The Last Valley (1970 film)
| The Last Valley | |
|---|---|
US release Poster (B)
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| Directed by | James Clavell |
| Produced by | James Clavell |
| Written by | James Clavell |
| Based on |
The Last Valley by J.B. Pick |
| Starring |
Michael Caine Omar Sharif Florinda Bolkan Nigel Davenport Per Oscarsson |
| Music by | John Barry |
| Cinematography |
Norman Warwick John Wilcox |
| Edited by | John Bloom |
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Production
company |
Season Productions
ABC Pictures Corporation |
| Distributed by |
Cinerama Releasing Corporation (1971, original) MGM (2004, DVD) |
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Release date
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Running time
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128 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6,250,000 |
| Box office | $1,280,000 |
The Last Valley is a 1971 film directed by James Clavell, a historical drama set during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). A mercenary soldier (Michael Caine) and a teacher (Omar Sharif), each fleeing the religious war in southern Germany, accidentally find the valley, untouched by the war, and there live in peace. Based upon the novel The Last Valley (1959), by J.B. Pick, the cinematic version of The Last Valley, directed by James Clavell, was the final feature film photographed with the Todd-AO 70 mm widescreen process (until it was revived to make the film Baraka in 1991).
"The Captain" (Michael Caine) leads a band of mercenaries who fight for the highest bidder regardless of religion. His soldiers pillage the countryside, and rape and loot when not fighting. Vogel (Omar Sharif) is a former teacher trying to survive the slaughter of civilians occurring throughout south-central Germany. Vogel runs from the Captain's forces, but eventually stumbles upon an idyllic mountain vale, untouched by war and still living in the age before the war.
The Captain and his small band are not far behind. Trapped in the valley, Vogel convinces the Captain to preserve it and the village it shelters for their own benefit, as the outside world faces famine and devastation. "Live", Vogel tells the Captain, "while the army dies." The Captain decides that his men will indeed rest here for the winter. He forces the locals to submit, especially their Headman, Gruber (Nigel Davenport). The local Catholic priest (Per Oscarsson) is livid that the mercenaries include a number of Protestants (and nihilistic atheists for that matter), but there is little he can do to sway the Captain. The mercenaries are of one mind after the Captain kills a dissenting member of his band, and religious and ethnic divisions are set aside.
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Wikipedia