Silence (2016 film)

Silence
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMartin Scorsese
Screenplay by
Based onSilence
by Shūsaku Endō
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRodrigo Prieto
Edited byThelma Schoonmaker
Music by
  • Kim Allen Kluge
  • Kathryn Kluge
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • November 29, 2016 (2016-11-29) (Pontifical Oriental Institute)
  • December 23, 2016 (2016-12-23) (United States)
  • January 1, 2017 (2017-01-01) (United Kingdom)
Running time
161 minutes[3]
Countries
  • United States
  • Taiwan[4]
  • Mexico[5]
  • United Kingdom[6]
Languages
  • English
  • Japanese
Budget$40–50 million[7][8][9]
Box office$23.8 million[10]

Silence is a 2016 epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Jay Cocks and Scorsese, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Shūsaku Endō. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Tadanobu Asano, Ciarán Hinds and Liam Neeson. The plot follows two 17th-century Jesuit priests who travel from Portugal to Edo period Japan via Macau to locate their missing mentor and spread Catholic Christianity. The story is set in a time when it was common for the faith's Japanese adherents to hide from the persecution that resulted from the suppression of Christianity in Japan after the Shimabara Rebellion (1637–1638) against the Tokugawa shogunate. These are now called the Kakure Kirishitan, or "hidden Christians". It is the third filmed adaptation of Endō's novel, following a 1971 film of the same name.

The pre-production phase of the filmmaking for Silence went through a cycle of over two decades of setbacks and reassessments. After filming of The Wolf of Wall Street concluded in January 2013, Scorsese committed to following it up with Silence. On April 19, 2013, Scorsese indicated that he would begin production on Silence in 2014. Irwin Winkler was then announced as a producer, as were Randall Emmett and George Furla, who would provide financing through their company Emmett/Furla Films. Soon thereafter, planning was made for the film to be shot in Taiwan.

A long-time passion project for Scorsese, which he had developed for over 25 years, the film premiered in Rome on November 29, 2016, and was released in the United States on December 23, 2016. It received critical acclaim, with both the National Board of Review and American Film Institute selecting Silence as one of their top ten films of the year. It also received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. However, the film was a box office bomb, grossing just $22 million against its $50 million budget. Silence is the third of Scorsese's films about religious figures struggling with challenges of faith, following The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Kundun (1997).

  1. ^ "Verdi Productions". Verdifilms.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  2. ^ Grater, Tom. "Studiocanal to release Scorsese's 'Silence' in UK". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  3. ^ "Silence (15)". British Board of Film Classification. December 12, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  4. ^ Goldberg, Matt (January 22, 2015). "Martin Scorsese's Silence to Begin Filming on January 30th in Taiwan". Collider. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  5. ^ Peter Debruge (December 10, 2016). "Film Review: Martin Scorsese's 'Silence'". Variety. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  6. ^ Richard Combs (January 2, 2017). "Film of the week: Silence, Martin Scorsese's journey through the valley of doubt". Sight & Sound. Archived from the original on January 7, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference opening was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Box Office: 'Hidden Figures' Dominates MLK Weekend as 'Live by Night,' 'Monster Trucks,' 'Silence' Collapse". Variety. January 16, 2017. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  9. ^ "Box-Office Pileup: Three Major Films Crash and Burn in Same Weekend". The Hollywood Reporter. January 13, 2017. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  10. ^ "Silence (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2017.

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