Valkyrie (2008)

Based on actual events, a plot to assassinate Hitler is unfurled during the height of WWII.

Director:

Bryan Singer

Writers:

Christopher McQuarrie, Nathan Alexander

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy

2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Cruise	...	Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg
Kenneth Branagh	...	Major-General Henning von Tresckow
Bill Nighy	...	General Friedrich Olbricht
Tom Wilkinson	...	General Friedrich Fromm
Carice van Houten	...	Nina von Stauffenberg
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Major Otto Ernst Remer
Terence Stamp	...	Ludwig Beck
Eddie Izzard	...	General Erich Fellgiebel
Kevin McNally	...	Dr. Carl Goerdeler (as Kevin R. McNally)
Christian Berkel	...	Colonel Mertz von Quirnheim
Jamie Parker	...	Lieutenant Werner von Haeften
David Bamber	...	Adolf Hitler
Tom Hollander	...	Colonel Heinz Brandt
David Schofield	...	Erwin von Witzleben
Kenneth Cranham	...	Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel

Storyline

In Nazi Germany during World War II, as the tide turned in favor of The Allies, a cadre of senior German officers and politicians desperately plot to topple the Nazi regime before the nation is crushed in a near-inevitable defeat. To this end, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, an Army officer convinced he must save Germany from Hitler, is recruited to mastermind a real plan. To do so, he arranges for the internal emergency measure, Operation: Valkyrie, to be changed to enable his fellows to seize control of Berlin after the assassination of the Fuhrer. However, even as the plan is put into action, a combination of bad luck and human failings conspire on their own to create a tragedy that would prolong the greater one gripping Europe.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | german officer | bomb | north africa | assassination | 

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Taglines:

Many saw evil. They dared to stop it.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] TFM Distribution [fr]

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English German

Release Date:

25 December 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Bryan Singer Thriller

Filming Locations:

Barton Flats, San Bernardino Mountains, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,854,195 (UK) (23 January 2009)

Gross:

$83,077,470 (USA) (10 April 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), United Artists, Bad Hat Harry Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Much of the movie takes place in the offices of Bendlerblock which served as the offices for the military operations of the Third Reich's military command. The courtyard of Bendlerblock is where Colonel von Stauffenberg and the other conspirators were executed. Some of the filming of the movie took place at the actual building. This building is now the Memorial to the German Resistance (German: Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand). The statement in the final slide of the movie is from a plaque near the site of execution at the Memorial.

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Goofs

The Afrika Korps General is wearing the Knight's Cross on the wrong neck ribbon of black/silver-gray. It should be red-orange, white, black. The other neck ribbon is not fitting for this decoration. Shortly after in the film, General Olbricht is seen wearing the proper ribbon. Also the General's collar devices are too big so that the center bullion device is far too small and out-of proportion.

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Quotes

[first lines]
soldiers in unison: I swear by God this sacred oath: That I shall render unconditional obedience to Adolf Hitler, Fuhrer of the German Reich and people, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and that I shall at all times be ready, as a brave soldier, to give my life for this oath.

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Connections

Version of It Happened on July 20th (1955)

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Soundtracks

"Badenweiler Marsch"
Written by George Fürst
Courtesy of Military Music Online

User Reviews

Great movie and thank god for IMDb!

First, I want to say that some time ago I learned to distrust critics and instead read the reviews here on IMDb. I've never been misled, even when an equal number of viewers liked and disliked the same movie because that let me know there was a matter of taste in play, and that's fine. Sometimes a movie pleases everyone, but that's so rare I cant really think of one. People have different tastes and that's good. But the value of IMDb reviews is that they are based on a genuine response to the movie - not a bias, or some other agenda.

For example, the Fox critic Roger Friedman listed this movie as one of the worst of 2008 - without having seen the movie. That's right. He rated it without seeing it. It was a classic and reprehensible case of bias and perhaps even bigotry since he was engaging in Tom Cruise bashing which is usually practiced in conjunction with dissing Tom's religion.

So I don't trust critics to tell the truth or give an unbiased review.

I saw Valkyrie and enjoyed it immensely. I've studied the Hitler period and was familiar with most of the events but the movie educated me while it thrilled and entertained me. It is a movie I was happy to take my teen-aged children to see because it also educated and entertained them. I thought the cast did a great job. The script was outstanding and the direction excellent. Tom Cruise gave a dimension to Von Stauffenberg that deepened my understanding of the events. The supporting cast were brilliant.

I highly recommend it.

PS. It's some time since I wrote this review and I took thirty minutes tonight to read the other reviews on this movie, not surprisingly they are mostly very positive and unanimous in praising it. Interestingly, the critics, including the one named above, who trashed the movie without even seeing it, obviously did so in an effort to kill it at the box office. While many other reviewers noted this too, I'd like to point out that those critics and possibly some of the people who 'dont like Tom Cruise because of his weird religion' are actually following the same path that made it possible for Hitler to kill off millions of Jews who also had a 'weird religion'. Considering the historical background of Valkyrie I find that quite ironical.