Valkyrie (2008)

Awards
- 3 wins & 11 nominations

Trivia
The "central communications center" (teleprinter room), which appears several times in this movie, is a highly accurate depiction. Nearly thirty historically correct original teleprinter machines of various types were used. Some were provided by collector and technical consultant Henning Treumann, and some borrowed from other sources. All of the machines were fully operational, and, in the movie, are all printing authentic archival messages from the Nazi era, fed from off-screen teletype machines and notebook computers.

Goofs
On the day of the attempt at Rastenburg, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg managed to get through Security Zone II with his briefcase containing the explosives without problems. He knew however that on entering the inner Security Zone I, all personnel except Adolf Hitler's inner circle were thoroughly searched, as a precaution against assassination attempts. In order to avoid it, von Stauffenberg arranged so that he entered the Zone with Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel - an officer in Keitel's company would not be searched.

Quotes
[last lines]
Col. Claus von Stauffenberg: Long live sacred Germany!

Connections
Featured in stern TV: Episode dated 30 January 2008 (2008)

Soundtracks
They'll Remember You
Written by John Ottman and Lior Rosner
Orchestrated by Lior Rosner
Performed by the Rundfunkchor Berlin
Mezzo Soprano: Sylke Schwab
Conductor: Günther Joseck (as Günter Joseck)
German Language Music Consultant: Lee Rothfarb, Ph.D.
Lyrics adapted from Wanderer's Nachtlied II by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
The Rundfunkchor Berlin is an ensemble of The Rundfunkchor-Orchestra und Chöre GmbH Berlin
Shareholders are Deutschlandradio, The Federal Republic of Germany, The Federal State of Berlin and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting Service

Claus von Stauffenberg, a man famous for being a German Army Officer who came closest to a assassinating Adolf Hitler. Von Stauffenberg is the closest figure Germany has to a national hero during World War 2. It's surprising that it took so long for a film to be made, nor to be a German film.

Valkyrie is a test project for the newly reformed United Artists under Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner. It was also a smaller project for Bryan Singer after doing 3 superhero films and reunite Singer and Christoper McQuarrie for the first time after the Usual Suspects.

Valkyrie starts with a prelogue sequence in North Africa. Von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) is a disaffected officer who is questioning Hitler's regime and that he was leading Germany to the path of destruction. During a British air raid he is injured badly, loosing an eye, his right hand and two fingers on his left hand. He can no longer serve on the front line. In 1943 General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh) fails in his attempt to assassin Hitler and the German Resistance loss an army officer to help with operations. Von Stauffenberg is recruited in the resistance and the General Staff. He comes up with the Valkyrie plan which was to make the assassination of Hitler look like an SS plot, and get the army to launch a coup to 'protect' the Nazi regime. Von Stauffenberg is the only man who could get close to Hitler because he was the Chief-of-Staff for the Reserve Army General. The film is split into three major parts, the planning, the assassination attempt and the attempted coup.

Singer was able to bring in a very stylist approach of direction. I enjoy Singer's films and he was able to show his skills again. He is able to get an excellent cast, including Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Terrence Stamp and Tom Wilkingson to name a few. However, he shot the film in the style of a thriller, which was interesting, but being a historical film with most people knowing the outcome already takes away the suspense. But Singer did make an enjoyable film. The film has a strong script

Valkyrie is a strong, enjoyable film. It is not Singer's best but he can still pull it of.