A strange western that has little heroic about it,
none of it's heroes being terribly nice. Il Grande Silenzio is more of a gritty
drama about the imperfections of man-made law then a traditional heroic tale.
Trintigniant as Silenzio manages to look both rugged
and refined, burnt-out and sensitive at the same time. He hasn’t got a a lot of scenes, considering he’s the main character, but all of them are memorable.
Kinski is excellent as the cold and calculating killer
Loco. Luckily he’s got quite a substantial role this time. Luigi Pistilli
creates a truly hateful character as Pollicut. Genre stalwart Mario Brega plays
Loco’s retarded henchman.
Director Corbucci’s stylistic choices are very
interesting and unusual for the time. Tense, dramatic soundtrack is another
Morricone classic.
Il Grande Silenzio is one of the cruelest and most sombre films I’ve ever seen,
with a violent, downbeat climax. A very unusual spaghetti western that warrants
repeat viewings and lives up to the hype of being among the best in the genre.
