definitely deserving of those Oscars...

Rating: Null/10 (17 October 2004)

I had always been putting off watching "Silence of the Lambs". Everyone always said I'd never sleep again (or something along those lines). Granted, they said that about "Jaws" and "Psycho", too, and I wasn't...completely...freaked out by them. Then a few weeks ago I watched "Red Dragon" (what can I say, I'm Norton/Fiennes fan). I thought it was very interesting -- and it caused me to ask myself, yet again, why I haven't seen the original Lecter-a-thon. So I finally watched it, and I am very, very glad I did.
I think that it is considered so great, not necessarily because of the writing, but because of the other beautiful aspects of its production. The cutaways added much appreciated suspense (as did the music...and acting, of course), the closeups pulled you closer into each character's world, and, much like "The Shining", the filmmakers were able to make the most open spaces seem the most confining and "scary".
I immediately noticed the difference between "Lambs" and its sequel-prequel "Dragon", most notably the effort involved. All of the actors WERE their characters, and everything seemed so wrapped up in the environment (in a good way).
Although this movie does not make it to my favorites list, I thought it was very good (the quality more than anything), and I recommend it to everyone - well, unless you hate bugs.