The Great Silence (1968)

- Il grande silenzio
Perfection, 17 January 2005

I know a lot of people do not agree with me, but other than Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West, this is, in my opinion, the finest Spaghetti Western ever made. I have now seen this movie on three different occasions and each time I am struck by the beauty of the film and the power of the final scene.

The Great Silence is the story of a snowbound Utah town plagued by bounty killers. The phrase "Wanted: Dead or Alive" seems to mean only "Wanted: Dead" as mo one has been brought in alive. One day, a stranger arrives. He has been summoned by one member of the community who seeks revenge for the death of her husband. The bounty killers are now the prey of the mute death machine known as Silence.

Loco (as played by Klaus Kinski) is one of the meanest, most vile characters to ever appear in film. He tells one grieving widow to bury her dead husband in the snow so he can pick him up later. Other scenes that are not easy to forget include Loco pulling dead bodies out of the snow to strap to the roof of the stage coach so they can be carried to town or Loco dragging people through the snow to get information from them only to shoot them when he learns what he wants. I doubt I've ever rooted so strongly against a film character.

The snow itself is really a character in this movie. It's not often that you see a Western set in the snow. And, when you do, it's only for a few moments and the snow is usually only a few inches deep. Here, the snow is non-stop. There is no escape. And, we're not talking about three or four inches. Try 30 to 40 inches. All of this snow must have provided REAL hardships for everyone involved in the making of the movie.

Earlier, I mentioned the ending of The Great Silence. I stated how powerful I find the ending of the movie. I'm not going to state why I feel this way as I don't want to ruin it for anyone wanting to see the movie, but I will say that is as unlikely an ending to a Western as you'll encounter. The first time I saw The Great Silence, the ending stuck with me for days. And to me, that's the sign of a sure winner.

10/10