In a chilling display of brutality, bounty hunter Henry Pollicut and his two accomplices indiscriminately murder Gordon and his wife, leading to their young son, now known as "Silence", being left permanently speechless after a savage throat-cutting. As Silence matures, he adopts a fierce principle of forcing his adversaries to shoot first, leveraging their miscalculations to eliminate them with his reliable Mauser C96. Fast forward to the harsh winter of 1898, a ruthless blizzard wreaks havoc in the frontier town of Snow Hill, plunging its residents into a state of despair and poverty. Seeing the misfortune around him, Pollicut takes advantage, offering bounties for outlaws, which draws the attention of the nefarious gang led by Loco.
In the midst of this lawlessness, Silence aligns himself with a band of outlaws but finds himself conflicted with the merciless killers targeting desperate criminals and their associates. Meanwhile, outlaw James Middleton risks it all by leaving his cohort to reunite with his wife, Pauline Middleton, only to face a grisly death as Loco captures him. Heartbroken and furious, Pauline pens an emotional plea to Silence, urging him to take revenge against Loco.
Amidst this turmoil, a newly elected governor seeks to establish order before offering amnesty to the outlaws, appointing Gideon Burnett as sheriff in Snow Hill—a well-meaning but inexperienced soldier. As Burnett navigates the dangerous landscape, he experiences theft of his horse by desperate outlaws and later crosses paths with Silence while traveling to Snow Hill. Upon arrival, Silence reunites with Pauline, who pledges to raise the bounty on her deceased husband.
When Pauline tries to sell her home to Pollicut, he offers protection at a terrible price—her compliance with his unwanted advances—prompting her to reject his offer outright. Turning her attention to Silence, she cultivates their growing bond by caring for his wounds. Meanwhile, Loco, simmering with frustration, tries to provoke Silence into a duel but ends up on the receiving end of an onslaught, only to be rescued by Burnett, who arrests him for attempted homicide and prepares to escort him to the infamous Tonopah prison. As they leave, Burnett urges the townspeople to provide food for the outlaws, strengthening Pauline's emotional attachment to Silence.
At a frozen lake, a momentary lapse by Loco leads to a treacherous accident, resulting in Burnett plunging into the icy depths, meeting a slow and grim fate as the temperature plummets. Meanwhile, Loco rallies his gang, setting in motion a plan for a preemptive strike against Silence, bent on claiming Pauline for themselves. In a cruel act, Pollicut attempts to force himself on her, while Martin torments Silence, burning his right hand. Fueled by pain and rage, Silence retaliates, exacting brutal retribution on Pollicut. As the gang edges closer to Snow Hill, fighting erupts with the arrival of the outlaws sanctioned earlier by Burnett to secure provisions.
Loco cunningly uses the bandits as pawns in a deadly cat-and-mouse game against Silence, prompting Pauline to warn him of the impending doom. However, Silence stands resolute, ready to confront the menace. Just as the stakes escalate, an unseen gunman shoots Silence's left hand, crippling his marksmanship. As Loco steps forth, gun drawn, Silence counters with his trusty Mauser, igniting a fierce gunfight that ends with Loco delivering a fatal blow to Silence. Overcome by grief, Pauline makes an attempt to get revenge against Loco, but ultimately falls to despair, meeting her own tragic end.
With no avengers left among the outlaws, the bounty killers unleash an unrestrained and vicious assault on the remaining criminals, ensuring that none survive. Once the chaos subsides, Loco and his gang lay claim to the spoils, with Silence's Mauser still gripped in Pauline's lifeless fingers—a stark emblem of his demise. As dawn breaks, the bounty killers disappear with their ill-gotten gains, leaving behind devastation and heartache.
In the aftermath, a haunting title card appears, reflecting on the catastrophic fallout of Loco's greed. Public sentiment shifts markedly against bounty hunting practices, leading to a somber memorial set up in Snow Hill, honoring those whose lives were irrevocably altered by Loco's relentless pursuit of profit.
As the filming of The Great Silence came to an end, director Corbucci faced unexpected backlash regarding the bleak original conclusion that threatened to dampen audience spirits worldwide. To address this, a new, uplifting ending was crafted in hopes of aligning with the film's Christmas release schedule. While some sources indicate this alternate ending was meant for international distribution, definitive proof remains elusive. The revised ending featured in early DVD releases without sound but was later rectified in Film Movement's Blu-ray versions that presented synchronized Italian audio.
This alternate conclusion depicts a moment when Loco draws his weapon prematurely, only to be intercepted by Burnett, delivering a crucial shot and leveling the playing field. Seizing the moment, Silence eliminates the remaining bounty hunters, as Burnett dresses Silence's gunshot wound, showcasing a makeshift gauntlet he’d fashioned for protection. In a surprising gesture, Burnett offers Silence a position as his deputy, which the taciturn hero accepts with a hint of a smile.
Additionally, Corbucci prepared a lesser-known, reworked conclusion that contained previously unseen footage omitted from the theatrical release. This version, later included among the special features in Film Movement's Blu-ray, displays Silence meeting his end at the hands of Loco’s cohorts before he can draw his weapon. In a perplexing twist, Loco signals his gang to leave the saloon, enveloping the fates of Silence, Pauline, and the outlaws in ambiguity.
Critic Simon Abrams scrutinized the unutilized alternate endings, believing the producers' decision to dismiss both was judicious. He argued that these conclusions lacked the emotional depth needed to resolve the story satisfactorily. While not entirely dismissive of the ambiguous ending, he felt it left critical questions about the characters’ fates unanswered. In contrast, Abrams offered a mixed assessment of the 'happy' ending, finding it somewhat amusing while also likening it to other Westerns, particularly noting Silence's inventive use of a metal sheet similar to methods employed in A Fistful of Dollars.
