Hey, it's about Lecter, so I think its brazen outrageousness fit well with the demented world-view of Lecter. The first one felt too claustrophobic to me and I didn't particularly like Jody Foster's Starling.

Did you know Lecter originally came from Lithuania? At least that's according to the extra material on the DVD. Also it says when he was a little boy in the aftermath of WWII, his little sister was taken away by hungry townspeople and presumably eaten. Was this covered in the books?

Haven't seen Manhunter yet, wonder how it compares.