Conceived by Corbucci as a politically-charged allegory inspired by the deaths of Che Guevara and Malcolm X, the film's plot takes place in Utah prior to the Great Blizzard of 1899.

Having received several theatrical re-releases, most notably in 2012 and 2017, The Great Silence is now widely regarded by fans and authorities on Spaghetti Westerns as one of the greatest films of the genre, and is acknowledged as Corbucci's masterpiece.

Retrospective critics and scholars of Corbucci's Westerns have also deemed The Great Silence to be the second film in the director's "Mud and Blood" trilogy, which also includes Django (1966) and The Specialists (1969).

Pollicut, seeking to make a profit by attaining their property after they are killed, places prices on the thieves' heads, attracting the attention of a bounty killer gang, which also lists "Loco."

Meanwhile, the newly elected governor, hoping to have order maintained before declaring an amnesty regarding the outlaws, appoints the righteous but bumbling soldier Gideon Burnett as the sheriff of Snow Hill.

A title card explains that Loco's actions resulted in widespread public condemnation of bounty killing, and a memorial was erected in Snow Hill to honor those who died by his greed.

Suddenly, Burnett, having survived falling into the frozen lake, rides into town on horseback and shoots Loco in the head, allowing Silence to kill the remaining bounty killers.

He also considers the latter to be of interest to fans of Sergio Leone's films due to Silence's gauntlet serving as a possible reference to Joe's use of a bullet-proof sheet of metal in A Fistful of Dollars.

Marcello Mastroianni had conceived the idea of a mute gunfighter when he told Corbucci that he had always wanted to appear in a Western, but would have been held back by his inability to speak English.

[11] Vonetta McGee, a then-unknown pre-law San Francisco State College dropout and amateur actress who had moved to Rome to find work at Cinecittà, was cast as Pauline in her first film role.

After appearing in Corbucci's film and Luigi Magni's Faustina, McGee was invited to return to America by Sidney Poitier, where she became a major actress in the blaxploitation genre.

The bleakness of the winter landscape complements the dark and pessimistic tone of the film, while providing motivation for the characters, as the living conditions and chances of survival are made more dire.

[15][25] In his analysis of the film, Donato Totaro compares Silence to other Spaghetti Western protagonists, and analyses him in Freudian terms – he is dressed in black (like Corbucci's previous creation, Django), is extremely fast and accurate with his gun, and is anti-heroic, sharing some of his characteristics with Loco (both will kill other people on the grounds that they will receive payment).

However, unlike other "strong and silent" Spaghetti Western characters, such as Django or Joe from A Fistful of Dollars, Silence is completely mute, giving him a sense of vulnerability and sensitivity.

In contrast to the Colt Single Action Army revolvers used by his fellow Spaghetti Western protagonists and the other characters in the film, Silence's choice of weapon is a semi-automatic Mauser C96 – its rapid rate of fire gives him an unfair advantage over his opponents, therefore his marksmanship comes in part from technological, not physical, prowess.

However, a further link to the bounty killers he fights is established – due to his throat being cut by their kind, Silence frequently shoots the thumbs of his enemies off, rendering them unable to use a gun.

[15] Because she seeks vengeance for the death of her husband through Silence, falls for him through shared pain and loneliness, and supports him until they are both killed by Loco, Pauline plays a vital part in the film's narrative.

Corral — which provided the primary template for cinematic depictions of Old West duels — actual shootouts of the era tended to closer resemble ambushes like the one committed by Loco and his gang.

[30] Donato Totaro states that the film's title "is rich in possible meaning, suggestive not only of the great white expansive snow, the lead character's muteness, but the late 1960s political defeats that impacted Corbucci's mood that led him to make one of the grimmest Westerns ever made".

[33] In reviewing Morricone's soundtrack for CineAction, Mark Lager described how "The celeste and choir of Silence’s theme (“Restless”) and the trilling flutes of his painful childhood scar show his status as an eternal outsider and wanderer as he drifts through the snowy forest and mountain scenery.

[40] In Japan, The Great Silence received a theatrical re-release alongside another Corbucci film, Sonny & Jed, through Cable Hogue and PSC in 1995 as part of a "Spaghetti Western Revival" event.

Pop!, Ian Jane criticized the disc for the poor quality of its transfer, stating that it "doesn't offer much of an upgrade over that older DVD release at all", and expressed that the film deserved a better high-definition treatment.

The initial print run of 3000 copies of the disc also includes a slipcase, a reversible poster, four facsimiles of promotional lobby cards from the film's original release, and a liner notes booklet featuring essays by Hughes.

[61] In March 2017, the Cinémathèque Française reported that Cineteca Nazionale, with the cooperation of Italian distribution rights holder Movietime, had authorised a complete restoration of The Great Silence (including the alternative ending) from the original camera and sound negatives in 4K resolution.

[67] Time Out gave the film a mostly positive review, writing, "While Django remains the erratic Corbucci's best picture, this slightly later spaghetti Western does well by an inventive set-up [...] between the bullets there's engaging stuff from the two stars and an unmistakable chill in the air".

[69] Kyle Anderson of Nerdist News described the film as Corbucci's "most artful and daring" Western, one that "pushes the genre to new levels and creates a story unlike anything people were used to, even though it's likely more historically accurate".

He voiced praise for Ippoliti's strategy of "shooting through things" (a marked improvement over his work on Navajo Joe), the tight script, the strong female characters and the tragic nature of the ending, rooted in Corbucci's pessimism towards the deaths of radical political leaders.

Performance-wise, he described Sheriff Burnett and Regina, the film's equivalent of the "cute/funny" characters that had appeared in Corbucci's earlier Westerns, as "tolerable" due to their senses of dark humour and morality, and praised McGee, Pistilli and Brega's acting.

It's anarchic and rigorous, sophisticated and goofy, heartfelt and cynical", and expressed that despite its influence, "this plate of pasta — bitter and pungent, nourishing and perhaps a bit nauseating — should be savored on its own".

[72] Simon Abrams, writing for The Village Voice felt that the ending "still hurts so good a half-century later",[73] while Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times noted the film's subversive qualities, and particularly praised the opening sequence and McGee's "affecting" performance, concluding that "nothing works out the way these [characters], not to mention audiences who love classic Hollywood westerns, expect.