Valkyrie Details

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[Highly rated reviewer]

superb......................................

This dvd is superb. Valkyrie is a historical thriller film starring Tom Cruise. The film is based on the 20th July plot of German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Tom Cruise portrays the leader of the plot, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.

The film also stars: Kenneth Branagh as Major General Henning von Tresckow, Christian Berkel as Colonel Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim, Bill Nighy as General Friedrich Olbricht,

David Schofield as Field Marshal Erwin von Witzleben, Terrence Stamp as Colonel General Ludwig Beck, Kevin McNally as Carl Goerdeler, Carice van Houten as von Stauffenberg's wife, Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg, David Bamber as Adolf Hitler,

Eddie Izzard as Erich Fellgiebel, Tom Wilkinson as Friedrich Fromm, Thomas Kretschmann as Otto Ernst Remer, Gerhard Haase-Hindenberg as Hermann Göring, Anton Algrang as Albert Speer and Matthias Freihof as Heinrich Himmler.

During World War II, German Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) is severely wounded in Africa and returns home to Nazi Germany.

Stauffenberg helps conceive Operation Valkyrie, a plan approved by Adolf Hitler which, in order to manage turmoil within Germany, would implement a shadow government in the event of the Nazi Führer's death.

The Colonel eventually joins the German Resistance and becomes part of the July 20 plot, a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler and execute Valkyrie in order to take control of the country and make peace with the Allies.

Stauffenberg finds himself taking on not only the responsibility of leading the coup, but also the task to assassinate Hitler himself.

Well worth watching.

[Highly rated reviewer]

CALL ON ME, VALKYRIE! (ONE FOR THE STEVE WINWOOD FANS)

A solid enough war movie. Who knows where Hollywood blurred the line between 'true story' and bollocks. However, I did find the stella cast rather distracting. You have to stop 'star' spotting and switch on to the characters. The lack of any attempts at German accents didn't help either. It made it all a bit 'Emperors new clothes'.