Shooting began in Florence on May 8, 1999, before moving on to various other locations in North America, including Washington DC, Richmond, Virginia, and North Carolina. “The whole second act takes place in Florence,” says Scott. “I’d never actually filmed there before and it was really quite an experience. It was kind of organised chaos – traffic control was difficult and we were there at the height of the tourist season. But the city was very atmospheric. And it was the perfect home-in-exile for Hannibal.” It also enabled Scott to cast Giancarlo Giannini, one of Italy’s top actors who was Oscar-nominated for Lina Wertmüller’s Seven Beauties, in the role of the opportunistic Italian detective, Rinaldo Pazzi, with whom Starling is reluctantly obliged to liaise.

The first scene to be shot was in the Palazzo Capponi, where Lecter, living under the pseudonym of Dr Fell, is playing the grand piano in his apartment. And Anthony Hopkins was surprised to find that the director, who has a reputation for being a perfectionist, was quite laid-back when it came to directing actors.

“It was a wonderful example of how flexible and open to suggestion Ridley was throughout the production,” says Hopkins. “The first day, I had to play the piano. And while the cameras were setting up, I was just fooling around, playing some of my own music - some music I’d composed. Ridley came over and made a comment that he liked it. And when it came time for the cameras to roll, he just got up, said ‘Okay, good luck,’ and that was it. So that was the music Hannibal played!”

Sealed and delivered - for now. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins)

“I’d wanted to work with Anthony for a long time,” admits Scott. “And of course, he created this character: he won an Academy Award for playing Hannibal Lecter. But I’d always felt there was a lot more to Lecter that couldn’t really be gotten into in Silence because it didn’t serve the story. The novel Hannibal confirmed that. The opportunity to catch up with him a decade later and explore this unmapped territory was very interesting to me.”

Other Florentine locations included the Pazzi family chapel, where an opera scene was shot; the Ponte Vecchio and the Palazzo Vecchio; and, of course, Il Duomo - the cathedral - which was completed in 1436. But, from there on, the locations became gradually more down-to-earth, ending up literally in the mud on President Madison’s farm at Montpelier, Virginia.

Julianne Moore in action. “Lecter has a sort of admiration for her, because she is steadfast in her pursuit of him,” says the actresss.

And, throughout the process, Scott quietly worked his magic, turning a follow-up that isn’t really a sequel into a ‘Ridley Scott film’. Even Dino De Laurentiis, who has been producing films for over 50 years, was impressed.

“I’ve worked with so many important directors over the years - Fellini, Bergman, Milos Forman, I don’t even remember them all,” says the veteran film-maker. “Ridley is a genius. He reminds me sometimes of Fellini, because they both get a script in their hand, and create something new in every shot.

“There are two ways to make a movie: you make the movie like the script, shot by shot, putting together what is on the page. Or you create, day by day, a movie that is inspiration. That is what Fellini did in his time. That is what Ridley Scott does.”