First Look: Liam Neeson in Martin Scorsese’s Period Epic, ‘Silence’

Liam Neeson’s pleading eyes may not say a thousand words, but they add another layer of texture to the Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated “Silence,” based on Shūsaku Endō’s 1966 novel about Portuguese Jesuits who face violence and persecution while on a mission to remote 17th century Japan. With the lush surrounds (filmed on location in Taiwan) and period detail, the filmmaker’s passion project—which he’s wanted to make for nearly two decades—appears more compelling by the day.

READ MORE: “See Andrew Garfield in First Images from Martin Scorsese’s ‘Silence'”

 The film, which wrapped principal production in May, has since been in the able hands of Scorsese and longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Paramount is distributing the film domestically, while AI Films/IM Global will handle foreign markets.

It’s just one of several projects on Scorsese’s busy schedule, which also includes executive producing HBO’s upcoming “Vinyl” (for which he directed the pilot); a Leonard Bernstein biopic with “Spotlight” screenwriter Josh Singer; an adaptation of Erik Larson’s blockbuster book “The Devil in the White City,” with Leonardo DiCaprio; and “Sinatra,” a biopic of Ol’ Blue Eyes that’s been in the works since 2009.

READ MORE: “Martin Scorsese Loads Up His Burgeoning Slate, Renews Paramount Deal”