La vallée perdue

The Last Valley, a serious historical and sociological drama, is just about the only English language feature film to deal with the Thirty Years War. It's about a valley that because of its inaccessibility escapes some of the ravages of that very brutal conflict.

17th century Europe was the century of the great religious conflicts between Catholic and the many Protestant faiths. The Catholic Hapsburg Holy Roman Empire was gradually losing its grip on more and more of the various little domains that made up their empire. More rulers and the populations of those small kingdoms were converting to either Lutheranism or Calvinism.

Of course the rest of Europe was concerned as to who would come out on top and from 1617 when the conflict first started, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, France, Spain, just about everybody got involved one way or another. Religion was the key factor, but hardly the only one. France because her prime minister Cardinal Richelieu feared the Hapsburgs more than Protestantism allied themselves with the Protestant rulers.

The war itself was fought mostly in Germany, not Germany the nation, but Germany the geographical expression, just a place where the German language predominated. The German people, weak and disunited, were just prey for the other invading powers.

The looting and pillaging you see here is exactly what was going on in 1641 when scholar Omar Sharif who had lost his entire family and home to the war is now reduced to being a wandering beggar and stumbles into this valley which has escaped the struggle. Unfortunately following him in is Michael Caine with a company of mercenaries.

But Sharif talks Caine into doing winter quarters there instead of just sacking the place and moving on as per the norm for the day. An uneasy alliance is formed between, Sharif, Caine and his soldiers, head honcho in the town Nigel Davenport and priest Per Oscarsson.

The peasants here are hardly a noble lot, Sharif's very education makes him a figure of suspicion. Yet they're just ordinary folks trying to survive in a world that they must think is coming to an end. It would have not been out of the ordinary for them to believe that what they were seeing was Armegeddon.

The Thirty Years War is not something that is taught in American schools. I think because the United Kingdom was not involved in it. they had a nice struggle going between the crown and Parliament in the first half of that century and what became the original thirteen colonies of America were all being settled by various immigrant groups. The Last Valley is a tremendous educational tool for anyone teaching European history. We don't see any of the great figures of the war, what we do see is a glimpse into the peasant life of the period that once seen is unforgettable.

James Clavell who later wrote and directed Oriental epics like Shogun and Taipan wrote and directed The Last Valley. He and the rest of the cast and crew should be proud of being involved in a cinema masterpiece.

This for me has to be 1 of my favourite films for several reasons.Firstly it has quite a cast with Michael Caine, Brian Blessed, Omar Sharif etc etc,secondly it has 1 of John Barry's(James Bond, The Black Hole)finest scores!I have found out that he had an exceptional amount of time in which to compose the score after the final edit & produced a *MUST HAVE* score if your into your movie soundtracks(I have hundreds as I am a bit of a collector!).The movie was also shot in a remote isolated valley & all the buildings you see in the film were constructed by local craftsmen drafted in from the surrounding towns using traditional techniques as per the time period it portrays.This creates a totally convincing back drop to the filming & some of the shots of the valley are breath taking! My fondness of the film stems from early memories of it as a child.My Dad used his video(when video had only just come in!)for the 1st time to record this off TV late at night & in fact he still has that tape floating around somewhere!ha ha He was quite strict so I wasn't allowed to use the video for a start & definitely not allowed to watch this....but I used to sneak it on when me folks were out(shhhhush-don't tell him ha ha!). It is actually a very rarely aired movie & has not really been recognised for the depth & strength it portrays. I think it was way ahead of its time in terms of brutality.It was also marketed too high as a sort of Ben Hur, Spartacus epic.Those films had way more budget & far more scope in terms of the size of story line they were depicting - after all The Last Valley is just dealing with a small village community in a remote isolated valley where as Ben Hur is dealing with a whole Roman Empire theme!Never the less The Last Valley still has impact.The opening scene is still shocking 40years on!I think those scenes are the reason it does not get the air play as the violence & issues it deals with are so honest & truthful!This film pulls no punches!It will show you exactly how difficult 'Life' was in those times - its not got many soft edges.The rivalry between the various factions, their attempts to control & manipulate are bang on!The way the church in those days had the last word on everything!The way the land owners made sure that everyone was indebted to them to maintain control.The fact that if you sinned & were caught out - well the consequences were severe as in the ultimate price!Don't watch this film if you just want to see fantasy eye candy, but if you appreciate the truth & want a film that shows an honest appraisal of Life & times in the 16th Century Europe then it will not fail to deliver.It is full of irony, sub plots & intrigue.I am of course biased & as I have got older & my own wisdom has increased I see different things in it that I had not perceived before!It is a mature intellectual persons film.I must of seen it at least 30 times & it still delivers for me.

Take the time out to see it & see what you think. Cheers Jon ;0)

Over my many years of cinema-going, I've viewed a whole range of movies with titles beginning "The Last .." including "The Last Emperor" (1987) and "The Last Samurai" (2003). "The Last Valley' may not be the best-known film with this kind of title, but it made an impression on me when I first saw it at the cinema in 1971 and still resonated with me when I viewed it again on DVD some 46 years later.

It is partly the unusual historical context: the story is set during the repeated bloody clashes of Catholic and Protestant armies largely in German-speaking continental Europe in the Thirty Years War of 1618-1648 and reference to a particular battle in a line of dialogue places the period more precisely in late 1643 and early 1644. It is partly the important subjects that it addresses: the narrative is a sharp critique of the role of religion and superstition in fostering hatred and war and the leading character eventually shouts at the local priest: "There is no Hell. Don't you understand? Because there is no God. There never was. Don't you understand? There is no God! It's a legend!".

This British film was written, produced and directed by James Cavell before he became famous for his blockbuster novels. The 17th century village in question was recreated in the valley of Trins in the beautiful Tyrol region of Austria. The Catholic villagers who live there may look rather too clean and well-clothed for the period but the mainly Protestant soldiers who occupy the valley certainly look the part. The music is from John Barry who had made his name with the early James Bond movies.

At the heart of the story is the changing fortunes of the characters as they are subject to competing sources of power: civil authority in the shape of the head villager Gruber (Nigel Davenport), religious dogma provided by the village priest Father Sebastian (Per Oscarsson), military authority imposed by a character known only as The Captain (Michael Caine), and the voice of reason and tolerance offered by the academic refugee Vogel (Omar Sharif). In the course of the story, each will have his moment of triumph but each will suffer grievously in this under- known and under-appreciated film.

This is easily one of Michael Caine's and Omar Sharif's better works. The film is full of excellent acting and cinematography and lacks the expected battle scenes full of gore. Historically, it is strong enough that it was required viewing for history classes when I attended Carnegie-Mellon. A little-known, but must see movie.

The bad news is the critics savaged this movie when it first came out -everything from Michael Caine's German accent, to Omar Sharif's bedroom eyes to James Clavell's lyrical "Lost Horizon" take on the Thirty Years' War in Europe. The good news is that audiences loved the movie and each generation that rediscovers it recognizes what a terrific movie it really is. Fleeing from both the Black Plague and a savage, unending war, Omar Sharif stumbles onto a hidden valley in the Bavarian mountains, where everything is lush and untouched by outside influences. Then comes Michael Caine, leading a small band of savage mercenaries, who makes the valley his home for the Winter. Multiple themes of peace and war, religion and witchcraft. A well told story, gorgeous to look at, the valley itself is breathtaking. A haunting musical theme, a threatened love story, good action sequences, terrific acting, what more do you want? As happens all too often, the critics were wrong. Add this one to your video or DVD collection.