Saturday, 7 November 2009
Imperialist TYW Blog
This is an interesting blog about the Imperialist forces in the 30 Years War. Inspired by the Bila Hora film I'm revisiting some of my interests from about that time. I did once have a 15mm army of Tilly (using FreiKorps figs) and was generally interested in that time so this blog is up my street.
40mm ECW blog
My favourite 17th century wargaming blog is For Ye King - charting the assembling of Civil War armies in 40mm. Some really pleasing buildings and photographs of before and after painting of figures. I like the challenge of 'Going Large' - see what you think.
The Last Valley (1971)
There hasn't been many English language films about the 30 years war but I reckon this is one that comes to mind to me at least. It's not a really historically accurate film from a costume point of view but it has its good points :) I suppose nowadays its most famous for its score by John Barry. Although lengthy the text alongside of this video says it all -
Rotten tomatoes reviews here
Rotten tomatoes reviews here
The Last Valley (1971) is a historical drama film directed by James Clavell. Set during the Thirty Years War, it stars Michael Caine as the leader of a band of mercenaries, and Omar Sharif as a teacher fleeing from the violence endemic to Germany during this period. They manage to find one valley, untouched by war, in which to live in peace for a time.
Caine's character, known only as 'The Captain,' leads a band of ruthless Mercenaries. His men pillage the countryside, looting freely when not engaged in actual military work. Sharif, as 'Vogel' (German for 'Bird'), is a former teacher who is merely trying to survive the overall slaughter taking place throughout south-central Germany. He runs from The Captain's forces, and eventually stumbles onto an idyllic mountain vale, seemingly untouched by war.
The Captain's small band are not far behind, and they too are impressed by the valley and its inhabitants, but for darker reasons. Outgunning the locals by a wide margin, he decides that his men will rest here for the winter, and wait for political events outside to turn in their favor. He forces the locals to comply, especially their headman 'Gruber' (Nigel Davenport). The local Catholic Priest ('Per Oscarsson') is livid that a number of Protestants (and nihilistic Atheists for that matter) are amongst the Mercenaries, 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 irrelevant.
At first, the locals accept their fate. Vogel agrees to act as intermediary, using his cunning to act as judge in matters of dispute between the Mercenaries and local people. As long as food, shelter, and a small number of comfort women are provided, the Mercenaries leave the locals alone. But as winter fades, it becomes obvious that the Mercenaries will have to leave. A man exiled from the group manages to lead a rival Mercenary band to the valley, which is no longer snowed-in. After a short, but fierce, battle in which the interlopers are destroyed, The Captain gets word that a major military campaign in the Upper Rhineland is happening. Since his men are soldiers of fortune, he decides this is the time to leave the valley and seek combat again.
John Barry had recently won the Academy Award for the eerie, powerful score for 'The Lion in Winter', and had already worked with director James Clavell on 'King Rat', he was hired to provide a score for the heavily dramatic tale of 'The Last Valley'.
Trivia:
The film was mostly shot in Tyrol, Austria (Trins and Gschnitz and the Gschnitztal Valley) and was based on the novel by J.B. Pick.
The film flopped on release, often cited as an allegory for the Vietnam War - reportedly losing $7m.
Caine's character, known only as 'The Captain,' leads a band of ruthless Mercenaries. His men pillage the countryside, looting freely when not engaged in actual military work. Sharif, as 'Vogel' (German for 'Bird'), is a former teacher who is merely trying to survive the overall slaughter taking place throughout south-central Germany. He runs from The Captain's forces, and eventually stumbles onto an idyllic mountain vale, seemingly untouched by war.
The Captain's small band are not far behind, and they too are impressed by the valley and its inhabitants, but for darker reasons. Outgunning the locals by a wide margin, he decides that his men will rest here for the winter, and wait for political events outside to turn in their favor. He forces the locals to comply, especially their headman 'Gruber' (Nigel Davenport). The local Catholic Priest ('Per Oscarsson') is livid that a number of Protestants (and nihilistic Atheists for that matter) are amongst the Mercenaries, 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 irrelevant.
At first, the locals accept their fate. Vogel agrees to act as intermediary, using his cunning to act as judge in matters of dispute between the Mercenaries and local people. As long as food, shelter, and a small number of comfort women are provided, the Mercenaries leave the locals alone. But as winter fades, it becomes obvious that the Mercenaries will have to leave. A man exiled from the group manages to lead a rival Mercenary band to the valley, which is no longer snowed-in. After a short, but fierce, battle in which the interlopers are destroyed, The Captain gets word that a major military campaign in the Upper Rhineland is happening. Since his men are soldiers of fortune, he decides this is the time to leave the valley and seek combat again.
John Barry had recently won the Academy Award for the eerie, powerful score for 'The Lion in Winter', and had already worked with director James Clavell on 'King Rat', he was hired to provide a score for the heavily dramatic tale of 'The Last Valley'.
Trivia:
The film was mostly shot in Tyrol, Austria (Trins and Gschnitz and the Gschnitztal Valley) and was based on the novel by J.B. Pick.
The film flopped on release, often cited as an allegory for the Vietnam War - reportedly losing $7m.
Simplicius Simplicissimus
All this 30 Years War stuff reminds me of this book - according to the wiki
(German: Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch) is a picaresque novel of the Baroque style, written in 1668 by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen and published the subsequent year. Inspired by the events and horrors of the Thirty Years' War which had devastated Germany from 1618 to 1648, it is regarded as the first adventure novel in the German language.
Anyway you can read the English Language version online here.
(German: Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch) is a picaresque novel of the Baroque style, written in 1668 by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen and published the subsequent year. Inspired by the events and horrors of the Thirty Years' War which had devastated Germany from 1618 to 1648, it is regarded as the first adventure novel in the German language.
Anyway you can read the English Language version online here.
More Czech 30 Years War links
Thanks to Raia who posted these links
here you can see some videos from 2008 year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WUUsN2iLQY
made for theatre trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdUkHmQXX4w&feature=related
the best czech reenactment forum: http://tricitka.brodec.org/
webpage of my regiment
http://www.mortaigne.com/
with Art of War brosure:
http://mortaigne.com/upload/download/Umeni_Valky_2_1.pdf
here you can see some videos from 2008 year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WUUsN2iLQY
made for theatre trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdUkHmQXX4w&feature=related
the best czech reenactment forum: http://tricitka.brodec.org/
webpage of my regiment
http://www.mortaigne.com/
with Art of War brosure:
http://mortaigne.com/upload/download/Umeni_Valky_2_1.pdf
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Bila Hora 2009
Spectacular footage from this august's reenactment of the Battle of White Mountain (1620) in the Czech Republic near Prague. I should think the British 17th century societies could learn some lessons from these people - looks brilliant.
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