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Valkyrie (2008)

Director: Bryan Singer

Time Out rating

Average user rating

45 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

DVD is ruining historical education in this country: with hundreds of movies now available, there’s no reason for the families of middle England to gather around the TV on a wet bank holiday afternoon to watch ‘The Colditz Story’ for the umpteenth time. But help is at hand: in ‘Valkyrie’, Tom Cruise doesn’t just set out to beat the Boche, but to save the great British Sunday.
It’s surprising that Hollywood never got around to making an all-star epic about the plot of July 1944, in which a group of disgruntled generals, led by the aristocratic von Stauffenberg (Cruise), attempted to off the Führer and rescue Germany’s reputation. The failure of the assassination plan, and the attempted coup that followed, marked the end of organised Germanic resistance to Hitler’s regime.

Director Bryan Singer takes a staunchly old-school approach, assembling a cast of reliable British thesps and dividing the action between swastika-adorned wood-panelled offices and rainswept, shadowy Berlin streets. The period is exactingly recreated, with the camera lingering lovingly over leather jackboots, snarling dogs and those fetishistic, immaculately starched uniforms.
‘Valkyrie’ has serious flaws: the script, by Nathan Alexander and Singer’s longtime compadre Christopher McQuarrie, takes an age to get going and steers clear of any moral ambiguity. Too many of the prestigious cast – notably Kenneth Branagh and token female Carice van Houten – are underused, and the accents are simply ludicrous, with Cruise’s mid-American drawl sitting awkwardly alongside Branagh’s cultured RP and the Führer’s Teutonic whine. But as old-fashioned historical escapism goes, this is solid, compelling stuff.

Author: Tom Huddleston 2009-01-20 11:47:23

Time Out London Issue 2005, 22-28 Jan. 2009

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User reviews of this film

Dave said...

Posted on Mar 31 2009 10:24 In case any are wondering if I'm an Armchair General... I have over 35 years active duty service in the Canadian Forces, and a very broad extent of experience throughout the world (except Antarctica!).

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blib said...

Posted on Mar 31 2009 07:20 take your point Dave and agree entirely re. "Paths of Glory"

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Dave said...

Posted on Mar 30 2009 19:52 Get out more, blib? I'm out 6 nights per week. I do need a day of rest! I'm not John Lennon - I can't do Eight Days a Week.
I agree with your last two sentences. Valkyrie is an excellent film (which doesn't preclude it could be better), and accents shouldn't interfere in the enjoyment of it. Another excellent film, in this case regarding the frustration of dealing with leadership, is Stanley Kubrick's 1957 "Paths of Glory" which starred Kirk Douglas and concerned itself about the Souain Corporal's Affair. "Paths of Glory" is based upon the true story of four French soldiers, under General Géraud Réveilhac, unfairly executed for mutiny during World War I; their families sued, and while the executions were ruled unfair, two of the families received one franc each, while the others received nothing.
Sounds a lot like today. Just replace execution with Agent Orange.
As for the 'what ifs' - that's called making a choice. Whether it's a choice about everyday things (Should I see Valkyrie tonight or the Pink Panther 2?), or extraordinary things (What if Yamamoto had invaded Hawaii? What if JFK survived Dallas? What if the July 20 Plot worked and Hitler was killed?), "what if" is part and parcel of decision-making.

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blib said...

Posted on Mar 30 2009 11:50 Larry and Dave, I think you both need to get out more, preferably with each other but do us all a favour and let us know where you're going so we don't run the risk of bumping into you. Excellent film, forget the accents. so many "what ifs"

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Michael said...

Posted on Mar 05 2009 08:34 One of the best films I've seen in a long time.
It's a very straightforward film about a bonafide historical event. Some critics have called the film boring. If the actors and script had leaned more towards the sensational; the critics more than likely would have said it was over the top. It is neither, but rather strikes a nice balance between drama and realism.
I've never been a Tom Cruise fan; but I try to give any performer a chance to show what he can do. This may be the best work Tom Cruise has ever done.
The whole cast was excellent; as were the other aspects of the film.
Some of the settings were gorgeous; and for the most part, seemed quite authentic. They should, since many of them were filmed in actual historical locations.
The greatest movie ever made ?
Why, no, but good enough that it entered my Top Ten today.
The whole cast and crew have my sincere respect and admiration.
A single tear trickled from my eye as I witnessed the inevitable fate of the rebel soldiers.

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pasaglenia said...

Posted on Feb 26 2009 16:36 I saw this film for my birthday treat and it was memorable. One of the best films I've seen in a long time.My husband also enjoyed it.

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usman khawaja said...

Posted on Feb 12 2009 08:32 this is better as a movie then all the award winners this year -shame about tom cruise though i nwish they had cast someone convincing as the baron -still it was more interesting then both button and slumdog and reader

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Marsellus said...

