Which 1968 Spaghetti Western stars Jean-Louis Trintignant as a mute gunslinger named Silence?

The 1968 Spaghetti Western starring Jean-Louis Trintignant as the mute gunslinger Silence is The Great Silence.

Directed and co-written by Sergio Corbucci, the film is set in Utah during a harsh winter before the Great Blizzard of 1899. Trintignant plays Gordon, known as Silence, a gunfighter who cannot speak after a childhood attack. He provokes opponents into drawing first, then shoots them in self-defense with a Mauser C96 pistol.

The film pits Silence and a group of outlaws against bounty killers led by Klaus Kinski’s ruthless character, Loco. Its bleak story, snowy setting, political themes, and unusually pessimistic ending distinguish it from many more conventional Italian Westerns. It was primarily filmed in the Italian Dolomites rather than Spain’s Almería region.

A common mix-up is Sergio Corbucci’s earlier Django, which also influenced later Westerns and shares the same director. The Great Silence is also known by its Italian title, Il grande silenzio, and its production involved Italian and French companies.