The Great Silence

The Great Silence is a western set in Utah in 1898, where a harsh winter drives starving outlaws, loggers and farmers down from the hills to raid the settlements below. Ruthless bounty hunters take advantage of the situation, and the cruellest among them is Tigrero. A mute gunslinger known as Silence is drawn into opposing him, and the local sheriff is caught between the two. Silence also takes up the cause of a young widow seeking revenge for her husband's death, coming to the aid of the outcasts the hunters pursue.

Sergio Corbucci directed and co-wrote the film with Mario Amendola and Bruno Corbucci. It was released in 1968, the sixth of the fourteen films he directed in chronological order, following The Hellbenders and preceding The Mercenary. Jean-Louis Trintignant plays the silent gunman, with Klaus Kinski as Tigrero, Frank Wolff as Sheriff Gideon Corbett, Luigi Pistilli as Henry Pollicut, Mario Brega as Martin and Carlo D'Angelo as the Utah Governor. Around forty-nine cast and crew members are credited.

The film was produced in Italy and France by Les Films Corona and Adelphia Compagnia Cinematografica, and runs 107 minutes. Its reputation has held up over the decades: on IMDb it holds a 7.7 rating from roughly 20,000 votes, and on TMDB a 7.5 from around 472 votes. A critics' rating of 8.4 from thirteen reviews places it slightly above the audience scores on both sites.