The Great Silence Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

The Great Silence Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 23, 2021

Sergio Corbucci's "The Great Silence" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include audio commentary by fillmmaker Mike Siegel; restored alternate endings; Patrick Morin's vintage documentary "Western, Italian Style"; various programs with vintage promotional materials; and more. In English or Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The mute

Sergio Corbucci’s The Great Silence is the reason why descriptions such as “western noir” exist. It oozes the same atmosphere that the classic American film noirs promoted, but trades the cool gangsters and desolated dark alleys for exotic cowboys and picturesque mountain locations.

The film is set in the Utah Territory and all of the action takes place during a brutally cold winter. A vicious bounty hunter named Loco (Klaus Kinski) and his partner have gone after a group of Mormon settlers who have been branded ‘outlaws’ for clashing with the corrupt banker Pollicut (Luigi Pistilli) from the town of Snow Hill. After the settlers are ambushed and executed, Loco transports their bodies to Sheriff Gideon Burnett (Frank Wolff) and demands that he is paid the $1,000 per head prize that the banker has arranged with him.

Around the same time a notorious mute gunslinger named Silence (Jean-Louis Trintignant) also arrives in town and is immediately approached by the beautiful Negro Pauline (Vonetta McGee), whose husband has also been recently murdered by Loco and his partner. The widow tells Silence that even though she does not have the money to pay him right away, she is ready to hire him to avenge the death of her husband. Soon after, Silence forces Loco’s partner to draw on him and puts a bullet in his forehead. When Loco vows to do the same, all hell breaks loose.

In conventional American and European westerns from the 1960s and 1970s the action is typically the main attraction -- the more elaborate or flashier it is, the more convincing the film’s identity becomes. In Corbucci’s western the concept is basically flipped upside down and the film is defined by its heavy atmosphere.

It is important to underscore, however, that the careful stylization does not erode the film’s authenticity. In fact, the shootouts and executions are so uncharacteristically graphic that some of the visuals actually have a bit of a documentary edge. Also, this is one of a very few European westerns from the era where the line that usually separates the good and the bad is very rarely, if at all, easy to spot. The film simply remains reluctant to produce a morally superior winner and then let him ride into the sunset as a hero, so when it is all said and done this too has a major effect on its authenticity.

The quality of Trintignant’s work is on par with that in The Conformist, though in this case Kinski deserves just as much praise for being the catalyst behind it. (Apparently, there was no love lost between them and each tried to outdo the other).

Corbucci was able to secure the services of cinematographer Silvano Ippoliti, who later on lensed Tinto Brass’ two most outrageous films, Caligula and Salon Kitty. The hugely atmospheric soundtrack was composed by the legendary maestro Ennio Morricone.

The Great Silence Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Sergio Corbucci's The Great Silence arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

I found the technical presentation very frustrating. In 2018, in the United States this excellent film was released on Blu-ray by local label Film Movement, and while the technical presentation was rather nice, it was pretty obvious that certain areas of it could have been handled better. (You can see our listing and review of this release here). For example, I speculated that the gamma levels were off and as a result the dynamic range of the visuals wasn't proper. This is an issue that a lot of players can address on the fly, but the solution isn't ideal. Also, when such gamma fluctuations are introduced color balance and contrast shift in various ways as well. (This is one of the major issues that emerges in new restorations of older films that are poorly graded in European labs). Again, you can do minor adjustments on your system, but the end result is very rarely as convincing as it needs to be. On this release, the gamma levels are set properly and the difference is immediately noticeable. Predictably, the primaries and supporting nuances reveal different saturation levels as well. However -- and this is the main reason why I found the presentation so frustrating -- for some reason select darker ares are compromised by unusually heavy posterization that wipes out native detail and often completely collapses the visuals. Now, if the anomaly is small this is an issue that your system can hide quite well or even completely eliminate, but here the posterization blooms quickly and spreads out all over the screen in the areas I mentioned above. You can see very obvious examples in screencaptures #16, 17, 18, and 19. The posterization is noticeable during daylight footage as well, but only in darker areas becomes distracting. The rest of the presentation I like. There are no traces of problematic digital work and grain exposure looks good. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks healthy as well. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Great Silence Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0 and Italian LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

On the North American release of The Great Silence, the Italian track was set as the default option. However, this film should be viewed in English as virtually all of the important characters utter their lines in English. Obviously, the English track features overdubbing, but in my opinion it is clearly the better option. On the North American release the English track was only lossy while here it is lossless, though the difference between isn't dramatic. In fact, their basic characteristics are very similar. There are no technical anomalies to report in our review.

