That means I don't end up watching serious movies all that often, which are actually the ones I like most. Plus, I feel like, with only a limited amount of time in my life, I want to focus on the important ones, instead of just watching 27 Dresses a million times. Just like Hodel said in Fiddler on the Roof, "We only have one rabbi, and he only has one son. Why shouldn't I want the best?"
...
I watched The Silence of the Lambs alone on the night of the Harvest Moon. The interesting thing about watching these iconic movies so far after the fact is that, even though you've never seen them, they've seeped into your pop culture experience over time--so much so that watching the original feels almost cliche. I felt that way about watching Good Will Hunting and The Sixth Sense over the last few months.
Hannibal Lecter felt almost cliche. But part of the strangeness of this movie is how you at once relate with and are repulsed by Hannibal Lecter. Clarice always calls him Dr. Lecter, creating a kind of respect for him. He is strangely sympathetic in that he has a twisted sense of morality that you can't necessarily argue with. I found the scene beautiful where he is listening to faint classical music in his cell when he attacks the guards, ending up with blood on his face to contrast the white purity of his jumpsuit.
This won Best Picture in the year I was born, so I think it was meant to be.
