Ebert is reported as giving three and a half stars, praising the palpable evil of Hopkins’s first appearance and the film’s suspense and restraint despite flaws.
Siskel is reported as disliking the film and preferring to see Clarice on another case.
The four final preferences split among Lecter killing the guards, Clarice recounting the lambs, and the first Clarice–Lecter meeting; the guards escape receives two choices.
Clarice’s first descent to Lecter, his instant psychological reading, the fava-beans line, and Miggs’s assault are nominated; one participant selects it.
Catherine Martin singing “American Girl,” helping Gumb with the sofa, and being abducted are nominated.
Gumb ordering Catherine to use the lotion, combined with the revelation of the bloody fingernail, is nominated for its simultaneous terror and dark comedy.
Lecter meeting Senator Martin while restrained and masked is nominated.
Clarice’s final quid-pro-quo meeting with Lecter, including her lamb story and his lesson about coveting, is nominated; one participant selects the lamb confession.
Lecter’s attack on the guards, staging of the bodies, face disguise, and ambulance escape are nominated; two participants select the sequence.
Gumb’s dance intercut with Catherine capturing Precious is nominated.
The cross-cut raid and Clarice’s realization that she is inside Gumb’s actual house are nominated.
Clarice’s night-vision basement pursuit and killing of Gumb are nominated for suspense, foreshadowing, and payoff.
Chris Isaak’s conspicuous SWAT cameo wins; workplace harassment, Senator Martin’s hair, profiling without DNA, and helping a stranger move a sofa are alternatives.
