Il grande silenzio (1968)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Sergio Corbucci

Writers:

Mario Amendola (screenplay)
Bruno Corbucci (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 November 1968 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Plot:

A mute gunslinger faces off against a gang of bounty hunters in the great blizzard of 1899, and a grim, tense struggle unfolds.

Plot Keywords:

Mute | Mountain | Revenge | Outlaw | Bounty Hunter

Cast

Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Silence
Klaus Kinski	...	Tigrero / Loco
Frank Wolff	...	Sheriff Burnett
Luigi Pistilli	...	Pollicut
Vonetta McGee	...	Pauline
Mario Brega	...	Martin, Pollicut's Assistant
Carlo D'Angelo	...	Governor
Marisa Merlini	...	Regina
Maria Mizar
Marisa Sally
Raf Baldassarre	...	One-Eyed Bounty Hunter
Spartaco Conversi	...	Walter, Leader of the Outlaws
Remo De Angelis
Mirella Pamphili	...	Saloon Girl

Also Known As:

The Great Silence (USA)
Le grand silence (France)
The Big Silence

Runtime:

105 min | Brazil:101 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Sound System)

Certification:

Norway:(Banned) (1969) | West Germany:18 (f) | Finland:(Banned) (1969, original rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1969, re-rating) | Finland:K-18 (1989,Video rating, cut) | France:-12 | Italy:VM18 | Australia:M | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (2004)

Filming Locations:

Cortina d'Ampezzo, Belluno, Veneto, Italy

Company:

Adelphia Compagnia Cinematografica

Trivia:

Jean-Louis Trintignant agreed to play in a spaghetti western under the condition that he did not have to learn any lines for the role. That's why the main character conveniently became a mute in the story.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Various spelling mistakes in the title cards.

Quotes:

Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco: Hey, Pull up here!
Stage driver: Whoa. What's the matter?
Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco: I've got another piece of freight to collect.
[Trudges through snow to collect another bounty killing.]
Tigrero, a.k.a. Loco: Give me a hand and I'll buy you another drink.
Sheriff Burnett: [Whispers to Silence] How many has he got?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Oorlogswinter (2008)

Sergio Corbucci's spaghetti western masterpiece

Like Corbucci's mudbound gem "Django", the snowbound "The Great Silence" is an imaginative spaghetti western *not* set in a dusty desert. The film's greatest asset is its gorgeous scenery and cinematography, which are so outstanding as to make it hard to go back to watching run-of-the-mill Eurowesterns. Jean-Louis Trintignant is brilliant as the virtuous title character, a mute gunfighter who only shoots in self-defense (but who is not above provoking an enemy to draw first). Klaus Kinski, in a co-starring role for once (unlike the dozens of spaghettis where he mailed in a five-minute cameo), is very good as the antagonist. The implied political message may or not be to everyone's taste, but it is at least thought-provoking. I would rank this above "Django" and "Navajo Joe" as Corbucci's most fully realized western, and among the five best spaghetti westerns ever.