2008 Movie Preview
Valkyrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Stephen Fry, Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Release date: October 3, 2008
The Plot: Cruise stars as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg in this dramatization based on true stories. Von Stauffenberg was a German soldier who joined an anti-Nazi resistance movement and eventually spearheaded the infamous "July 20 Plot" to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
The Pros: Although still feeling the sting of his Superman Returns nose-dive, director Singer remains a formidable talent, and he's assembled an impressive cast for his historical potboiler. Cruise certainly resembles von Stauffenberg, and (all personal-life nuttiness aside) has the skills to take a meaty lead role like this and drive it home.
The Cons: Will people be able to put that personal-life nuttiness aside? The German government almost didn't allow Cruise to film in certain places because of his religious beliefs — will that stink carry into theaters and turn audiences off?
Cheat Sheet:
- The movie takes its name from Hitler's "Operation: Valkyrie," a plan that called for the German Reserve Army to take charge should Allied bombing disrupt law and order. Von Stauffenberg, the head of the Reserve Army, was put in charge of the operation. The resistance then realized that Operation: Valkyrie could be used to enact a coup and overtake the Nazis should Hitler be assassinated.
- Von Stauffenberg was said to have started out as a zealous German nationalist, but soured on the Nazi regime after witnessing its brutality towards Jewish people and Russian prisoners of war. This led to his joining the resistance.
- The "July 20 Plot" involved Von Stauffenberg smuggling a briefcase bomb into a conference with Hitler, setting it down, excusing himself, and detonating it. He did, but Hitler survived the blast with only minor injuries.
- One story claims that a German officer at the meeting moved the briefcase because it was obstructing his view and placed it behind a heavy table leg — inadvertently saving Hitler's life.
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