Ahh! Welcome back movie fans! For this marks the return of my DVD reviews. Honestly, not alot has been coming out lately that I've been inclined to pick up on DVD. May and june were very slow for releases, so I turned my interests towards another love of mine, toy collecting! =P So I hope you all enjoyed those collectible reviews, there will be more, there's some nice stuff coming out in the following months including the MUCH anticipated shipment of Sideshow's Darth Vader 14" 1/6th scale figure! So we'll definitely be looking at that.
I recently picked up the new DVD release for what I think is one of Tom Cruises BEST films to date, Valkyrie. Before I get into the actual DVD and the goodies that it has to offer I must stress to you that this is a war film. If you don't like war films, then I think this is not a review you want to waste your time on, simple. I've gotten minor criticism about only watching, reviewing and catering to science fiction, horror or fantasy. And that's fine, I take criticism very well especially if it's somewhat true. Honestly, I haven't seen a good drama or period, or non-fiction story in a bit since I've started these blog reviews. So, to break the misconception that I only like Horror and fantasy, I give you a drama, period, and true~to~life piece ALL in one! Don't you feel special? ;P
Alright before I get into the actual film, I'd like to talk about the extra's first. That's right. The reason is this, in reality, this film almost was never made. The reason? Partly because of the casting of christian science following Tom Cruise. Christian science is seen as a totalitarian organization and is banned in Germany. Also, It was frowned upon that an american studio chose to do a film on the story of Germany's only honoured war time heroes. German officials are always tough to convince when thier history is involved. Especialy when americans get their hands on it. Thank the gods, this film was in the right hands, thier hard work is detailed in the extras.
The two-disc Special Edition Valkyrie DVD set contains nearly an hour of video bonus materials. The best is "The Valkyrie Legacy," a 42-minute History Channel documentary. Here historians and spokesmen for the German Resistance Memorial Center talk about the events dramatized in the feature film. You can see archival photos of the real-life people depicted in the movie, and you can hear from two of Stauffenberg's children, one of whom was born in a concentration camp. The documentary shows that Berlin streets have been named for at least three of the 1944 conspirators, including Stauffenbergstrasse, named for the character portrayed by Tom Cruise.
Tom Cruise as Wehrmacht Colonel Claus Von Stouffenberg.
There's also the so-so "The Journey to Valkyrie," a 16-minute making-of featurette in which cast and crew talk about the movie. Perhaps the most interesting thing concerns the Bendlerblock, the building in Berlin that during World War II was Supreme Headquarters of the Army. Because certain historical events took place at the Bendlerblock, it now has special significance, and German officials were even more fussy about permitting filming at this site. There were difficulties and delays in obtaining permission to shoot a key Valkyrie scene in the Bendlerblock courtyard, and before filming there, cast and crew paused for a moment of silence to indicate respect for the German Resistance.
The DVD set provides two separate feature-length audio commentaries, both containing a wealth of detail, much of which is indepth and valued to film buff/students like myself. If you decide to tackle these, the one with Tom Cruise, director Bryan Singer and producer/screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie is of greater general interest. They state they were going for a broad audience and that they didn't want to punish the audience. They wanted to make a film in the tradition of The Great Escape (1963), The Devil's Brigade (1968) and Patton (1970), and Valkyrie is in many ways old-fashioned. For purposes of authenticity, the movie required lots of research, including plowing through Gestapo records. Nearly all the shooting was done in and around Berlin, much of it at legendary Babelsberg Studios, where famous films like Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) and Josef von Sternberg's The Blue Angel (1930) were made. However, the North African scenes were shot in the California desert near Victorville.
In the second audio commentary, McQuarrie returns, this time paired with the other screenwriter, Nathan Alexander. McQuarrie claims the genesis of the idea for the screenplay came when he was touring Berlin in 2002 and saw a memorial plaque naming four soldiers, one of which was Stauffenberg. He learned that these were the only World War II military personnel honored by Germany, and he decided to write a screenplay to tell their story, although he never expected anyone would be willing to actually film it. My favorite little segment in that commentary is his advice to aspiring screenwriters: "Write the movie that you want to see." problebly something most students and aspiring writers/directors lose touch with.
Tresckow(Branagh), Stouffenberg(Cruise)At Hitler's Berghof estate amongst the furer's advisors.
