A True Tale of Treason (Valkyrie (DVD))

Member Name: sewbizzie

Product:	Valkyrie (DVD)
Date:	09/11/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great acting story and effects

Disadvantages: None from me

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg is serving in the German army for Hitler and he is having mixed views as to whether Hitler would make a good leader if they were to win the war. He decides that he would not and starts to write in his journal about taking out Hitler and ending this absurd war. Stauffenberg and his men soon come under attack from the American planes and the majority of men are killed but Stauffenberg is lucky and does survive, albeit very badly injured. He looses the sight in one eye, part of his one arm and 3 fingers on his other hand.

As a result of his injuries he is given a different job and he is now more determined to get rid of Hitler. Soon he is approached by a group of top officials who are all thinking along the same lines and he soon agrees to join them and help to plan the assassination of Hitler.

Will Stauffenberg be successful in killing Hitler and will the reserve army be able to hold off the SS who will then try to take over Germany?

I have done my best to describe this plot giving as little away as possible as I do not wish to spoil it for those who have not seen the film and who are not familiar with this story. I did not know before watching this film that it was in fact based on a true story and events. I was hubby who actually told me this but then as the film began it did also inform us of the truth that this is based on.

I did find the storyline to be very good but I did find it was a little predictable as to the ending as we all know the year in which the war ended and this story was set in the year prior to this. Despite knowing the outcome of the film I was actually shocked to see how far the plan did go and how things were taken to a state of panic amongst the Germans. I also found it a little surprising how many of the top Germans were actually against Hitler and his plans. I found this very interesting and informative.

Tom Cruise took the role of Stauffenberg and I have to say he did a fantastic job. I was dreading him having a bad German accent but he did still speak in his normal American voice which may seem a little strange and unrealistic but as I got into the film I really did forget about this. He did a great job of portraying his injuries and I though the special effects for these were exceptional. My stomach did actually flip over several times when he was putting his false eye in despite us not being actually show him doing it but the though of it and the look of it in the silver case was enough for me.

There was a lot of supporting actors in this film and to name a few we had, Kenneth Brannagh playing Major General Tresckow, Terence Stamp as Ludwig Beck, Bill Nighy as General Olbricht and Eddie Izzard as General Fellgiebel. These actors were all excellent in their roles and they were all very believable. I found they bought so much to the film and gave the story a lot more depth. The accents which they all had were slightly German and I think this did make them seem more genuine. I was quite interested in finding out how Eddie Izzard would take to playing the role of a very straight character and I have to say he really did a fantastic job.

David Bamber was given the hard task of portraying Hitler and I have to admit that I was not struck on the role, he seemed to be constantly on edge and not quite right in the head. He always seemed to have a half asleep look but according to hubby who has read a lot of history books on him this is how he went in the later part of the war and was always on edge and though people were trying to plot against him and he trusted no one. I think after learning this then David did the character justice.

The film was obviously set in Germany and was based on the military and I think a lot of time and effort went into making the costumes and sets and scenery, as they all looked very good and authentic and at times we did get some lovely shots of the German countryside. The music throughout the film was good and very appropriate for the places it was used. It did help with the emotions of the scenes it was used in and I think a lot of credit should go to the musical director as he did a great job.

The special effects in the film really were good and I think it was particularly good with the injuries which Tom Cruise's character had. There was a lot of bombing in the beginning of the film and this really did look excellent and real.

The DVD which we have does have some bonus features which include:-

Commentary by Tom Cruise, Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie
Commentary by Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander
The Journey to Valkyrie
The Valkyrie Legacy

I have not watched any of these bonus features so I ma unable to make comment on them.

The running time of this film is 115 minutes and I did think this may be a little to long but as I started to get into the film I really did loose track of the time. The certificate is a 12 as there is some moderate violence and a use of strong language and I do definitely agree with this rating due to the subject matter of the film.

We paid £7 for this from Tesco and overall I do have to recommend this film as I did actually learn so much from it. I thought the acting was excellent and so too were the effects. I just have to say that you need to be in the frame of mind for this film as it is not easy viewing.

Summary: The Germans plan to take down Hilter themselves