The Last Valley (1971)

Very impressive movie about the famous thirty years war that was set place in Germany and become a massacre in name of God...based on a book this picture explain how all religions explore the fear....Despite the English accent infect the original story,the natural choice should be a native German to play the main roles even Caine and Shariff doing their best...simply fantastic piece of art!!!Waiting for a new restoration!!!Resume:First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 Source: DVD / Rating: 9

Michael Caine said that personally he thought this was his best performance in his autobiography and you can see why. He plays the Captain during the thirty years war in Germany. A man who has seen too much killing yet has retained some of his humanity. This film is a great study of the political and religious impact of warfare and the complex relationships between the social classes as a result. The screenplay tackles bigotry and religious issues in a way that few films if any had before it. This movie was ahead of it's time and is accompanied by a beautiful film score by John Barry. A rich, rewarding movie worthy of repeat viewing and a great history lesson from a little known period of European history.

Touted on IMDb as a lost gem, as you know this is set in Germany in the 1600s, during the 30 Years War, where Protestants are fighting Catholics and death and destruction is commonplace. It stars Omar Shariff as a wanderer who happens upon this idyllic valley hidden from the rest of the world, and a bearded but still handsome Michael Caine as the head of a bunch of mercenaries who've seen their share of fighting and massacre.James Bond composer John Barry does the score and there's an early prototype of Moonraker's Space March as the main war theme, though Space March is more melodic to my ears. I know Barry can do no wrong supposedly, but it does seem to be that he and Bond were a perfect match. In other films his signature style is often distracting and the romantic theme of this film, used repetitively and sometimes inappropriately, is intrusive and pretty corny.Caine has an early protype too - the "Ve ALL love you Freddie" German accent he would adopt 15 years later in the comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. It's pretty iffy and unintentionally comic at times, he's the only one who bothers with a German accent, perhaps to take away the London wideboy. "You're only supposed to sack the bloody church!" The film didn't quite grab me. For a start, it's odd that Omar Shariff should be fleeing a plague pit and soldiers for only 2 minutes before stumbling upon this idyll. The valley doesn't seem too hidden to me, and if it is, how come the other soldiers found it at the same time? The happy and lovely aspects of the village passed me by, as the inhabitants - especially the women - had that neurotic German temper and look characteristic of the Luthran era, if you believe historian Kenneth Clark's take on it. The Lost Horizon did all this much better.Still, it's a noble and unusual idea, just let down by unintentionally risble moments. It only really picks up when there's a bit of discord, which runs counter to the film's message.

Jonathan Swift wrote "We have just enough religion to make us hate one another, but not enough religion to make us love one another." Swift, an Anglican minister, was writing scarcely a century after the Thirty Years' War, one of the bloodiest in European history before Napoleon. The war started out as a feud between Catholics and Protestants in what is now the Czech Republic but spread like a wildfire to engulf most of Europe. Germany was hardest hit. Although it began as a religious struggle it essentially became a free-for-all with all the great European powers jockeying for position--Spain, Austria, France, Sweden, Denmark, Prussia--while marauding bands of mercenaries made life hell for an already impoverished peasantry. This film brings to life a conflict most Americans have never heard of. It's surprisingly graphic for its PG rating; it bears comparison to another saga of warfare in Early Modern Europe, Paul Verhoeven's "Flesh and Blood." Written and directed by James Clavell ("Shogun," "King Rat," "The Great Escape") it shows just how horrible both Protestants and Catholics were during this period; ironically, one of the few sympathetic characters is a practicing Satanist (Florinda Bolkan). Once you get past Michael Caine's German accent and Omar Sharif's blond hair-dye, the whole cast is superb. Caine plays a mercenary chief persuaded to spare a tranquil Alpine village from plunder by Sharif, who plays his usual wounded idealist, the voice of sanity in a world gone mad. Particularly noteworthy among the international cast is Hollywood veteran Arthur O'Connell in a surprisingly convincing portrayal of a superstitious, mean-spirited farmer. The movie grippingly demonstrates the horrors of ethnic cleansing and religious conflict, with both sides committing unspeakable acts. The battle scenes are rousing, and there's a love story between Caine and the local witch (Bolkan). This is a movie that makes you think, but also leaves you with a queer feeling in the pit of your stomach. A must for action fans and history buffs.