Another Amazon review.
“The Last Valley” sunk almost without a trace back in the 70’s when it was first released. The only comments I recall from that time were from critics who mercilessly panned Michael Caine’s accent. It’s difficult to see just why the film failed. The script contains hardly a dull line, Clavell’s direction is very good, John Barry’s score is quite simply superb and the acting, with the exception of Arthur O’Connell and Christian Roberts in minor roles, is first class. Michael Caine dominates the film and gets some marvelous dialogue to utter. No wonder he rates his performance so highly and no wonder he’s registered profound disappointment over the negative reviews. It just might be that because the script vigorously berates both Catholic and Protestant religions with equal disdain, the film found itself without a champion from either side to defend it. As for the score, I am at a loss to understand why it at least was not nominated for the Academy Awards that year. John Barry is usually terrific, but his score for “The Last Valley” is his best ever - including “Dances With Wolves”. The performance of Per Oscarrson as the priest is memorable also. A wonderful film that sits comfortably in my top 10 of all time.
Bump for later. Thanks TM!