Complete credited cast: | |||
Jean-Louis Trintignant | ... | Gordon / Silence (as Jean Louis Trintignant) | |
Klaus Kinski | ... | Tigrero / Loco | |
Frank Wolff | ... | Sheriff Gideon Burnett | |
Luigi Pistilli | ... | Henry Pollicut | |
Mario Brega | ... | Martin | |
Carlo D'Angelo | ... | Governor of Utah (as Carlo D' Angelo) | |
Marisa Merlini | ... | Regina | |
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Maria Mizar | ... | Blonde Saloon Girl |
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Marisa Sally | ... | Black-Haired Saloon Girl |
Raf Baldassarre | ... | Sanchez | |
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Spartaco Conversi | ... | Walter |
Remo De Angelis | ... | Fake Sheriff in Flashback | |
Mirella Pamphili | ... | Red-Haired Saloon Girl in Flashback | |
Vonetta McGee | ... | Pauline Middleton (as Vonetta Mc Gee) |
Bounty killers led by Loco prey on outlaws hiding out in the snowbound Utahn mountains. After Pauline's husband becomes Loco's latest victim, she hires a gunman for revenge; Silence, mute since his throat was cut when he was a boy. Written by Tom Seldon <elpuro@msn.com>
This French- Italian co-production is a Spaghetti Western masterpiece by Sergio Corbucci , being highly rated by the critics and is one of his best movies, along with ¨the Compañeros¨ and ¨Djanjo¨. It takes place in the snow-filled outdoors of Utah and based on real events during the great Blizzard of 1885 and shot in Cortina D'Ampezzo in the Dolomitas mountains located in the Alps . The film is plenty of dark fatalism and features to Silence (Jean Louis Trintignant in his first and unique Western , he had agreed to do the film in order to help out the producer, who was a friend of his), a mute gunslinger with a 7,63 mm Mauser Broomhandle gun , helping a group of desperado outlaws and an African- American woman named Pauline (Voneta McGee) attempting to revenge death her husband against the bounty hunters led by the ruthless Loco (Klaus Kinski) and payed by Pollicut (Luigi Pistilli) . Furthermore, an upright sheriff (Frank Wolff) appears trying peace and order.
This widely deemed picture , unlike most conventional Spaghetti Western , contains exceptional setting , colorful images with a sensational cinematography by Silvano Ippoliti and features a sensitive musical score by the classic Ennio Morricone . This splendid Western results to be a remake to Japanese Samurai TV series starring Shintarô Katsu (1973) . Jean-Louis Trintignant agreed to play in a spaghetti western under the condition that he did not have to learn any lines for the role , that's why the main character conveniently became a mute in the story. Nice production design and the snow in the town of Snow Hill was created by gallons of shaving cream . The movie was widely inspired by ¨Day of outlaw¨ (Andre de Toth with Robert Ryan , 1959) and set in 1898 in a small town called Snow Hill where is developed a massacre . The motion picture was originally directed by Corbucci and displays a twisted finale with dark surprise included . As trivia, explaining that Trintignant didn't know English , language used during filming , and Marcello Mastroiani, Sergio Corbucci's friend , suggested him playing a mute gunfighter named Silence , resulting to be the film title . Rating : Better than average . Indispensable and essential seeing for SW lovers.