Valkyrie
Valkyrie is a 2008 historical thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and starring Tom Cruise. The film depicts an account on the July 20, 1944 plot of German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and marks the re-teaming of Singer and producer/screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie. Cruise will portray the leader of the plot, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.
- Director : Bryan Singer
- Release Date : 25 December 2008
- Genre : Drama | History | Thriller | War
- Tagline : Many saw evil. They dared to stop it.
Cast
- Tom Cruise : Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg
- Kenneth Branagh : Major-General Henning von Tresckow
- Bill Nighy : General Friedrich Olbricht
- Tom Wilkinson : General Friedrich Fromm
- Carice van Houten : Nina von Stauffenberg
Official Sites : -
During World War II, German Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (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. Read more
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Valkyrie Trivia
- Tobias Moretti was in talks for playing Adolf Hitler but had to decline due to schedule conflicts.
- Carice van Houten, portraying Stauffenberg’s wife Nina, is the longtime companion of Sebastian Koch, who played Stauffenberg in the critically acclaimed German TV movie Stauffenberg (2004) (TV).
- The initially crew was not allowed to film on Bendler Block due to “the dignity of this place”. Eventually, authorities would allow filming as long as the dignity of the place was not tarnished. On the evening of the takes, the entire crew observed a moment of silence in commemorance of Stauffenberg. Initial rumors that the project was banned from filming in Germany due to Tom Cruise’s religious belief turned out not to be true.
- Eleven film extras playing Wehrmacht soldiers were injured on set in Berlin when they fell out of a moving lorry. One of the actors received a serious back injury while others had bruises, cuts and head injuries. An insurance company investigation into the accident found that there was no mechanical malfunction of the truck. The investigation concluded that the side panel had been closed improperly by one of the extras, resulting in it opening while the truck was in motion.
- Through the tireless efforts of Screenwriter/Producer Christopher McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise, the Ministry of Defence ultimately overturned their decision to deny the production’s request to film at the Bendler Block and granted permission for scenes to be filmed at the historic location.
- Some scenes had to be re-shot when the original film was destroyed after being treated with the wrong chemical during development.
- The film was originally scheduled for release on August 8, 2008 and was later moved up to June 27, 2008. But production was halted when a suitable location could not found for the battle sequence in which Stauffenberg loses his eye and hand. The release was pushed back to October 3, 2008. Filming of the sequence did not resume until June 2008 and the release was pushed back to February 13, 2009. After a successful test screening, it was finally moved up to December 25, 2008.
- Cruise was attracted to the role after seeing a picture of Stauffenberg. He noticed a resemblance of his profile to the colonel’s.
- The display of swastikas is usually illegal in Germany but had to be used for authenticity. Arts and sciences are specifically exempted, but usually avoid using correct swastikas to prevent public outrage. Therefore, warnings were posted around the filming locations. Still, a local resident filed an official complaint with the city and charges were filed against the owners of the filming sites.
- Patrick Wilson was originally cast in the film but he dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
- Four actors are from the cast of Zwartboek (2006), Paul Verhoeven’s movie that also have a plot based in the World War II: Carice van Houten, Waldemar Kobus, Christian Berkel and Halina Reijn.