The Valley of Death

Symbolic farewell in one hundred and one ways. Harald Reinl couldn't bear to see the series he started come to an end and decided to give the golden and irreplaceable era of the Winnetou films one more piece. After all, the last two films that the audience saw, Apanači and Old Firehand, were not very successful in 1966. That's why Reinl had to take the director's chair and create a film that gave the viewers everything they loved. In the leading roles, there was the beloved duo who pulled off their performances just like in the best films, both humorous sidekicks and the music by Martin Böttcher. When the main female character shines as Karin Dor and the villain, Rik Battaglia, fights traditionally bloodthirsty, there is nothing more to say. It is precisely Death Valley that, in my eyes, is closest to the golden quartet in terms of quality. The illusion of the "ordinary" adventure of the blood brothers has never been so close before, and I can credit this to the director himself. After years, I finally got used to the different dubbing and, on the contrary, it evokes an even greater sense of nostalgia for me. Seventy-year-old Vladimír Ráž trying to breathe life into courageous Old Shatterhand simply touches me to the core. (02.12.2011)

I think as a farewell to the individual - beloved and maybe even loved - characters, it's quite good, plus it was filmed in the Grand Canyon, which is also noticeable. Vinnetou and Old Shatterhand have good roles here, and seeing their brotherly characters entertains me. The story is quite simple, but all of them were basically like that. I enjoyed this movie. (21.02.2015)