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List Price: $34.98 | | Label: United Artists
Salesrank: 22283
Released: May 19, 2009 |
| Our Price: $17.40 |
| Used Price: $8.89 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 05/19/2009 Run time: 120 minutes Rating: Pg13
Description of Valkyrie (Two-Disc Special Edition + Digital Copy):
Unpretentious and dramatically straightforward, Valkyrie is a suspenseful yet ennobling story about the last attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler prior to the end of World War II. Tom Cruise is effective if a little opaque as hero Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who channels his anger at Hitler's atrocities and mismanagement of the war by joining a secret organization bent on killing the Führer. When the outspoken Stauffenberg hits on the idea of linking Hitler's death with an official policy to safeguard Berlin during a government crisis--a contingency plan called "Valkyrie"--the group realizes a post-assassination coup could be covered by rapidly implementing the plan. History tells us the plot failed, of course, and Hitler killed himself months later. But that doesn't stop Cruise or director Bryan Singer from approaching the film as a thinking person's thriller, told from inside the conspirators' camp, where the outcome of their deeds were uncertain for several tense hours.
In the tradition of The Great Escape, Valkyrie is a war movie full of famous faces, including Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy and Eddie Izzard. (The lesser-known David Bamber is very good as Hitler, hunched and cracking under pressure.) The film's gravity is offset a bit by the fun of seeing all these actors in a factually-based slice of history, and by a few, interesting stylistic flourishes on Singer's part, including the peculiarly unsettling image of a mosquito sizzled to death in close-up. --Tom Keogh
Stills from Valkyrie (Click for larger image)
Valkyrie (Two-Disc Special Edition + Digital Copy) Reviews:
Interesting... 
2009-12-30 - I didn't know that Hitler had so many atempts on his life. This movie was good, the acting was first rate. To bad we all know how it would end. I think Tom Cruise did a good job in this movie bringing his character to life. Watch this.
Pretty good
2009-12-29 - Valkyrie is a decent, straight-forward account of the Stauffenberg assassination plot against Hitler. I thought Cruise was excellent as the colonel, and, to its credit, the movie succeeds in painting a believable portrait of a World War II Wehrmacht officer as a universal hero--not an easy task. And, from a historical perspective, I had no idea the Valkyrie plot was so widespread. Until seeing this film, I was under the impression that it was only Stauffenberg and a handful of co-conspirators seeking to assassinate Hitler with no further plans; I didn't know it was a full-fledged coup. (On that note, historians say the film portrays the coup as coming closer to success than it did in reality.)
I saw a documentary on this film, and Stauffenberg, and the filmmakers said they wanted to tell the tale as straight-forward and unembellished as possible, which is admirable, and, as far as I can tell, they did well. It's a very austere film, approaching a documentarian approach in its coolness. The camera is largely an icy observer, allowing us to watch the drama unfold as if standing in the room as a fly on the wall.
Which leads me to my next point: I have no evidence of this, but, after watching Valkyrie, it seems to me that the filmmakers were hugely influenced by the 2004 German film Downfall. In its tone, its approach, its evenness, this film seems to have been inspired from the top down by the German movie, even in the execution--no pun intended!--of the closing captions. And that is perhaps why I am only moderately impressed with Valkyrie. The filmmakers were certainly aware that far less than one percent of their audience would have seen Downfall, rendering the mimicry a non-issue to most. But for those who have seen Downfall, Valkyrie pales in comparison by every conceivable measure.
Valkyrie is a good film and a good story but if you enjoyed it at all I would suggest you rent the German movie. To be fair to Valkyrie, though, Downfall is probably one of the greatest movies ever made.
Valkyrie 
2009-12-28 - The product was in great condition and worked very well. Thank you very much.
Valkyrie - a great film
2009-12-28 - An accurate dramatization of an historical event. "What if?" What if it had succeeded? The war in Europe might have ended sooner and millions of lives saved. But even though the attempt to remove Hitler and the Nazi hierarchy failed it demonstrated for all time that there were some Germans who resisted and paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Valkyrie
2009-12-25 - Excellent movier, but Perrsonally I'm not too fond of Topm Cruise, but he did an excellent job.