So this 2 disc (3 if you include the digital copy of the movie, a waste of time if you ask me) is kinda on the slim side as far as "extras" but the ones included were fair and provided some nice retrospective into this intriguing german resistance story. And I really enjoyed the commentary tracks because as I usually point out, If you are or going to be a film student then these are the things you should look for while buying DVDs. It's nice to hear the director, or writer, or film actors and crew talk about the art in which they created. It's funny sometimes, because you have one impression or idea of the film, and the creators always open up a new angle or perspective for you. I like that!
THE STORY (MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS!!!!) This is a true historical event, I'm honoring it by giving you a guide line of that event. The Story is closely based on the july 20, 1944 plot to kill Adolf Hitler. There was a secret emergency plan created and it was called operation Valkyrie. It was designed to "cleans" the german government of unfavorable and evil elements, mainly Hitlers SS governing cabinet. During World War II, Wehrmacht Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) is serving with the 10th Panzer Division in Tunisia. A pair of British P-40 Warhawk fighters strafe the Germans, during which Stauffenberg is wounded, and is later evacuated home to Nazi Germany. Meanwhile, Major General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh) attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler by smuggling a bomb aboard the Führer's private airplane. The bomb, however, fails to detonate and Tresckow safely retrieves it to conceal his intentions. After learning that the Gestapo has arrested Major Hans Oster, he orders General Friedrich Olbricht(Bill Nighy) to find a replacement. After recruiting von Stauffenberg into the German Resistance, Olbricht delivers von Stauffenberg to a meeting of the secret committee, which has coordinated previous attempts on Hitler's life. The members include General Ludwig Beck (Terence Stamp), Dr. Carl Goerdeler (Phil McNally), and Erwin von Witzleben (Schofield). The Colonel is stunned to learn that no plans exist for after Hitler's assassination. After a bombing raid on Berlin, he lights upon using the plan Operation Valkyrie, which involves the deployment of the Reserve Army to maintain order in the event of a national emergency. The plotters carefully redraft the plan so that they can dismantle the Nazi regime after assassinating Hitler, by overthrowing the Schutzstaffel and imprisoning Hitler's closest advisors. Realizing that only General Friedrich Fromm (Tom Wilkinson), the head of the Reserve Army, can initiate Valkyrie, they offer him a position as head of the Wehrmacht in a post-Nazi Germany and recruit him into the fold: however, Fromm initially refuses. With the rewritten plan needing to be signed off by Hitler (Bamber) himself, von Stauffenberg visits the Führer at his Berghof estate in Bavaria. In the presence of his inner circle, Hitler praises von Stauffenberg's heroism in North Africa and signs off on the plan without fully examining the modifications.
Fire fight at the Bendlerblock.
At Goerdeler's insistence, von Stauffenberg is ordered to assassinate both Hitler and SS head Heinrich Himmler at the Wolf's Lair bunker. At a final briefing, Colonel Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim (Berkel) instructs the committee members in how to use pencil detonators. Von Stauffenberg also reaches out to General Erich Fellgiebel (Izzard), who controls all communications at Wolf's Lair, to cut off communications after the bomb blast. On July 15, 1944, von Stauffenberg attends a strategy meeting at Wolf's Lair with the bomb in his briefcase, but with Himmler not present at the meeting, von Stauffenberg does not get the go-ahead from the committee leaders until the meeting is over. Meanwhile, the Reserve Army is mobilized by Olbricht, unbeknownst to Fromm, to stand by. With no action taken, von Stauffenberg safely extracts himself and the bomb from the bunker, and the Reserve Army is ordered to stand down, believing that the mobilization was training. Enraged, von Stauffenberg goes to the committee to protest the indecisiveness and blames the bungling on Goerdeler, who has been selected to be chancellor after the coup. When Goerdeler demands that von Stauffenberg be relieved, Beck informs him that the SS is searching for him and implores him to leave the country immediately.
On July 20, 1944, von Stauffenberg and his adjutant Lieutenant Werner von Haeften (Parker) return to the Wolf's Lair. To von Stauffenberg's dismay, he discovers that the conference is being held in an open-window summer barracks, where as the plotters had intended to detonate the bomb within the walls of the bunker for maximum damage. While his adjutant waits with a getaway car, von Stauffenberg leaves the briefcase at the meeting. With the bomb armed, von Stauffenberg leaves the barracks (thanks to a diversion caused by Fellgiebel) for the getaway car. When the bomb explodes, von Stauffenberg is certain that Hitler is dead and flees the Wolf's Lair, bluffing his way past a checkpoint. Before shutting down communications, Fellgiebel calls Mertz about the explosion but cannot clearly convey whether or not the Führer is dead.
