The Great Silence

I'm not big on westerns (neither the traditional kind, nor the spaghetti westerns), so my expectations were quite low for this film. And in many ways this is a pretty typical spaghetti western, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that The Great Silence didn't do that much for me. The few things that set it apart from its peers did leave a positive impression though.

The story is pretty bland. A group of bounty hunters is chasing a gang of outlaws, but when the leader of the bounty hunters kills Pauline's husband she vows to take revenge. She hires a mute gunslinger, who in his turn starts chasing the group of bounty hunters. It doesn't take long before guns start firing away.

Kinski's presence is a plus and Morricone's score is surprisingly decent, but it's the snowy landscapes and the mountains that make the biggest difference here. A very nice change of scenery for a western and one that gives this film a lot more atmosphere. It's a shame I couldn't care for the rest. The cinematography is horrible and the seriousness misplaced.