Quotes
The Silence of the Lambs
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Dialogue
Jack Crawford: Be very careful with Hannibal Lecter. Dr. Chilton at the asylum will go over all the physical procedures used with him. Do not deviate from them for any reason whatsoever. And you're to tell him nothing…
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Agent Starling: I graduated from UVA, Doctor. It's not a charm school.
Chilton: Good. Then you should be able to remember the rules. Do not touch or approach the glass. You pass him nothing but soft paper. No pencils or…
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Clarice Starling: Excuse me. Excuse me, gentlemen. You officers and gentlemen, listen here now. There's things we need to do for her. I know that y'all brought her this far and her folks would thank you if they could for…
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Hannibal Lecter: You're not real FBI, are you?
Clarice Starling: I'm still in training at the Academy.
Hannibal Lecter: Jack Crawford sent a trainee to me?
Clarice Starling: Yes, I'm a student. I'm here to learn from…
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Hannibal Lecter: Quid pro quo. I tell you things, you tell me things. Not about this case, though, about yourself. Quid pro quo. Yes or no? Yes or no, Clarice? Poor little Catherine is waiting.
Clarice Starling: Go…
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Hannibal Lecter: [about "Buffalo Bill"] What a naughty boy he is! Do you know why he's called 'Buffalo Bill'? Please tell me - the newspapers won't say.
Clarice Starling: Well, it started as a bad joke in Kansas City…
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Hannibal Lecter: You're so ambitious, aren't you? You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well-scrubbed, hustling rube, with a little taste. Good nutrition has…
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Hannibal Lecter: Jack Crawford is helping your career, isn't he? Apparently he likes you, and you like him too.
Clarice Starling: I never thought about it.
Hannibal Lecter: Do you think that Jack Crawford wants you…
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Clarice Starling: What did you mean by transformation, doctor?
Hannibal Lecter: I've been in this room for eight years now, Clarice. I know they will never, ever let me out while I'm alive. What I want is a view. I want…
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Clarice Starling: If your profile helps us capture Buffalo Bill in time to save Catherine Martin, the Senator promises you a transfer to the VA Hospital at Oneida Park, New York with a view of the woods nearby. Maximum…
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Hannibal Lecter: Billy is not a real trans-sexual, but he thinks he is. He tries to be. He's tried to be a lot of things, I expect.
Clarice Starling: And you said that I was very close to the way we would catch him. What…
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Buffalo Bill: [to his dog Precious] It rubs the lotion on its skin. It does this whenever it is told.
Catherine Martin: Mister … my family will pay cash. Whatever ransom you're asking for, they pay it.
Buffalo…
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Senator Martin: Dr. Lecter, I brought an affidavit guaranteeing your new rights. You want to read it before I sign?
Hannibal Lecter: I won't waste your time or Catherine's time bargaining for petty privileges. Clarice…
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Officer Murray: [about Hannibal Lecter] Is it true what they're saying, he's some kinda vampire?
Clarice Starling: They don't have a name for what he is.
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Hannibal Lecter: [reading a book] Good evening, Clarice.
Clarice Starling: I thought you might like your drawings back, Doctor. Just until you get your view.
Hannibal Lecter: How very thoughtful. Or did Jack Crawford…
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Hannibal Lecter: No! I will listen now. After your father's murder, you were orphaned. You were ten years old. You went to live with cousins on a sheep and horse ranch in Montana. And …?
Clarice Starling: [tears…
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Ardelia Mapp: Is this Lecter's handwriting? "Clarice, doesn't this random scattering of sites seem desperately random – like the elaborations of a bad liar? Ta, Hannibal Lecter."
Clarice Starling: "Desperately…
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Hannibal Lecter: [on telephone] Well, Clarice, have the lambs stopped screaming?
Clarice Starling: Dr. Lecter?
Hannibal Lecter: Don't bother with a trace, I won't be on long enough.
Clarice Starling: Where are you?…
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