The Great Silence () is a 1968 spaghetti Western film directed and co-written by Sergio Corbucci. An Italian-French co-production, the film stars Jean-Louis Trintignant, Klaus Kinski, Vonetta McGee (in her film début) and Frank Wolff, with Luigi Pistilli, Mario Brega, Marisa Merlini and Carlo D'Angelo in supporting roles.
Conceived by Corbucci as a politically-charged allegory inspired by the deaths of Che Guevara and Malcolm X, the film's plot takes place in Utah prior to the Great Blizzard of 1899. It pits a mute gunslinger (Trintignant), fighting in the defence of a group of outlaws and a vengeful young widow (McGee), against a group of ruthless bounty killers led by "Loco" (Kinski) and the corrupt banker Henry Pollicut (Pistilli). Unlike most films of the genre, which were filmed in the Almería province of Spain to double for areas such as Texas and Mexico, The Great Silence was primarily filmed on location in the Italian Dolomites.
Distributed in most territories by 20th Century Fox, The Great Silence was theatrically released to a mediocre commercial reception in Italy, but it fared better in other countries. Controversial for its bleak and dark tone, the film's reputation grew, and it gained a cult following in the wake of its release. The film was finally released in the United States in 2001, when it was made available on DVD by Fantoma Films and Image Entertainment; in Britain, it was first shown in 1990 on the BBC2 program Moviedrome.
Having received several theatrical re-releases, most notably in 2012 and 2017, The Great Silence is now widely regarded by fans and authorities on Spaghetti Westerns as one of the greatest films of the genre, and is acknowledged as Corbucci's masterpiece. Praise has gone to the acting, the utilization of snowbound landscapes, Ennio Morricone's score, and the film's subversion of several conventions of the Western film genre. Retrospective critics and scholars of Corbucci's Westerns have also deemed The Great Silence to be the second film in the director's "Mud and Blood" trilogy, which also includes Django (1966) and The Specialists (1969).
Plot
Henry Pollicut and two other bounty killers murder a man named Gordon and his wife. To prevent Gordon's son from giving them away, one of the killers slices the boy's throat, rendering him permanently mute. Pollicut becomes a corrupt Utah banker and justice of the peace.
Years later in 1898, Gordon's son, now going by the moniker "Silence", operates on a principle whereby he provokes his enemies into drawing their weapons first so he can kill them in self-defense with his Mauser C96. A severe blizzard has swept the frontier, bringing privation to the town of Snow Hill. As a result, much of the community is forced to steal in order to survive. Pollicut, seeking to make a profit by attaining their property after they are killed, places prices on the thieves' heads, attracting the attention of a bounty killer gang, which also lists "Loco." As they prey on the outlaws, Silence works with the bandits and their allies to fight against the killers.
One of the outlaws, James Middleton, leaves the safety of the group to be with his wife, Pauline. He is subsequently killed by Loco when he takes Pauline hostage. Vengeful, Pauline writes to Silence, asking him to kill Loco. Meanwhile, the newly elected governor, hoping to have order maintained before declaring an amnesty regarding the outlaws, appoints the righteous but bumbling soldier Gideon Burnett as the sheriff of Snow Hill. On his way, Burnett encounters the outlaws, who steal his horse for food. After getting lost in the snow, Burnett finds a stagecoach travelling to Snow Hill, on which he meets Silence, and later, Loco. Upon arrival, Silence meets Pauline, who promises to raise his reward.
Pauline attempts to sell her house to Pollicut, who demands that she becomes his mistress – his reason for putting a bounty on her husband. Pauline bitterly refuses. Silence leaves for the town saloon and attempts to provoke Loco into drawing. Instead, Loco savagely beats Silence before Silence fights back. Angered, Loco attempts to shoot Silence, but he is stopped by Burnett, who arrests him for attempted murder and prepares to take him to a prison in Tonopah. Before leaving, Burnett requests that the townsfolk provide food for the outlaws. Meanwhile, Pauline becomes romantically and sexually involved with Silence while tending his wounds.
Burnett and Loco stop by a frozen lake to allow Loco to relieve himself, but he springs a trap, shooting the ice surrounding Burnett and leaving him to die in the freezing water. Loco rides to his hideout and convinces the rest of the gang to confront Silence. Determined to take Pauline by force, Pollicut attempts to rape her as his henchman, Martin, tortures Silence by burning his right hand. Silence overpowers Martin and kills Pollicut. Loco and his gang arrive to look for Silence, just as the outlaws appear at the edge of town to collect the provisions, having been previously advised to do so by Burnett. Deciding to use them to draw out Silence, the gang herds the bandits into the saloon and captures Pauline. Loco tells Pauline to have Silence duel with him – if Silence wins, the outlaws will be set free; if he wins, they will be killed.
Despite Pauline's pleas that the duel is a trap, Silence stands outside the saloon. A killer shoots his left hand, greatly impairing his speed and marksmanship. Loco then stands in the doorway, ready to face the weakened Silence. As Silence begins reaching for his Mauser, Loco reaches for his Colt Single Action Army – but as Silence draws, another wounding shot is fired. Loco fires at Silence's head, killing him. Distraught, Pauline attempts to shoot Loco herself but swiftly dies as well. The bounty killers turn their guns on the outlaws, massacring the entire group. As Loco and his men prepare to collect their bounties, he takes Silence's Mauser from Pauline's hands. The killers ride out of Snow Hill into the morning sun.
