The Great Silence

1968

1h 45m

Western

List

100%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

89%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

On an unforgiving, snow-swept frontier, a group of bloodthirsty bounty hunters, led by the vicious Loco, preys on a band of persecuted outlaws who have taken to the hills. As the price on each head is collected one-by-one, only a mute gunslinger named Silence stands between the innocent refugees and the greed and corruption that the bounty hunters represent. But in this harsh, brutal world, the lines between right and wrong aren't always clear and good doesn't always triumph.

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Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

Nothing works out the way these people, not to mention audiences who love classic Hollywood westerns, expect. Not even close.

Apr 26, 2018

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A.O. Scott

New York Times

The mood is sometimes jaunty, but "The Great Silence" is no joke, and the fatalism of its ending serves as an implicit critique of the sentimental optimism of many Hollywood westerns.

Mar 28, 2018

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Simon Abrams

Village Voice

Corbucci constantly subverts the generic tropes that he dabbled with two years earlier in Django, that blood-soaked and oft-imitated riff on A Fistful of Dollars.

Mar 28, 2018

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Rob Aldam

Backseat Mafia

The Great Silence is, quite simply, one of the best Spaghetti Westerns ever made

Nov 19, 2021

Full Review

Roger Moore

Movie Nation

Gorgeous to look at, "Shane" lean in its narrow focus and romance and Peckinpah-bloody in its violence.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 24, 2020

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Something must also be said about the wintery setting - a rare choice for a Western.

Rated: 7/10

Aug 24, 2020

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John H

Very good hidden spaghetti western. Very good story and action. It does have subtitles but easy to follow the action

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/24

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Rylen P

The best western ever made

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/15/23

Full Review

Larry M

Tarantino pretty much honed the scope with "The Hateful Eight". He took "The Great Silence" as a foundation and built on it. Developed his movie around filling gaps in the original storyline and dialogue. Draws it out further and it works. Corbucci uses Kinski effectively and Kinski reminds you beauty can be evil. He lets you know he's better than you. He tells you he doesn't care. When Kinski touches the fake spiderwebs when he's locked up, it's terrific!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/13/23

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Roy V

It would seem that Italian directors understood the genre of the western as its viewed through a dirty lens. Sergio corbucci delivered the cold brutal aspects of the law. What a beautifully shot film!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/20/23

Full Review

Wayne K

The name Sergio Corbucci might not be instantly familiar to you. If you mention a director called Sergio I'll assume you mean Sergio Leone. Corbucci's most famous film, arguably, would be 1966's Django starring Franco Nero, but The Great Silence is, again arguably, his most acclaimed. A Spaghetti Western set in the snowy hills of Utah, it's a steadily paced, bloody and brutal tale of revenge and corruption in a time and place where the legal limits of the law were as blurry as they could possibly be. If you were in any position of power, getting rid of someone you didn't like was as easy as placing a bounty on their head, and that's what happens to most of the movie's victims, of which there are a fair few. I liked how unglamorous the movie was, how it didn't sugar-coat the ugly abuses of power that the law utilised in the name of justice, and how difficult it was to define who was good and who was evil. For me, moral ambiguity is a sure-fire way to make a character engaging, and if it's done right, it can make a movie work all on its own. We follow the characters of Silence and Loco, and yes, those are their actual names, as their paths slowly begin to converge at a time when the word ‘draw!' was often the last thing you heard. I was especially impressed with the ending, which is incredibly bleak and downbeat, but that perfectly matches the overall tone of the film. If there's one thing I can't stand its tacked on, out of place happy endings that are completely unearned, just so the audiences can go home smiling. If a downer ending works, then use it! If you decide to watch it, don't expect an action movie. Expect a slow burn, character driven revisionist western that takes it's time in getting to the violent parts and makes you feel how important they are. If this sounds like your thing, then give it a try.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

