Truly the greatest movie of all time.

Rating: 9/10 (26 June 2001)

Why is this the greatest movie ever, you might ask. Well, for starters you can watch the movie several times over and get something different out of it each time. Let me just clarify that by saying that I'm not a person who watches it over and over because 'Lecter is the greatest character ever and I idolize him.' I like the movie because of the extreme detail we see in character development, the cinematography, and the tension that's built up. I can't sympathize with people who were shocked and horrified that Lecter would actually act the way he did in 'Hannibal.' These people obviously never actually realized that he had been in that cell for a reason.
Anyway, every character in this film (except maybe Dr. Chilton) is changed by the end of it. And isn't that why we choose to show the sequence of events that unfold in a story? Every character has a great arc that is logically followed and believable. Clarice is a wonderful character, and you really understand how she could affect a psycho-path in the manner that she did. Crawford is presented as an interesting foil to Lecter in that he is the other predominant male figure in Starling's life. After the loss of her actual father, she seems to seek these father figures to help her through her life. That is, until the end when she has grown enough to strike out on her own.
As for getting more and more out of it with each viewing, to give you an example: I recently revisited the film and the scene where Lecter is in the actual cage came up. As Clarice is being dragged out, he hands her the case file and, in the process, brushes his finger against hers. That particular shot of their hands has always given me the creeps. But I finally realized that it was 'The Birth of Man.' The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (please forgive my ignorance if I'm misspelling anything) depicts God bestowing life on Adam by touching his finger in a similar manner. By handing Clarice the case file, Lecter is helping to save Catherine Martin's life. She has taught him to care (even if it is only sometimes). Now, maybe this wasn't the intent for the shot at all. Or maybe it was the intent and it's so obvious that I'm a big dope for not having noticed it before, but I find these sorts of things every time I watch this movie. And that, to me, makes it wonderful.