A title card explains that Loco's actions resulted in widespread public condemnation of bounty killing, and a memorial was erected in Snow Hill to honor those who died by his greed.
Alternate endings Happy ending Due to the bleak nature of the original finale, Corbucci was obliged to shoot an alternate ending to appease his producers, who wanted the film to have a "seasonal" appeal due to its intended Christmas holiday release. Production histories of The Great Silence previously suggested that this "happy" ending was shot specifically for the North African and Asian markets, although there is no evidence to suggest that this ending was seen in either region. Some of the footage shot for this ending did, however, appear in the film's trailers. Because it was believed that no audio elements for this ending had survived, early DVD releases of the film, such as the American release from Fantoma Films, feature it without sound. Later releases, such as the Film Movement Blu-ray, include the ending with synchronized Italian audio.
In this ending, Loco draws his gun without waiting to be prompted by Silence. Suddenly, Burnett, having survived falling into the frozen lake, rides into town on horseback and shoots Loco in the head, allowing Silence to kill the remaining bounty killers. Burnett frees the outlaws as Pauline takes the bandages on Silence's burnt right hand off, revealing a gauntlet that he used for protection, before applying bandages to his wounded left hand. As Burnett takes the thieves to the local jail to await their amnesty, he asks Silence to become his deputy, which he accepts with a smile.
Ambiguous ending Corbucci also delivered another, lesser-known ending to his producers. This version serves as a recut of the intended ending with additional footage not seen in the theatrical version. It was never publicly released until it was included among the special features of Film Movement's Blu-ray.
This ending depicts Silence being shot by Loco's henchman in both of his hands before he can draw his gun; wounded, he collapses to the ground as Pauline watches in shock. Appearing to show a change of heart, Loco gestures to his men to leave the saloon. As a result, the fates of Silence, Pauline and the outlaws are left unknown.
Analysis In reviewing the alternate endings, film critic Simon Abrams believes that the producers' rejection of both of the above endings was justified, describing them as "emotionally dissatisfying conclusions for Corbucci's otherwise harrowing anti-fable". While finding the "ambiguous" ending's failures in its lack of answers for the fates of its characters, he considers the "happy" ending "amusing" due to its attempt to overhaul the film's pre-established tone. He also considers the latter to be of interest to fans of Sergio Leone's films due to Silence's gauntlet serving as a possible reference to Joe's use of a bullet-proof sheet of metal in A Fistful of Dollars.
Cast
Jean-Louis Trintignant as Gordon/"Silence" ("Silenzio" in the Italian version) as young Silence Klaus Kinski as "Loco" ("Tigrero") Vonetta McGee as Pauline Middleton Frank Wolff as Sheriff Gideon Burnett (Corbett) Luigi Pistilli as Henry Pollicut Mario Brega as Martin Carlo D'Angelo as the Governor of Utah Marisa Merlini as Regina, the Saloon Madam (Régine) Raf Baldassarre as Sanchez (Bobo Schultz) Spartaco Conversi as Walter, Outlaw Leader Remo De Angelis as Fake Sheriff in Flashback Jacques Dorfmann as Miguel Bruno Corazzari as Charlie (uncredited)
Sources:Rège, p. 333
Production Development
By 1967, Sergio Corbucci had grown weary of making Westerns that varied widely in quality and commercial viability. Having returned to Rome after completing principal photography on the Eurospy film Death on the Run in Athens, he decided that another Western, set during a blizzard — reportedly an homage to two other "snow Westerns", André de Toth's Day of the Outlaw and John Ford's Cheyenne Autumn — would provide a similar change of pace. He had previously considered snowed-in valleys as the setting of Django, although the prior film took place in muddy conditions due to time and budget constraints.Cox, p. 216-28 According to actor and producer Lars Bloch, this also gave Corbucci an opportunity to visit resorts within the Dolomites, thus allowing him to go on a skiing holiday while making a film. The project was a co-production between the Rome-based production company Adelphia Compagnia Cinematografica and the Paris-based studio Les Films Corona.
Casting English-speaking lead actors in Spaghetti Westerns was a growing practice because it was believed to allow international marketability. Marcello Mastroianni had conceived the idea of a mute gunfighter when he told Corbucci that he had always wanted to appear in a Western, but would have been held back by his inability to speak English.Hughes, p. 215-26 When Corbucci first met Jean-Louis Trintignant, who was hired for the leading role of the film by Les Films Corona after it was turned down by Franco Nero (who had previously played the title character of Django), he learned that Trintignant did not speak English either. To bypass the need for an English-speaking lead, Corbucci decided to turn Trintignant's character into a mute.Giusti, p. 228-9 At the time, Trintignant was known for his role in the critically acclaimed romantic drama A Man and a Woman, and is believed to have accepted the role in support of co-producer Robert Dorfmann, who was a friend of his. Silence was his only role in a Spaghetti Western.
Casting