The forgotten valley
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The forgotten valley |
| Original title | The Last Valley |
| Country of production |
UK USA |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1971 |
| length | 125 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 18 |
| Rod | |
| Director | James Clavell |
| script | James Clavell |
| production |
Martin Baum James Clavell Robert Porter for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| music | John Barry |
| camera |
Norman Warwick John Wilcox |
| cut | John Bloom |
| occupation | |
| |
The forgotten valley (original title: The Last Valley ) is a literary film adaptation directed by James Clavell from 1971 based on the novel of the same name by JB Pick. In addition to Michael Caine and Omar Sharif, the leading roles are cast with Florinda Bolkan and Nigel Davenport .
A film with a similar beginning, but from a different time and with the same title, is the film Das vergierter Tal from 1990. An in-house production of Swiss television in cooperation with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF).
action
“The Thirty Years War started in 1618. It started as a religious war - Catholics against Protestants . But in their relentless pursuit of power, the princes of both religions changed sides as it suited them - and in the name of religion an unparalleled slaughter began in Europe ”: Vogel, a wandering teacher, fell by accident by falling over a slope In a village cut off from the outside world, which is still untouched by the bloody conflict that has been smoldering for years. Subsequently, however, a group of marauding mercenaries also find their way to the isolated little village. Vogel is able to convince their leader, the captain , not to plunder the village. Instead, they plan to hibernate in the village and protect the valley and the villagers from other intruders. In order to maintain order and discipline, the captain severely punishes any violations of his rules. Vogel ensures his own survival by acting as an intermediary between the soldiers and the residents. The mercenary Hansen is stopped by Vogel while trying to rape the farmer's daughter Inge. Dissatisfied with the situation and driven by revenge, as well as after a murder attempt with a few accomplices on the captain, Hansen flees the village, only to return a little later with a group of mercenaries. He is determined to take control of the village. The attack fails, however, because of the bitter resistance of the villagers and the remaining mercenaries, who are under the command of the captain.
In the spring, the troop leaves the village to go to war again in support of the Protestant troops under Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar ( Battle of Rheinfelden ). This after learning the current war situation from a traveling dealer. The captain gives Vogel command of a couple of mercenaries until he returns. Most of the mercenaries who go into battle die in the ensuing engagements.
Vogel leaves the valley and meets an ambush in the mountain forest in front of the village, which Gruber has prepared for the returning captain. Although Vogel made it clear to Inge that he did not want to live with her, she followed him. On his return the captain is already seriously injured and on the verge of dying when he arrives almost alone (except for one man, all of his soldiers have fallen) in an ambush and collapses there, exhausted. However, he still finds his way back to the village, where he ultimately succumbs to his injuries. Vogel ensures that he no longer has to find out that Erica, with whom he was together during his time in the village, was caught doing heresy and worshiping Satan, was badly tortured and then burned at the stake . Before the captain closes his eyes forever, he gratefully assures Vogel that he would not have spared the village if he had not been there and prevented him from doing it. Vogel makes it clear to Inge that she belongs to Andreas (who she wanted to marry the previous autumn). Inge then returns to her home village with Andreas, who has also been ambushed. Vogel continues on his way alone and returns to the war and plague- ravaged land beyond the mountains.
Production notes
The film is the last Todd AO production to be shot on 65 mm film . The film was produced by ABC Pictures, Seamaster Films and Season distributed by 20th Century Fox . The shooting in 1969 lasted fourteen weeks and took place mainly in Trins in Austria and in Surrey in England . In preparation for his role as captain, Michael Caine learned various German dialects.
reception
publication
The film premiered on January 28, 1971 in the United States and was presented on February 3, 1971 in San Francisco. The day of the first showing in the Federal Republic of Germany was March 12, 1971. Also in 1971 the film was released in France, the United Kingdom (London), Finland, Japan, Australia (Sydney), Norway and Ireland. It started in Denmark and Turkey in 1972 and was shown in Hungary in 1973. It had its television premiere in Spain in September 1976, in Greece it was presented at the Panorama of European Cinema Festival in October 2003 and in Norway in August 2004 at the 70mm Film Festival. It was also published in Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania and the Soviet Union. It also goes under the international title Last Valley and was released on DVD in the US under the title James Clavell's The Last Valley .
criticism
“Mixture of horror, kitsch, homeland and costume films; an overly long, lavish Hollywood spectacle that was also disappointing in terms of the acting. "
“Appealing and filmed abroad for about $ 6 million, with Michael Caine and Omar Sharif in convincing performances. Nevertheless, James Clavell's end product is too cumbersome cinematic opera in a tabloid version, too verbatim in historical detail to skilfully suggest the intended allegories and, paradoxically, too symbolic to illustrate the actual realities of the Thirty Years' War. "
“ The Forgotten Valley is a type of historical film, a type of adventure film, a form of monumental film, and it is something of a parable. The result is a bit more boring than absolutely necessary, considering the possibilities. "
error
In one scene the captain says that he lost his patience 12 years ago and in a later scene he says that he would like to forget the battle for Magdeburg (1631), this slaughter. Vogel then says that his family lived there and the captain replies that they have therefore been dead for 12 years. So you would be in the year 1643, later the captain rejoins the army of Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar at the battle of Reihnfelden, which took place in 1638, earlier.
Web links
- The Last Valley in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The forgotten valley in the German dubbing index
- The forgotten valley onYouTube, accessed on June 13, 2020 (full film, German version; HD).
- The forgotten valley Photos sS caine-home.narod.ru
Individual evidence
- ↑ See David Bishop: Starring Michael Caine. London 2003, ISBN 1-903111-57-9 , pp. 138-141.
- ↑ a b Bishop 2003, p. 141
- ↑ Locations (last accessed: November 8, 2010)
- ^ Lexicon of International Films. Volume V-Z, Hamburg 1995, p. 6108
- ^ Catholic Institute for Media Information (KIM) and Catholic Film Commission for Germany (ed.): Lexicon of international films. The complete range in cinema, television and on video. Volume V – Z, Rowohlt, Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-499-16357-8 , p. 6108
- ↑ Rating: “ The Last Valley ” ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Variety (accessed June 29, 2014)
- ↑ Vincent Canby: The Last Valley (1971) . In: The New York Times , January 29, 1971 (accessed June 29, 2014)
