I kind of get a kick out of what he did in the original ending. I thought he'd chop off Starling's hand but he did his! I'm sorry but I can't help it. It was funny, sweet and gross at the same time. But if I'm not mistaken Lector had hands in Red Dragon so I think the other ending fits better, unless I'm mistaken and the mentioned movie is not the third one.
Don't forget, Red Dragon was the prequel to both Silence of the Lambs & Hannibal so the fact that Lecter has hands in Red Dragon is accurate. You're probably confused because Red Dragon was the last of the three films to be released, even though it was first in the storyline.
BTW, did you read the book Hannibal? A different ending altogether. If you want, since this is a movie thread, I can PM you.
