The Great Silence

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The Great Silence

1968

1h 45m

Western

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Popcornmeter

100%

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13 Reviews

89%

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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

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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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David Bax

Battleship Pretension

With the help of a typically stellar score from Ennio Morricone, The Great Silence is one of the prettiest, most thoughtful movies you'll ever see with a body count in the dozens.

Oct 29, 2018

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W. W. W

Can't get used to a Western speaking Italiano

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/30/25

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Hector I

A Western with (at least) two levels of interpretation. The first is a classic Western in reverse, where the bad guy is the good guy. We follow two characters, the bounty hunter “Tigrero” played by a Klaus Kinski whose delicate timbre is almost frightening. The bandit is called “Silence” because he never speaks. We follow the life of a town called White Snow, isolated in a terrible winter, as starving bandits attack each other to survive. But an amnesty is about to be declared for all these outlaws. The bounty hunters are obviously against it, as they are abusing their rights to hunt down these bandits. What follows is a confrontation between these two heroes that leads to a duel - classic, in short. The other aspect of this film is its very violent, dark and cynical side. In this world, those who are supposed to protect the “good people” do evil, and those who are supposed to protect them, like the sheriff, fail to do so. You'd think that this inverted world of good guys=evil guys and bad guys=good guys would lead to the triumph of the good guys... but it doesn't, and the terrible finale casts a dark shadow over the film, especially as I'd grown quite attached to the Sheriff, for example, who was a bit of a twit at first, but a fine gunman.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/13/25

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Tim M

An all-timer for the spaghetti Western subgenre, The Great Silence will leave you speechless with its bold storytelling and bleakly beautiful cinematography.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/25

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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

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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

Full Review

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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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94%

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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
Producer: Alberto Marras
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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