Posted on Feb 09 2009 09:48 Saw this yesterday...
Historical accuracy and controversy aside, the film was interesting enough in that it offered a different kind of WW2 film than we usually get from Hollywood. Germans are typically confined to the bad guy roles in WW2 films so it was a refreshing change to see them portray the heroes this time around. However, as a film Valkyrie was let down by a lack of action or suspense. Perhaps developing the supporting characters and making more of the previous attempts on Hitler's life would have helped. (Where did Ken Branagh disappear to?) There was a lot more discussing of plans than actually carrying them out. This film is not M:I-4 as the trailer led me to believe. Still... it was nice to learn about a little known piece of history.

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jo said...

Posted on Feb 08 2009 14:55 To ian manning, mr bruce vallance has wrote a review on page one of the three review pages and has stated his own views on the subject of the war and the german soldiers.This opinion has not gone down well with Katrin,she has a good knowlege on the war and has visited some historical places.I would say to her it's great she cares like that but she needs to remember every1 views everything differently so we have to allow for difference of oppinion!He is not right or wrong neither is she they just see things from a diferent view point,and on my side I agree with him!I think these people should have acted alot sooner not just because they wre losing the war!but yes they were still brave and deserve being remembered just not glorified!

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jo said...

Posted on Feb 08 2009 14:35 I think most of you have forgoten this is a movie review page!!we all have our own opinions on the war,and most of us didn't live through it!the only thing I have to say about it all is I totally agree with mr vallence (i assume he is an older man as he seems to think like the older generation who lived through it all and actually heard of these things over the "wireless"!)my grand father was over in normandy and my grandma went through the war with three children who all remember it as well as aunts and uncles (one off my grandad's brothers married a german girl he met days before the war ended,he was in germany at the time as a soldier who had landed at d-day!!)so I do know how people from that time feel about these "hero's".Anyways this is MY thoughts on the FILM.can't stand tom average actor,thought he did well in this part but still a little sitff.It started of well and then became slightly boring for awhile,when they got round to doing the biussiness it picked up again.the support cast were great but as some1 has said already not used anywhere near enough,I was looking forward to seeing kenneth on the big screen again!the plot was true to the reallity and yes I agree with others german language would have been better as in downfall but it would put the majority off(there were only 15 of us there as it was!)but they could have at least done "the accent"!this is only my opinion of the film and I AM NOT BARRY NORMANS DAUGHTER just to clarrify things as this film (as all war movies!)has stirred up old wounds and opinions!it's good to see that people still care about what happened and still have enough rage and opinions to carry on like this as it is 60 years ago but it should not be forgotton or swept under the carpet that's when it will happen again!I just wish that we could "forgive the germans" as they are only people like us and the majority of the real villians of the war are dead!

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Ian Manning said...

Posted on Feb 08 2009 14:35 Who's Bruce Valance???!!!

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bill said...

Posted on Feb 07 2009 17:10 the best film i have ever seen ever. Have no clue why some idiots criticise this for accents ect this film is amazing. It made me cry at the end when they were all shot and hung, it made me cry. It also has action and i loved this film. Who cares at the accents or actors. We're hardly going to get some old german people to try blow up Adolf Hitler because most Germans would/nt dream of it. This film makes you realise just how brave and selfless some people are in the world. Knowing if you mess this up then you die is so selfless as he only thought of others. They never should have died, they should have been praised. One problem with this though. If you kill Hitler you die, so why not when you see him you pull out a gun and shoot him till all your bullets go because it would've been worth it. Oh well , Stauffenberg was the bravest man ever he if i were him i never would have done it what a brave man. This is simply an amzing film with an amzing cast well done to everyone involved with the making of Valkyrie. 5 stars out of 5 from me.

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L Bone said...

Posted on Feb 07 2009 05:16 There are probably not many films in English about the German resistance to the Nazis. Valkyrie is a kind of requiem for Claus Stauffenberg and the German resistance. I think Wagner's Requiem is played when the credits roll at the end of the film. And the film really makes you want to find out much more about those involved in the resistance and what they were actually up against. How does one function in a society disintegrating through carefully engineered "acceptable" hatred and hate crimes and political and ideological groups pitted against one another with sudden internal betrayal and quick liquidation occurring suddenly with no warning just around the next corner. How does one live or survive in such an environment?

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Ben said...

Posted on Feb 06 2009 22:29 Though it takes a while to get accustomed to the mix of accents, the film is factually accurate with many details in place. Parts were even shot at their real historic locations.

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L Bone said...

Posted on Feb 05 2009 14:38 It would have been great if the film had been done in German with subtitles.But far far fewer English speaking people would have seen it. It would have been great for people who speak or understand German even a little bit. You miss a lot even with subtitles because certain subtleties of words and their meaning don't accurately translate over into another language. Even the interviews with persons who knew the main characters (that form the basis for the screenplay) in the film translated into English most probably contained certain nuances of the language that were lost in the translation.

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