The Great Silence Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Alternate Endings -
  
  1. Alternate Ending One - this "happy ending" was shot as an insurance in case producers rejected Sergio Corbucci's original ending. It can be viewed with an optional commentary by Alex Cox. Restored in 2K. In Italian, with English subtitles. (2 min).
  
  2. Alternate Ending Two - presented here is the alternate "ambiguous ending". Restored in 2K. In Italian, with English subtitles. (5 min).

• Cox on Corbucci - in this video piece, director and author Alex Cox (Repo Man) discusses The Great Silence and offers some comments about Sergio Corbucci's career. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Western, Italian Style (1968) - this wonderful documentary examines the genesis of the Italian westerns and the unique qualities that defined them and made them successful at home and abroad. Included in its are interviews with director Enzo G. Castellari (Keoma), Sergio Corbucci (while shooting The Great Silence), and Jean-Louis Trintignant, amongst others. The documentary was conceived and directed by Patrick Morin, and features commentary by actor Frank Wolff. In English, not subtitled. (38 min).

• Austin Fisher on The Great Silence - in this new video piece, critic Austin Fisher discusses the production and style of The Great Silence. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Filming Silenzio - this new program features on-location footage from the shooting of The Great Silence. Also included is an interview with director Sergio Corbucci in which he discusses the success of the "Italian western" as well as his upcoming film, The Great Silence. The program was produced by El Dorado Productions. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Promoting Silenzio - this new program introduces various promotional materials for The Great Silence from around the world. The program was produced by El Dorado Productions. With music. (10 min).

• Silenzio in Pictures - this new program introduces various behind the scenes and production stills from the shooting of The Great Silence, including a set of 70 rare Italian black-and-white photos courtesy of Mike Siegel Archive. With music. (7 min).

• Trailers -
  
  1. Italian Trailer - original theatrical trailer for The Great Silence. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (4 min).
  2. English Language Trailer - vintage English language trailer for The Great Silence. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Audio Commentaries -
  
  1. Commentary One - in this audio commentary, filmmaker Mike Siegel shares plenty of his findings about the production of The Great Silence (including some quite interesting comments about the 'checkers effect' from the prologue), its funding, Sergio Corbucci's working methods and select stylistic preferences, the evolution of the European Western, etc.
  
  2. Commentary Two - in this audio commentary, author Howard Hughes and filmmarker Richard Knew discuss the stylistic identity of The Silence and particularly various lensing and camera movement choices, some particular ways in which the film differs from other westerns that emerged during the same period, Klaus Kinski appearance and some interesting details about it, Sergio Corbucci's style, etc.
  
  3. Commentary Three - Alex Cox recorded this commentary live at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon, in 2021.

• Cover - Reversible Poster featuring the film's original artwork

• Collectible Cards - a set of four facsimile lobby cards.

• Booklet - a collector's booklet featuring new writing by western expert Howard Hughes as well as technical credits.

The Great Silence Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sergio Corbucci's The Great Silence is rightfully considered one of the greatest European westerns ever made, but in my opinion it has a lot more in common with the classic American film noirs. If western noir was a legit genre, it would have been one of its undisputed masterpieces. This upcoming Blu-ray release could have been its definitive home video release, but I found the technical presentation of the film quite frustrating. On the other hand, Mike Siegel's audio commentary and the three programs from El Dorado Productions are really good. So, my suggestion is to find a way to rent the release and see whether the issue that is discussed in our review bothers you, and then make a decision whether to pick up a copy for your collection.