As von Stauffenberg flies back to Berlin, Olbricht refuses to mobilize the Reserve Army until he knows without a doubt that Hitler is dead. Behind Olbricht's back, Mertz forges his signature and issues the orders anyway. With Operation Valkyrie underway, von Stauffenberg and his fellow plotters order the arrest of Nazi party leaders and SS officers and begin to take control of Berlin's government quarter, which will allow them to command the entire Reich. Rumors reach Berlin that Hitler survived the blast, but von Stauffenberg dismisses them as SS propaganda. Meanwhile, Fromm learns from Field Marshal Keitel that Hitler is still alive. The General refuses to join the plotters, resulting in his arrest. When Hitler reaches the Reserve Army by telephone, the SS officers are released and the plotters in turn are besieged inside the Bendlerblock. The headquarters staff flees, but the ringleaders are arrested. Most are eventually tried and executed, while some commit suicide. Von Stauffenberg shouts "Long live sacred Germany!" before being executed by a firing squad.
Stouffenberg (cruise) on his way to meet with Hitler.
THE ACTING, PRODUCTION, AND OVERALL IMPRESSION
It's lush, beautifully shot, and rich with real german historical locations which actually pertain to the story itself, such as the Bendlerblock located in Berlin. Brian Singer(XMen, Apt Pupil, The Usual Suspects) Has a unique style and is always conscious of detail. So historical locations and uniforms and vehicles were always used when needed. The clothing and uniforms are top notch and perfect from the Afrika Corps scenes to Berlin. I've seen many a war film and these are the closest you can get I think. They may have been taylored from real museum pieces because every single costume including the non military and civilian period fashions look great. The mood is very old fashioned and true to the period (which actually starts in 1939). Speaking of mood, the scenes with Hitler were chilling. The camera angles were low to the ground and the music was kinda scary sounding. I think they wanted to bring across the idea that even Hitler's closest friends, colleges and officers were terrified of him. The scenes with Hitler were almost designed to not entirely show his face, but still paint the ominous portayal of a leader who was imperially looked at as a dark inhuman presence. He's always equated with the beast or "devil" And in this, he seems like it. This whole film is eye candy for German historical buffs and war film lovers. EVERYTHING was scaled to look like it was straight out of the 1940's.
The acting was great, but I can't help but think that Tom Cruise was also chosen for the role, not only for his great acting ability, but also for his striking resemblence to Stauffenberg. The resemblence is amazing actually. My favorite scenes in this film were the ones in Tunisia, during the Afrika Corps SS occupation. I think Cruise was top notch here. His anger and strife seems to never change from film to film. But in this it didn't annoy me at all. I guess if you've done enough films, you can only do anger and strife so many ways. So A minor little gripe, but he's in his element with building suspensful scenes. Kenneth Branagh and Bill Nighy are also great in this, you can see the internal conflicts in the decisions of these characters. You can see the wieght of consequence on their faces. It was something that had to be done. Someone needed to take a stand and change Germany.So the portrayal of the idea and the final exicution of said idea was beautifully mapped out in the internal turmoils of these characters. The tension and suspense built up to the final scenes of this film were fluidly and progressively executed. I loved it. One of the best war stories on film right now I think.
Alright, I've Babbled long enough about this film, I give it a 9 out of 10, pure and simple. My one squabble was with Cruises trademark ranting and raving like a lunatic. But, as I've mentoned, I give him credit for tackling such a complex historical figure as Claus Von Stouffenberg was. Not an easy feat for anyone I would suspect.I'm a huge fan of almost everything Brian Singer does, and this is an amazing accomplishment to his film resume. See this film even if you're not a war film fan. The reason I think, is that history paints germany as the "bad guy" when in actuality, it was the leaders who were the bad guys. We need to remember the heroes of that great war...on both sides.
Deadsurfkiss
Now does this look like a face you could trust? Or confide in? Exactly, me niether, but he does his job, and that's to scare EVERYONE in sight. I remember when I first saw this guy on screen. I mean Pinhead is scary and creepy, but come on!! This guys teeth are clicking NON STOP! He has no eyes, yet he lurches over toward you slowly and surely. It was scary stuff then, and scary stuff now that I have one in my house haha!
