.ENGLISH CIVIL WAR RELATED FILM REVIEW THE LAST VALLEY

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FILM REVIEW – THE LAST VALLEY (1971)

Highly under-rated film directed by James Clavell, (author of King Rat, and Shogun). The story is based on fact, and concerns events in the Thirty Years War that devastated Europe between 1618 and 1648. The events ran parallel to those of the English Civil War, and many o fthe weapons and uniforms are similar to those used in the British conflict.

A group of soldiers led by The Captain, an otherwise un-named character played by Michael Caine, find a remote valley that has been left unscathed by the conflict. Omar Sharif, a battle weary deserter, to settle in the valley for the winter and live off its crops, persuades them the men do so, but internal divisions, and the mistrust created with the villager’s leads to tragedy. Later, the men are lured away to fight again, with a promise of victory and glory. Few survive. The final battle scene is astonishing in its brutality and detail, looking like something out of a Goya painting.

The film has some brilliant performances, especially from Caine, Omar Sharif, and in his debut performance, Brian Blessed. There are many memorable moments. Caine’s observation to Sharif, I lost patience twelve years ago’, and after Brian Blessed’s character, Korski is killed by Caine, and dumped on a dung heap, another character insists on seeing the man. Caine casually looks to another man who witnessed the murder and orders ‘Take him to join Korski’. The man is lead away and though what happens to him is going to occur off-screen, you know exactly what it will involve. War, Plague, superstition, Humanism and witchcraft collide in a tale of the simple human tragedy of war, where men find something decent and true, but find it necessary to destroy it and move on. The final battle scenes look like something out of a Goya painting and really take the breath away.

Maligned by the critics, loved by audiences and a favourite among 17^th century re-enactors everywhere for its attention to detail and realism.