Daily Dialogue — March 29, 2020

“I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner…”

— The Silence of the Lambs (1991), screenplay by Ted Tally, novel by Thomas Harris

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Final Words.

Trivia: As revealed on the Blu-ray documentaries “Breaking The Silence” and “From Page To Screen”, this movie’s beginning and ending were altered. Ted Tally’s screenplay called for this movie to begin with an FBI raid not unlike the one featured in the opening sequence of Hannibal (2001). Thomas Harris’ book ends with Dr. Hannibal Lecter writing a threatening letter to Dr. Frederick Chilton. Ted Tally and Jonathan Demme decided it would be necessary for Dr. Hannibal Lecter to track Dr. Chilton to a tropical island for a more dramatic and audience pleasing closing, plus an all-expense studio-paid trip to shoot somewhere warm. (The final scene was shot on the island of Bimini, which is part of the Bahamas.)

Dialogue On Dialogue: Such a great double meaning in that “old friend for dinner” line given that Lecter practices cannibalism.