Overview
In a world of snow and vengeance, a mute gunslinger seeks justice against ruthless bounty hunters.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- bleak
- foreboding
- austere
- classic western night
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly celebrate the film’s bleak beauty, wintry atmosphere, performances, Morricone score, and daringly uncompromising treatment of the spaghetti western.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The action unfolds amid deep snow and hostile winter conditions in the Utah mountains.
Silence has been mute since childhood and communicates through his actions rather than dialogue.
Bounty hunters operate as a law unto themselves while impoverished villagers and outlaws are trapped in a cycle of killing.
Pauline hires Silence to avenge her husband's murder, while the film's bleak atmosphere and ruthless bounty system make the conflict feel doomed.
Films like The Great Silence, and why
Django
bleak spaghetti western atmosphere, stylized gunplay, morally harsh frontier world
The Wild Bunch
revisionist western violence, stark landscapes, ruthless antagonists, tragic fatalism
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
snowbound frontier setting, revenge narrative, austere visual beauty, doomed protagonists
Once Upon a Time in the West
mythic western gunfighter, operatic tension, stylized violence, fatalistic tone
Movie Details
- Director
- Sergio Corbucci
- Release Date
- 1968-11-22
- Runtime
- 107 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (479)
Cast
- Jean-Louis Trintignant
- Klaus Kinski
- Frank Wolff
- Luigi Pistilli
- Mario Brega
- Carlo D'Angelo
- Marisa Merlini
- Maria Mizar
- Marisa Sally
- Raf Baldassarre
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, TCM, Film Movement Plus, Film Movement Plus Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Great Silence about?
- In a frozen Utah frontier ruled by predatory bounty hunters, a mute gunfighter becomes a widow’s instrument of revenge in a stark and uncompromising spaghetti western.
- What is The Great Silence like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Great Silence as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Great Silence violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Great Silence as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Great Silence?
- Critics broadly celebrate the film’s bleak beauty, wintry atmosphere, performances, Morricone score, and daringly uncompromising treatment of the spaghetti western.
- Which films are like The Great Silence?
- Films with a similar feel include Django, The Wild Bunch, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and Once Upon a Time in the West.
- How long is The Great Silence?
- The Great Silence runs 107 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Great Silence?
- In United States, The Great Silence streams on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, TCM, Film Movement Plus, Film Movement Plus Amazon Channel.
