The greatest Italian western I've ever seen....but then what do I know ? ... And another thought - what if English is really just Norwegian spoken with a funny accent?
Nah, that's only the dialect spoken in NE England ...
As for the score ... I played this again this morning (second play this year which is very rare given the number of albums in my collection awaiting a first play ...) but this thread urged me to remind myself of the Maestro's score. I can't say I rate it in my top thirty EM scores ... and perhaps somewhat lower ... but it certainly has enough material to keep the interest and, with its economical <35' playing time, it never overstays its welcome.
But ... and there is one for me ... apart from the main theme (Restless) and the almost inevitable saloon bar piano track (Nel vecchio saloon (Silent Love)) ... it doesn't come over as a score to a western. Okay, the film takes a different approach to the idea of the western and perhaps the score aids that (I haven't seen the film for many years) but I find the underscore to be in the vein of 20th Century dramas / thrillers - it's clearly a fore-runner of his scores to Un Bellissimo Novembre, Senza sapere niente di lei and La Tenda Rossa (all 1969) whilst the track Immobile sounds as if it could have come from the potpourri score to Escalation (1968).
Of course, all composers carry themes and orchestration from one score/composition to another and I'm not seeking to be critical, just suggesting why I struggle to rank this work as highly as others. Admittedly, I like my western scores to be more traditional, but I imagine few can suggest this score to Il grande silenzio is anything like the Maestro's scores of that era, to E per tetto un cielo di stelle, Il mercenario or C'era una volta il West (all 1968).
In summary: I enjoy the score - a lot - but I don't have to think of it as a score to a western for this ... and, maybe, ignoring its source aids my enjoyment.
Wait, its an italian western isnt it? Ah ha!! i thought we were told - by a self-proclaimed authority in the field - they werent proper westerns and dont count ??
Wait, its an italian western isnt it? Ah ha!! i thought we were told - by a self-proclaimed authority in the field - they werent proper westerns and dont count ??
Hah. The Great Silence is a great freakin' western. On my top ten spaghetti western list.
I refer to this film as the "Anti-Shane" western. (and don't get me wrong, I love Shane.)
Thanks for posting this. I've never heard of this western, and I really liked the score sample you posted. Wish the western channel would show this movie sometime.
Joan: Sergios Corbucci's The Great Silence is on my top ten list of greatest spaghetti westerns. Morricone's score is beautiful. Both score and film are highly recommended. Sadly, the movie is only available as a non-anamorphic DVD from Fantoma, which I don't recommend. I'm holding out for an anamorphic blu-ray, hopefully someday.
While I didn't recommend the DVD at the time, I still ended up getting the Fantomas and the Eureka Video import DVDs. Both were non-anamorphic 1.66:1 OAR, so I'm glad to see the new blu-ray will finally have an anamorphic presentation. I have to say, I hope the price comes down. it's a pricey disc.
Thanks for posting this. I've never heard of this western, and I really liked the score sample you posted. Wish the western channel would show this movie sometime.
Joan: Sergios Corbucci's The Great Silence is on my top ten list of greatest spaghetti westerns. Morricone's score is beautiful. Both score and film are highly recommended. Sadly, the movie is only available as a non-anamorphic DVD from Fantoma, which I don't recommend. I'm holding out for an anamorphic blu-ray, hopefully someday.
While I didn't recommend the DVD at the time, I still ended up getting the Fantomas and the Eureka Video import DVDs. Both were non-anamorphic 1.66:1 OAR, so I'm glad to see the new blu-ray will finally have an anamorphic presentation. I have to say, I hope the price comes down. it's a pricey disc.
Greg Espinoza
Greg, I have the 'Digital Classics' (blue cover) DVD and it states 1.66.1 anamorphic....it maybe a misprint, I don't know ? But I can't wait for the blu-ray ....and Klaus Kinski is the ultimate 'badass' !
The Great Silence is getting some screenings in advance of the forthcoming blu-ray The film will be screening in San Francisco in May at the Roxie Theater. I'm sure it will be playing somewhere in L.A.
Even if Oslo is enjoying semi-summer weather today (I don't think I've ever seen so many people out and about in the 20 years I've lived here), there were some 30-40 people in attendance to enjoy some 'icy' chilling. Including an old professor colleague of mine. The Cinemateque had acquired a new, restored version of the film print -- unfortunately, I was not able to attend myself.
In any case, while I don't pretend to be on the expert level of some of you Morricone fans here, I could share some of the remarks I made in my introduction/lecture (once time allows; I'm running out to a birthday party now).
In any case, while I don't pretend to be on the expert level of some of you Morricone fans here, I could share some of the remarks I made in my introduction/lecture (once time allows; I'm running out to a birthday party now).
So I watched this for the first time two days ago having had the Blu ray since middle of lockdown. I also have a confession to make. I see by Wikipedia's write up of the film that it's first release in the UK was in 1990 on BBC 2's Moviedrome season introduced by Alex Cox. I videoed it and never got around to watching it before my last vhs recorder died and was replaced by dvd!
Anyway, I have to say I enjoyed it very much and of course it's score by Ennio. But two things occurred when looking at reviews of both the film and it's score.
First off don't find it THAT much of a surprise as a western score. For one thing to me it does have similarities to other Morricone works. One is a rhythm (on the piano I think) that appears during the scene where Loco is holding the hostages in the saloon. It bears a resemblance to both the trumpet solo for the gunfight at the end of The Big Gundown, where Cuchillo faces the real bad guy, and a piece played during The Genius, A Chicken and A Dupe. And the early stages of the love theme actually reminds me of the love theme from Guns For San Sebastian, that great non-western..
Finally, the ending. Or should I say endings, as there are also two alternates on the Blu ray. Now, because I'm a nice guy (I'll say it if no one else does) I don't mind the happy version, and my angelic side likes a happy ending. If anything I'd prefer that there weren't more endings so we wouldn't have a choice. The bleak one would have been unique at the time and it should have been left that way. In the end (no pun intended) it didn't help the film get released any better. The less said about the ambiguous ending the better.
But that ending being such a big deal... I also watched my Tepepa Blu ray which I've had since Christmas and I find THAT ending more of a surprise. Again, we have a sort of two fold ending and I find both more surprising than The Great Silence's.
Still,l two hugely enjoyable spaghettis in one week, and both with stunning Ennio scores.
I bought this DVD last year from Amazon. It only had one ending, the "bleak" one. I was stunned by the ending and had no idea there were alternate endings. I did like the score and the movie.
