The Great Silence (1968) 2018

In a brutal display of violence, Henry Pollicut (character) and two other bounty killers brutally slaughter Gordon and his wife, leaving their son, now dubbed “Silence”, permanently silenced after his throat is cruelly sliced by the ruthless assassins. As Silence grows older, he develops an unyielding principle of provoking enemies into drawing first, allowing him to take advantage of the situation and eliminate them with his trusty Mauser C96. Fast-forward to 1898, when a devastating blizzard ravages the frontier town of Snow Hill, plunging its inhabitants into desperation and poverty. Amidst this chaos, Pollicut seizes the opportunity to capitalize on the suffering by offering bounties for outlaws, drawing the attention of Loco’s deadly bounty killer gang.

As Silence works alongside the bandits, he finds himself at odds with the ruthless killers, who prey on the desperate outlaws and their allies. Meanwhile, James Middleton, one of the outlaws, takes a fatal risk by leaving his group to reunite with his wife, Pauline, only to be brutally slaughtered by Loco after taking her hostage. Fueled by grief and rage, Pauline pens a heartfelt plea to Silence, imploring him to exact vengeance on Loco.

The newly elected governor, eager to maintain order before granting amnesty to the outlaws, appoints Gideon Burnett as Snow Hill’s sheriff - a well-intentioned but hapless soldier. As Burnett navigates the treacherous landscape, he encounters the outlaws, who steal his horse in desperation, and later meets Silence on a stagecoach journeying to Snow Hill. Upon arrival, Silence reunites with Pauline, who vows to increase her husband’s reward.

Pauline attempts to sell her home to Pollicut, who demands that she reciprocate his advances as the price of protection - her reason for putting a bounty on her deceased husband. Refusing Pollicut’s indecent proposal, Pauline turns her attention to Silence, nurturing their bond by tending to his wounds. Meanwhile, Loco, still seething with anger, attempts to provoke Silence into drawing first, but instead finds himself brutally pummeled before Silence fights back.

Enraged, Loco attempts to shoot Silence, but is thwarted by the timely intervention of Burnett, who arrests him for attempted murder and prepares to transport him to the notorious Tonopah prison. As Burnett departs, he requests that the townspeople provide sustenance for the outlaws, while Pauline deepens her emotional connection with Silence.

As Burnett and Loco pause at the frozen lake, Loco seizes the opportunity to tend to nature’s call. However, his momentary distraction proves catastrophic when he triggers a trap, causing the ice to splinter and shatter beneath Burnett’s feet. The icy waters engulf him, condemning him to a slow and agonizing demise as the temperature drops mercilessly. Meanwhile, back at Loco’s hideout, he convinces his cohorts to launch a preemptive strike against Silence, driven by their relentless desire to claim Pauline as their own. As Pollicut attempts to force himself upon her, Martin subjects Silence to a gruesome and painful ordeal, searing his right hand with flames. Silence, fueled by rage and determination, overpowers Martin and exacts brutal revenge on Pollicut. Just as the gang converges on Snow Hill, seeking to settle scores, the outlaws materialize at the town’s edge, their mission to collect provisions having been explicitly sanctioned by Burnett earlier. With cunning precision, Loco corrals the bandits into the saloon, using them as pawns in his game of cat and mouse against Silence. Pauline, aware of the deadly trap being sprung, implores Silence to resist, but he stands firm, accepting the challenge.

In a cruel twist, an unseen assailant fires upon Silence’s left hand, crippling him and rendering his marksmanship and speed all but useless. Loco emerges from the shadows, his Colt Single Action Army at the ready, as Silence draws his trusty Mauser. A hail of bullets ensues, with Loco firing a fatal shot that claims Silence’s life. Consumed by grief and rage, Pauline attempts to exact revenge upon Loco, but her efforts are ultimately futile, as she succumbs to her own mortality.

The bounty killers, now unfettered by their former prey, unleash a merciless onslaught on the outlaws, leaving none alive. As the dust settles, Loco and his cohorts converge on the carnage, eager to collect their bounties. With Silence’s Mauser still clutched in Pauline’s lifeless hand, Loco adds it to his arsenal, symbolizing his triumph over justice. The bounty killers vanish into the morning sun, their malevolent presence leaving behind a trail of devastation and despair.

In the aftermath, a poignant title card emerges, bearing witness to the catastrophic consequences of Loco’s actions. Public opinion turns decisively against the practice of bounty killing, and in Snow Hill, a somber memorial is erected to honor those whose lives were irreparably scarred by Loco’s unyielding pursuit of profit.

As the production of The Great Silence neared its conclusion, director Corbucci found himself confronted with an unexpected challenge: the bleak original finale had sparked concerns that it would dampen the spirits of audiences around the world. In response, he crafted a revised ending that would satisfy his producers’ desire for a more uplifting conclusion, one that would be in harmony with the film’s intended Christmas release. While some accounts suggested this alternate ending was specifically designed for international markets, there is no concrete evidence to support this claim; however, it did make its way into promotional trailers. Initially, early DVD releases of the film, including the American edition from Fantoma Films, presented this revised finale without sound, a limitation that was later rectified with the release of the Film Movement Blu-ray, which featured synchronized Italian audio.

This alternative ending unfolds as Loco suddenly draws his gun without waiting for Silence’s cue, only to be thwarted by Burnett, who arrives on horseback and delivers a fatal shot to the outlaw. With Loco down, Silence takes advantage of the situation to dispatch the remaining bounty killers. As the dust settles, Burnett tends to Silence’s wounded right hand, revealing a makeshift gauntlet he had fashioned for protection, before turning his attention to Silence’s left hand. In a surprising turn of events, Burnett offers Silence a role as his deputy, which the taciturn outlaw accepts with a hint of a smile.

Corbucci also delivered an additional, lesser-known ending that served as a reworked version of the original finale, incorporating unseen footage not included in the theatrical release. This version remained under wraps until it was included among the special features on Film Movement’s Blu-ray.

In this alternate conclusion, Silence meets his demise at the hands of Loco’s henchman, who strikes him down before he can draw his gun. As a result, the wounded outlaw collapses to the ground, with Pauline watching in stunned silence. A sudden change of heart seems to take hold of Loco, as he gestures to his men to depart the saloon, leaving the fates of Silence, Pauline, and the outlaws shrouded in uncertainty.

Renowned film critic Simon Abrams has thoroughly scrutinized the abandoned alternate endings for this gritty anti-fable, and his verdict is that the producers’ decision to reject both conclusions was a wise one. According to Abrams, these endings fell short of delivering emotionally resonant closures for the harrowing narrative. Specifically, he found fault with the ambiguous finale, lamenting its failure to provide satisfactory answers regarding the fates of the characters. While not entirely dismissive of this conclusion, Abrams does acknowledge that it may have been intended to leave viewers questioning the protagonists’ ultimate destinies.

In contrast, the “happy” ending drew a more mixed reaction from Abrams. Although he deemed this conclusion amusing in its attempt to dramatically shift the film’s tone, he also notes that it would be of particular interest to fans of Sergio Leone’s iconic Westerns. This is due to a striking parallel between the Silence’s innovative use of a metal sheet as a shield and Joe’s resourceful deployment of a similar device in A Fistful of Dollars.