The Influences - The Great Silence

The Great Silence is a 1968 spaghetti Western directed by Sergio Corbucci. Considered to be Corbucci's finest work, the movie appears to have influenced Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, along with Django Unchained.

The goal of these "Influences" reviews is to enter the movie blind. I only knew of The Great Silence based on Google searches, although I recognized Sergio Corbucci's name - probably from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. None of the actors were familiar, nor was the story.

The first influence I noted was easy - a Western in a snowstorm, which is the background for The Hateful Eight. The music should sound familiar too - as Ennio Morricone is responsible for the score.

The opening of the movie feels campy - bordering on silly. A newly hired sheriff encounters a group of hungry bandits that have been pushed into the wilderness. The sheriff appears hopeless from the start - first in an odd one-off scene with the Governor of Utah and then as the bandit crew spares the sheriff's life in exchange for his horse - which they solely want to eat. The bumbling, freezing sheriff is then picked up by a carriage, which carries the movie's protagonists in Silence and Loco.

The plot's origins are a bit convoluted as Loco and the town's Justice of the Peace are engaged in a shady murder for bounty scheme. Silence arrives in town due to a letter sent to him by a young widow who wants to exact vengeance for her husband's death at the hands of Loco. It's a bit comical to see the protagonists in such close proximity and makes the movie's first 30 minutes far-fetched. However, we're talking about a Western and the payoff is in the final showdown - which is what the movie now moves towards.

The Great Silence is defined by its genre. It's a spaghetti Western, so you have to suspend belief when the characters' words don't match their mouths. There are also some jerky camera angles, weird lighting at different points and the gunshots don't match with the actors' responses. But that's kind of the point - you know what you're getting.

Beyond those characteristics, The Great Silence boasts two interesting lead characters. Silence and Loco are fun opposites. Silence is just that - he doesn't talk. Corbucci is clearly borrowing the popular and successful formula of Clint Eastwood's "The Man with No Name" by taking away the name and voice. Silence is silent due to getting his throat slit as a child - as insurance that he wouldn't talk about his parents' murder at the hands of bounty hunters. He emerges as an adult whose life's work is avenging his parents' death by tracking and killing bounty hunters. Naturally, Loco is a bounty hunter - one that is driven by greed. However, he clearly has no regard for human life and has become the coldest of for-profit killing.

Jean-Louis Trintignant plays Silence in an oddly expressive way. Despite having no dialogue, he carries a good portion of the story with a unique blend of stoicism, sadness and vulnerability. The character's arc is broken into halves: the first sees Silence as a destructive force for justice - a gunman with no equal destined to gain a figurative revenge on a bounty hunter. However, after Silence is wounded and then spends a night with the young widow, the character emerges weakened, lumbering to the story's finish.

Klaus Kinski's Loco makes the movie. Kinski's eyes and face are menacing throughout the story, yet there's always a tinge of comedic lunacy in Loco's scenes. It's hard to determine if Kinski is trying to lampoon the role of a Western bad guy or if there is a genuine process occurring. It's possible that the jumble of languages involved helped to create a disjointed performance. In various scenes, Kinski's Loco is anything from coldly ruthless to maniacal to restrained and almost forlorn in the movie's climax. Either way, Kinski is a fun choice for an atypical bad guy.

BEST - How Delightfully Evil is Old Boy Here?

We don't really get a good story on our scarred friend here. Henry Pollicut essentially runs the town that Loco is trying to loot in regards to bounties. He's manipulative and definitely has a thing for the young widow - which we unfortunately realize later on. The scars themselves are a mystery - one that would make for another interesting chapter.

BEST EVER - Who saw that Ending Coming?

Jesus, that was intense. Tarantino - among others - say that Westerns simply reflect the society and mood of the time period they were made in. If that's the case, people were pretty bummed out in the late 60's.

WORST - The Dopey Sheriff Meets the Governor

Talk about a completely worthless scene. The Governor doesn't appear during the rest of the movie and his actions don't contribute much to the overall story. The sheriff is sweaty, nervous and nearly crying but later on becomes a soothing voice of reason, while occasionally carrying a John Wayne swagger.

WORST EVER - The Hungry Woods People

They are strangely united for a group of exiled bandits living on the fringe of society.

THE FOX FORCE FIVE RATING - 3/5

If you can make it past the typical Spaghetti Western goofiness, you're in for a good story that features strong acting, a dynamic performance from Klaus Kinski, a couple surprisingly tender moments, some fun scenery and a badass ending that hits you in the face.

PREQUELS and SEQUELS

1. Loco Becomes Loco. I would love to see Loco first thrown into the world of bounty hunting. His transition from technically skilled sharp shooter to merciless killer would be fascinating. Who taught Loco?

2. The Governor of Utah Goes to Washington. What's better than a tale of a cynical 1860's Governor chewing through his opponents until he assumes the highest station in the land?

3. Silence Speaks. It was all just an act. Silence figured out a long time ago that life is better with a little less noise.