“I’m engaged in high treason with all means available to me, can I count you in?” Yes, anything that has to do with the extermination of Hitler, sign me up. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), I wasn’t given that choice as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and others were. Stauffenberg was a German army officer and Roman Catholic aristocrat who was one of the leading members of the failed plot to kill German dictator Adolf Hitler and remove the Nazi Party from power in World War II Germany.
Valkyrie depicts this July 20, 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the “Operation Valkyrie” national emergency plan to take control of the country. This film is an eye-opening account of how some Germans at that time (officers and civilians) saw Hitler and his regime as a disgrace to Germany and were willing to do something about it, despite the consequences if they got caught.
"Widespread disgust toward the crimes committed by the Nazis… the murder of civilians, torture and starvation of prisoners, the mass execution of Jews. Hitler is not only the archenemy of the entire world, but the archenemy of Germany. A change must be made.” So the film begins…
Since most know how Hitler dies (Hitler shot himself in the head with a pistol on April 30, 1945, shortly before the invading Soviet Army captured his bunker in Berlin), you kind of know how this film is going to end — somehow the plot is going to fail. However, Valkyrie does manage to keep it suspenseful, starting with one of the best scenes of the film, an actual attempt to kill Hitler by Major-General Henning von Tresckow (played by Kenneth Branagh). The film quickly moves to the birth and complexity of “Operation Valkyrie" and keeps your curiosity on high alert, wondering how this particular conspiracy is going to unfold and what will happen to the men behind it.
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Article comments
1 - Martin Howard
Agreed on the review... really enjoyed this movie. Have you seen any of the behind the scenes stuff yet? It really just goes to show you how authentic they really tried to make this film. Take this clip for example.
2 - Christine
Thanks Martin, and the clip you sent was terrific! I did watch the "Legacy Documentary" part of the special features, which is included in the 2-disc special edition! Love films based on true stories, to me the are the only ones worth watching these days!