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DeadChannel · 01-01-2015, 06:42 PM

I'm starting off with something that won't help my new years resolution, because I've seen it many times before. In fact, it holds the dubious honour of being by favourite spaghetti western (which makes it my favourite western as well)

The Great Silence is a 1968 spaghetti western directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Klaus Kinski. Jean-Louis Trintignant plays a mute gunslinger and Klaus Kinski plays a psychopathic bounty hunter.

The movie takes place entirely in the snow. This gives it a creepy, almost claustrophobic atmosphere that contrasts with almost every other western ever made.

The whole thing is typical Corbucci. Peoples thumbs get shot off, they stab each other in the back, they kill for the sake of money. Corbucci's films portray the west (or, in this case, the north) as being full of psychopaths and killers and bounty hunters in a way that he (and to some extent, the spaghetti western) only could. The entire aesthetic of the movie is blood contrasted against snow (also see: Fargo). As is often the case with Corbucci films, it has an aspect of social awareness to it as well, which I'm not going to spoil for you.

Visually, the piece is pretty good. I wish it had maybe a bit more contrast, but we have to remember that it was shot on a shoestring budget. Don't expect the wide angle cinematography of something like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, though.

The sound is typical spaghetti western cheese. As is to be expected, the entire thing is done in ADR. The foley work is fine, but it's also what you'd expect from the genre. This is part of what makes so many people love these movies, though.

I'm a usually a big fan of Ennio Morricone's scores, but this one left me wanting. I'm glad he didn't go the rattlesnake in a drumkit route of the dollars films -- this simply wouldn't have worked with the snow. However, I would've liked something a bit more memorable, ala Fargo.

As a whole, the actors do a good job. Jean-Louis Trintignant's character doesn't talk, but he gets emotions across very well with his expressions and body language. Also, in my opinion, this is Klaus Kinski's best performance in a genre film. Not his best overall, mind you.

Despite obvious flaws, the great silence is a classic western. It's excellent at avoiding the cliches of the genre. You should watch it!

8/10

01-01-2015, 06:42 PM	#3 (permalink)
DeadChannel Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Canada Posts: 1,259	The Great Silence I'm starting off with something that won't help my new years resolution, because I've seen it many times before. In fact, it holds the dubious honour of being by favourite spaghetti western (which makes it my favourite western as well) The Great Silence is a 1968 spaghetti western directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Klaus Kinski. Jean-Louis Trintignant plays a mute gunslinger and Klaus Kinski plays a psychopathic bounty hunter. The movie takes place entirely in the snow. This gives it a creepy, almost claustrophobic atmosphere that contrasts with almost every other western ever made. The whole thing is typical Corbucci. Peoples thumbs get shot off, they stab each other in the back, they kill for the sake of money. Corbucci's films portray the west (or, in this case, the north) as being full of psychopaths and killers and bounty hunters in a way that he (and to some extent, the spaghetti western) only could. The entire aesthetic of the movie is blood contrasted against snow (also see: Fargo). As is often the case with Corbucci films, it has an aspect of social awareness to it as well, which I'm not going to spoil for you. Visually, the piece is pretty good. I wish it had maybe a bit more contrast, but we have to remember that it was shot on a shoestring budget. Don't expect the wide angle cinematography of something like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, though. The sound is typical spaghetti western cheese. As is to be expected, the entire thing is done in ADR. The foley work is fine, but it's also what you'd expect from the genre. This is part of what makes so many people love these movies, though. I'm a usually a big fan of Ennio Morricone's scores, but this one left me wanting. I'm glad he didn't go the rattlesnake in a drumkit route of the dollars films -- this simply wouldn't have worked with the snow. However, I would've liked something a bit more memorable, ala Fargo. As a whole, the actors do a good job. Jean-Louis Trintignant's character doesn't talk, but he gets emotions across very well with his expressions and body language. Also, in my opinion, this is Klaus Kinski's best performance in a genre film. Not his best overall, mind you. Despite obvious flaws, the great silence is a classic western. It's excellent at avoiding the cliches of the genre. You should watch it! 8/10 Last edited by DeadChannel; 01-01-2015 at 07:08 PM.