In the scene where Dr. Hannibal Lecter phones Clarice from a Caribbean island and says "I'm having an old friend for dinner," I just noticed that Dr. Chilton is getting off a plane (supposedly on the same Caribbean island). I understand why Dr. Lecter would want to kill Dr. Chilton for all the petty annoyances he subjected Dr. Lecter to in the Baltimore jail, but I missed why or how their paths crossed again. Was there an earlier scene where Dr. Chilton mentioned going to the Caribbean? If so, how did Dr. Lecter find out which one and the date?

Root 17, I am not 100% sure, and if I am incorrect, someone will come along and correct me.

That final scene that you mention above, when Lecter speaks with Clarice and says "I'm having an old friend for dinner", and you see Chilton getting off the plane...well this is why that came about:

Remember when Lecter killed the cop in Texas and everyone thought Lecter was the fallen officer? Lecter escaped and a massive manhunt ensued.

Now skip to the final scene when Lecter is speaking with Clarice...what you wouldn't know if you didn't read the book, is that since Lecter is on the lamb (no pun intended), he heads to the Carribean, however, he assaults a tourist there, and eats the tourist's vocal cords, and steals his identification, money and wallet.

So naturally, since Chilton is listed as Lecter's doctor, they would contact him and the police stateside. That is how Doctor Chilton ended up on the same island...I think.

Thanks, Agnes. I have seen that many times (i.e., details from the book that have to be left out because of movie time constraints).

If you are a fan of the movies (or at least SOTL) I highly recommend the books although I haven't read or seen the newest "Hannibal Rising" yet. "Hannibal" ends significantly different from the film and it's interesting to see what opinions people have about it.

I read the book for "Gone With The Wind" and after approximately 800 pages my reaction was "What! It's over already! This can't be!" The movie was a pale imitation.

I feel that films that are based upon books are severely lacking. However, "Silence of the Lambs" was not a bad film adaptation.

If you ever get the chance, you should see the film "Red Dragon", starring Ralph Fiennes...another film that is a decent adaptation of the book.

Personally I find the "Red Dragon" version of the book lacking compared to "Manhunter" which came out in the 1980's, which is the original movie based on the book.