Valkyrie (2008)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Bryan Singer

Writers (WGA):

Christopher McQuarrie (written by) &
Nathan Alexander (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Thriller | War

Tagline:

Many saw evil. They dared to stop it.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Germany | Plan | Plot | Nazi | Colonel

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Walküre (Germany) (literal title) (USA) (alternative spelling)
Operation Walküre - Das Stauffenberg-Attentat (Germany)
Rubicon (USA) (fake working title)
Untitled Bryan Singer Thriller (USA) (working title)
Walküre/Valkyrie (USA) (complete title)
Operación Valquiria (Argentina) (Peru) [es]
Epiheirisi Valkyria (Greece) [el]
Jakjeonmyeong Balkiri (South Korea) [ko]
Operação Valquíria (Brazil) [pt]
Operaatio Valkyrie (Finland) [fi]
Operacija Valkira (Croatia) [hr]
Operacija Valkira (Serbia) [sr]
Operasyon Valkyrie (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Operation Valkyria (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Operation Valkyrie (Denmark) [da]
Operatsioon Valküür (Estonia) [et]
Operazione Valchiria (Italy) [it]
Valkür (Hungary) [hu]
Valkýra (Czech Republic) [cs]
Valkiria (Spain) [es]
Valkyria (Sweden) [sv]
Valkyrie (Japan: English title) [en]
Valquíria (Portugal) [pt]
Walkiria (Poland) [pl]
Walkyrie (France) [fr]
Warukyûre (Japan) [ja]
Xingdong mubiao Xitele (China: Mandarin title) [zh]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44626) | Czech Republic:12 | South Korea:12 | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-13 | Australia:M | Norway:11 | South Africa:10V | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Hong Kong:IIA | Sweden:11 | Spain:13 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Brazil:14 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | India:UA | Mexico:B

Filming Locations:

Barton Flats, San Bernardino Mountains, California, USA

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

Carice van Houten, who plays Nina Stauffenberg, is the longtime companion of Sebastian Koch, who played Stauffenberg in the critically acclaimed German TV movie Stauffenberg (2004) (TV).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Hermann Goering is not wearing his "Blue Max" WWI medal. It should have been around his neck, with his Grand Cross. Another character ('Pompous General') is correctly shown wearing his Blue Max.

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.

Movie Connections:

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

Soundtrack:

They'll Remember You

Great movie, doesn't do history justice

I was curious about this movie since it had caused so much controversy with Tom Cruise in the main role. Personally I think he was after all not a bad choice for this part and all in all I am very happy that there is an American movie that shows the different side of Germany and Germans in the Third Reich (there was a time when in every Hollywood Movie the villain were always Germans). But Americans, who in general don't really have much understanding of history, fail to realize that Hitler wasn't voted into power by the people. As a matter of fact, he only received 36,8 % of the votes in the election. Though this made his party the leading one, he could only gain power because the politicians of the other parties thought they could control him. Once Hitler was able to turn Germany into a dictatorship, it was extremely difficult to form any resistance. So much as cracking a joke about the Fuehrer was reason enough to be imprisoned, investigated and executed. Organizing a conspiracy meant risking not only your life, but the life of everyone even remotely associated with you. And you could never be sure who you could trust or who might be a spy or simply rat you out for personal gain. This is where this movie falls a little short, because it shows Stauffenberg and others simply talking freely about their plans and their convictions. Yes, I get that it is very difficult to portrait this conflict and the tremendous danger in a two hour movie, but I can't help it, I just feel that it doesn't give the audience a real picture of how daring this operation was and how nerve wracking this must have been (remember, this was the third attempt of Stauffenberg. He had the explosives with him two times before and had to abort ... each time risking detection). If you really think this through, you can not have enough respect for their courage. And I can't help but to point out, that most people don't even have the civil courage to demonstrate and protest in a free country with a democratic government.

Bottom line: great movie and you should watch it. Just be reminded, that this is a very watered down version of history.