Several women are implied to be madams/prostitutes.

A man forcefully kisses a woman; she angrily rejects his advances.

The main character and a woman have sex; the scene is more romantic than sexual. They kiss and caress each other's bodies; her bare back, part of her buttocks and breasts (briefly) are visible.

In a flashback, a man is shot while approximately a dozen prostitutes run around in panic. Their breasts and buttocks can be seen, but are only briefly visible due to the (intentionally) chaotic manner in which the scene is filmed.

A man attempts to force himself on a woman, but he is stopped before an act of sexual violence is committed.

By 1960s standards, The Great Silence is an extremely violent film. Many people are killed in frequent gunfights, usually resulting in copious amounts of blood being drawn.

Two people's thumbs are shot off.

A man has a rope wrapped around his throat, and is dragged by his neck behind a horse.

Corpses are dragged around, hauled on top of stagecoaches, or buried under snow to preserve them.

The main character's throat is cut (off-screen), but survives. The resulting wound is seen infrequently.

Two characters engage in fisticuffs, one is hit in the face with a log, crashes through a door and gets a bloody cut on his lip.

Three uses of "damn", one use of "hell".

Characters are seen drinking alcohol and smoking cigars in several scenes.

The whole film is visually bleak due to the snowy and dilapidated setting and the ending is very depressing.

The Great Silence is remembered for its dark and pessimistic outlook on the nature of good and evil, authoritarian capitalism and the Old West.

Characters frequently take extreme measures to survive the winter, including murder, revenge, and wrongful accusations of criminality.

People in power, such as the sheriff and the governor, are frequently shown as being unable or powerless in preventing corruption and unrest in the State. Others, such as a banker, are shown as being responsible for such atrocities.