"The Last Valley" was an epic disaster when it as released. ABC Pictures pinned a lot of its hopes and finances on this movie by featuring it initially on Cinerama and Wide Screen theaters, though it turned out to be a gigantic money-loser. So, they tried showing it in standard theaters...and it was still a money losing production. Why? Well, you can't blame the music (John Barry's score is lovely),the nice cinematography nor the acting (it did star two big-name actors of the era). So why did the movie fail to connect with audiences?

The answer has got to be the subject matter and overall tone of the story. It was only the second major production about the 30 Years War...and the first to deal with it directly. This is about a horrible conflict in the early 17th century in which Protestants and Catholics murdered each other in Central Europe (mostly in what is present day Germany). Unlike many wars, there were large armies involved but also small mercenary bands and even neighbors killing neighbors...all in the name of God. And, estimates are that during this war lasting approximately three decades, 1/3 to 2/3 of all the people in this region were killed. So you can't help but think a movie about this time and place would have to be horrible to watch and endure...and audiences seemed to agree.

The story begins with one of these mercenary groups murdering folks in small towns with no regard to who is on which side...it's just killing for the sake of killing and to steal the peasants' food. A homeless traveler, Vogel (Omar Sharif),comes upon the massacre and manages to escape. After a long trek, he stumbles into a valley that has somehow managed to avoid the death, destruction and starvation of war. But Vogel's happiness at finding this is short-lived, as soon the same group of mercenaries arrives in this idyllic Catholic town.

Now based on earlier encounters, and that most of the mercenaries are Protestants, that these men would destroy the village. Instead, however, its commander (Michael Caine) has decided not to but instead to remain there with his troops over the winter. The locals aren't thrilled, but perhaps these soldiers could offer the town protection and an odd but shaky truce results. What's next?

The film is very, very well made. My only complaints were about the casting. While Michael Caine wasn't bad as a Germanic commander, it did seem very odd to have the Egyptian actor Omar Sharif playing Vogel. After all, Vogel is a German name and you find out he used to be a professor at one of the German universities....but Sharif looks Egyptian and definitely not a European. I think he was chosen simply because he was a hot commodity in films, having made a huge name for himself in the 1960s with "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Dr. Zhivago".

So why did I give the film a 7 if it's so well made? After all, I couldn't have knocked off too many points for casting Sharif. Well, it lies in the fact that watching the movie is so incredibly unpleasant and awful. The overall tone of the film is nihilistic and dark...and I cannot imagine many folks wanting to see such a production. Plus, I can almost guarantee no one would want to see the film more than once! It's well done, interesting and utterly awful to watch....so it's no wonder other films haven't been made about this god-awful conflict.

THE LAST VALLEY is an intriguing and atypical medieval film that explores some of the confusion and chaos of the Thirty Years War era. The setting is an idyllic valley, where a bunch of religious folk and soldiers are holed up in a bid to escape the slaughter, but of course it doesn't all go according to plan. This is one of those films, much like Verhoeven's later FLESH + BLOOD, that explores the morality of the era, in particularly the clash between varieties of Christianity and the harshness of the times. The remarkable cast includes an effective Michael Caine and a sensitive Omar Sharif, their central roles bolstered by interesting character actors including Nigel Davenport and Michael Gothard. It's not an easy watch, and it doesn't have all the answers, but it is worth a look.

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.