The Silence of the Lambs (film) American Film Institute named Hannibal Lecter (as portrayed by Hopkins) the number one film villain of all time and Clarice Starling (as portrayed by Foster) the sixth-greatest film hero of all time. In 2011, ABC aired a prime-time special, "", that counted down the best films chosen by fans based on results of a poll conducted by ABC and "People" magazine. "The Silence of the Lambs" was selected as the 1 Best Suspense/Thriller and Dr. Hannibal Lecter was selected as the 4 Greatest Film Character. The film and its characters have appeared in the following AFI "100 Years" lists: In
The Silence of the Lambs (novel) has found; however, Gumb escapes into his basement. Starling, armed only with a revolver but aware that calling for backup will result in Catherine's death, follows him down, and kills him after a protracted chase. Catherine is returned to her family unharmed. Starling receives a congratulatory telegram from Lecter, who hopes that "the lambs have stopped screaming" and indicates that he has no plans to pursue her. He also predicts correctly that saving Catherine Martin may have granted Clarice some relief, but that the silence will never become eternal, heralding her motives for a continued career at the FBI. Clarice