal” and “Red Dragon” are very disappointing, over the top and just silly in comparison. I normally avoid horror films like the plague but this one keeps calling me back. “Ill help you catch him Clarice”.