matthew d

Snowy desolation of the soul. Italian director Sergio Corbucci's snow covered revisionist Spaghetti Western The Great Silence (1968) is a mighty film. Corbucci's direction stuffs men in harsh winter environments with gunshots ringing out among the Italian mountain range in the backdrop. I loved the horses trekking through deep snow and men hiding their guns within heavy layers of fur coats to keep them warm. The Great Silence is a bleak film with a cynical outlook about life and morality. I loved the bloody wintery shootouts and snow enshrouded quickdraw duels. Writers Sergio Corbucci, Mario Amendola, Bruno Corbucci, and Vittoriano Petrilli create a wintery world of hired gunslingers ready to gun each other down. It's all about the ethics of killing a man for money as a bounty hunter versus being a hired gun for those in need. Corbucci shows the old West lifestyle as ruthless, hopeless, and cruel without the romanticized heroism of older Westerns. The Great Silence is stylish and gripping with real originality. Set decorator Enrico Simi's wooden homes, straw beds, whiskey bottles galore adorn every room in The Great Silence. Editor Amedeo Salfa's sharp cutting keeps a dreamy tone with fascinating flashback edits to explain our hero Silence's tragic backstory. Salfa's creative cuts create an artful style. The Great Silence is an enthralling 106 minutes. Cinematographer Silvano Ippoliti has epic sweeping panning shots of the wintery wilderness. I love his fast zoom ins and zoom outs. His careful framing for medium shots of men gathered around card tables or close-up shots of ruthless eyes glaring at a man they are about to shoot. The Great Silence is beautifully shot with a hardened style. Art director Riccardo Domenici's cold visuals are striking. Frosted windows, frozen hair, snow covered towns, to hidden guns warming in private. French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant is excellent, giving hard glares and hurt looks as the fearsome mute gunfighter Silence. Trintignant says everything with sharp and subtle body language without a word. German actor and insane person Klaus Kinski is obviously perfect as the aptly named bounty hunter Loco. His unhinged performance starts off subdued, but gets increasingly manic all for the money. His ruthless ethos and willingness to kill anyone for a price is priceless to witness. He is captivating and my favorite performance in The Great Silence. American actress Vonetta McGee, of Blacula fame, is very touching as the heartbroken widow Pauline Middleton. She hires Silence to assassinate Loco in an act of desperate revenge. I felt sympathy as she is widowed and harassed with only Silence to come to her aid like he is a gunslinging Zoro. American actor Frank Wolff is pretty funny as the principled Sheriff Gideon Burnett. Italian actor Luigi Pistilli is great as the sleazy money lender Henry Pollicut. Italian actor Mario Brega's gigantic assistant to Pollicut named Martin is entertaining. Italian actress Marisa Merlini is quite pretty as the Saloon Madam Regina. I love that Italy continued making Westerns with these large international ensemble casts. Composer Ennio Morricone's lovely film score is pleasant with his signature light guitar melodies alongside a massive orchestral piece. The Great Silence has a ponderous score for the fierce men within ready to kill at a moment's notice. Sound designer Romano Pampaloni puts in horse cries, men screaming in agony, and rapid fire machine pistol noises. The quiet snowy ambiance is a nice touch. I loved costume designer Enrico Job's massive fur coats for every actor. The black leather gloves and unique gun holsters to warm the firearms are distinct. Make-up artist Lamberto Marini does great work with scars for the worn figures in The Great Silence. In conclusion, Sergio Corbucci's frosty revisionist Spaghetti Western The Great Silence remains a classic artful piece of cinema. Klaus Kinski's deranged bounty hunter Loco is worth seeing like the heavy snowfall sequences.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Sergio Corbucci

Director

Jean-Louis Trintignant

Silence

Klaus Kinski

Tigrero

Frank Wolff

Sheriff Burnett

Luigi Pistilli

Pollicut

Vonetta McGee

Pauline

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Synopsis

On an unforgiving, snow-swept frontier, a group of bloodthirsty bounty hunters, led by the vicious Loco, preys on a band of persecuted outlaws who have taken to the hills. As the price on each head is collected one-by-one, only a mute gunslinger named Silence stands between the innocent refugees and the greed and corruption that the bounty hunters represent. But in this harsh, brutal world, the lines between right and wrong aren't always clear and good doesn't always triumph.

Director: Sergio Corbucci
Screenwriter: Sergio Corbucci
Genre: Western
Original Language: Italian
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Mar 30, 2018
Release Date (Streaming): May 31, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $53.1K
Runtime: 1h 45m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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