The Last Valley

As others have said, a really excellent film--intelligent, well-shot and acted, with historical background that mostly seems to be right on the money.

A few minor nits: I'm not sure that the Caine character, or most anyone, would be shouting "there is no God!" in the 1630's or 40's. And the humanism espoused by the Sharif character must have been quite rare in that day and age. Also, the ending is perhaps a bit heavy-handed in the way it drives home the moral of the story, about the pointlessness of warfare.

But all this is more than balanced by an intelligent screenplay and a highly engaging analysis of the dynamic between the peasants of the village and the soldiers. Reminded me quite a bit of The Seven Samurai, in fact, and compares well with the latter film (and *that* constitutes high praise).

Highly recommended.

It's a mystery why this film is not better known. It has a magnificent cast; a fascinating setting, a fine script and it is superbly filmed in its European locations. As a microcosm of European society at the time of the 30 Years War it is impressively erudite, yet it is also a highly accessible epic drama, even if you are not particularly interested in the historical background.

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.

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)

This is a movie made during a time when writers, novelists, like Clavell and Crichton, were allowed to make their own films. What you have are literate, probing plots and stories, sometimes failed by low budgets or

lack of experience. With LAST VALLEY, there's an otherworldly quality to Clavell's work, steepled in strict historical fact; Clavell postulates a fantasy valley where humans live hidden from the brutality and horror of war; they are genetic angels, of a sort, but those in control are wise to the ways of a world ruled by knife. A band of soldiers, lacking a country or

home to call their home, caught in the hurricane of this war, stumble into a seeming Elysian Fields and begin to infect it with pragmatic survival and certain doom. The ways of human beings as a mass descend on the slight-populated community.

People criticize the film as dark, equating realism. Fact is, Clavell shows a contrast between the world Michael Caine, as the Captain, knows and is scarred by, and the hidden land in which beautiful women and children are protected, fed and safe. Caine's Captain has been a wanton butcher in the war, the murderer of women and children. Yet he only understands the quality of this paradise after he has nearly destroyed it.

The most telling sequences are those in which these men from outside the hidden land, knowing the damage they are causing to this one place where beautiful women can live unraped and men as equals, are forced to leave. The women in love with them wish to accompany them into the horror the men know. Caine, in particular, leaves his lover under a false sense of security, believing she will be safe. His heart-breaking understanding of this woman's loyalty to him, bred in her by a hidden land where love can be expressed devoid of force and tragedy, comes only in the end; his last touch with this lover is with a glove made of armor, outfitted for the killing he will do once he leaves the valley and rejoins the war.

There is probably the great performance of Caine's career up on screen in this film. Outside of GET CARTER, you'll never see Caine inhabit a role more fully. Even if the scope of the story gets away from Clavell at the end, and could have benefitted from the expanded format of SHOGUN say, this is a big-time view of a great actor in Caine and a literate script from Clavell that will, without doubt, remain fixed in the mind.