Valkyrie

Anyone seen Valkyrie?

Took the Mrs to see "Valkyrie" last weekend...

Valkyrie Movie Trailer


While I've never been a Cruise fan, they did a pretty darn good job of not only making it accurate as far as the sets/casting went, they also told the story pretty well.

Anyone else see and/or have any thoughts?

/\ Moving this to the Valkyrie film thread... (no harm no foul) /\

Nighthawk said:

Bleh. As a Trek fan you should be ashamed. It is well known that James Cameron plagerized Harlan Ellison's two Outer Limits episodes in creating The Terminator.

Cheers,

NH

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Yup, 'Acknowledgements to the works of Harlan Ellison' is now emblazoned on the Terminator credits. One great trek episode, but really more the Outer Limits episodes.
And really his take on the Colonial Marines in ALIENS totally ripsoff the StarshipTrooper novel...but the SST movie seemed to rip off Aliens....
A shame Cameron hasnt done much since Titanic. Luckily, he didnt do Spiderman w/ DiCaprio or Planet of the Apes with Arnold....
He's working on some 3-d sci-fi.

back to WWII, I think Kenneth Branaugh was fine in Valkyrie, but far better in Conspiracy,http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266425/

This Morning I was up early to catch the 10.40am showing at the "Picadilly" i was one of only seven people in the whole place!!!!! I have never been a fan of Tom but i must admit this is very much an ensmble piece, so many famous faces from mainly britsh Tv and cinema? I thoroughly recomend it, but not one for toms usual fans

At the end of the film I thought that there may have been people sitting in this very cinema, here in Australia whilst those horrible events were being played out in Germany.

P.S

In the very end shot of the movie, focusing on the back of Toms head
is that rasor rash around the nape of his neck?

Historical Accuracy of 'Valkyrie'

I was persuaded to go to see the film over the week-end by friends who promised me great 'historical accuracy'. Now, for effect I often 'milk' a reputation for nit-picking criticism of minor inaccuracies in uniform, props and dress. That's a joke on my part. Like most people I am perfectly capable of enjoying a 'historial' film that doesn't replicate exactly the minor details. I don't see how minor instances of 'artistic licence' can offend, particularly if it makes a good film.

However, I really object to major deviation of the plot from the historical facts in the face of prevailing public opinion (what I understand is called 'political correctness'). Valkyrie is rife with this, I'm afraid, particularly in its stance that the would-be assassins who plotted against Hitlers life were against the internment and murder of minority ethnic groups.

I am not going to risk antagonising some Loungers by discussing the facts or the motivation of the plotters in this case (and there were another 15 recorded plots on Hitler's life, of course). Instead, I would recommend some basic reading before seeing the film, for instance:

Nigel Jones 'Countdown to Valkyrie' Frontline Books.

Philipp Von Boeselager 'Valkyrie: the plot to Kill Hitler. Weidenfeld and Nicholson.

The former is a contextual historical account, the latter a reminiscence by someone who was involved in the plot (he supplied both EDs) and miraculously escaped with his life (Herr Von Boeselager died last yeat aged 90).

On the other hand, if you enjoyed the film 'U-571' you probably won't be bothered by the inaccuracies in 'Valkyrie'...

Just my opinion, of course.

^ One of my favorite WWII films (actually, one of my all-time fav. films, regardless of genre) is The Great Escape. Now, we all know in reality there was no Steve McQueen-like character jumping the Swiss border on a motorcycle at Stalag Luft III.

So, no, historical accuracy doesn't make me not like a film. Obviously, though, one should get their history through books, not entertainment films.

Cheers,

NH

I agree - most people in Britain grow up with that film - it has become as much a part of Christmas TV as the Queen's speech. I enjoy the film, but I don't believe it is factual* and never have and I suspect I am not alone. In the 1960s when it was made, if you wanted fact about the incident at Stalag Luft 3, probably the first port of call would have been at your local library, most likely Paul Brickhill's authoritative book 'The Great Escape'.

I suspect that when the film was made there was a greater separation of fact and fiction in the public imagination, and that the Web may be instrumental in reducing such separation today. If someone today wants to know about the incident at Stalag Luft 3, what would be their most convenient resource? Not an authorative history, I suspect, but a search engine leading to a wiki or website. Or a film. I think that places a responsibility on such media to 'get the facts right' or at least make it clear when fiction appears (assuming they even know). To give credit where credit is due, the makers of U-571 did go some way to do this in the opening credits.

* I am rather surprised (because I don't understand 'political correctness') that the Great Escape film doesn't fall foul of PC as it rather makes light of the fact that 50 escapees were executed.

H.Johnson said:

...you wanted fact about the incident at Stalag Luft 3, probably the first port of call would have been at your local library, most likely Paul Brickhill's authoritative book 'The Great Escape'.

I suspect that when the film was made there was a greater separation of fact and fiction in the public imagination, and that the Web may be instrumental in reducing such separation today. If someone today wants to know about the incident at Stalag Luft 3, what would be their most convenient resource? Not an authorative history, I suspect, but a search engine leading to a wiki or website. Or a film. I think that places a responsibility on such media to 'get the facts right' or at least make it clear when fiction appears (assuming they even know).

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An interesting point; not sure how fully I agree. The Web has a propensity to disseminate rumors/myths/legends/inaccuarate information, at least moreso than books. The sheer volume of info on the Web, though, lets me believe that accurate info is contained there. One needs to use trusted sites.

EDIT: I see you created a thread about this very topic over in TOB!

NH

U-571? Wasn't that the one where Jon Bon Jovi led the Americans to capture the enigma machine? :eusa_doh:

Really enjoyed Valkyrie, though I now need to do the reading to see what they got "wrong." If nothing else, I think it's a very important film for its recasting of the WW2 situation, and that it brings out the message that not all Germans - and especially not all Wehrmacht - were Nazis.

I just posted in another thread that I saw this movie, but i was shocked every single minute, because i tought i went to a romantic movie just like blackbook, and yes the reason I went was only because of Carice van Houten, so i ended up in a complete ww2 movie,

It was actually a bit difficult to understand now and then, because of all the persons and names, why did'nt I ever pay attention in history class :eusa_doh: than I maybe enjoyed the movie more

Just read this in the paper:

You know you are watching a "epic Hollywood war movie", when all the Germans speak fluent english. Except they never learned the words "fast" ,"hands up" and "watch out".
lol lol

I saw it a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed it. I usually don't like Tom Cruise but I was pleasantly surprised. It really didn't seem like a 'Tom Cruise movie', perhaps because it's such an ensemble piece. I thought the acting was very good, and I even felt a sense of tension - quite an achievement given that everyone knows how it's going to end.

And am I the only one who thinks it's a little ridiculous to criticise the fact the actors are speaking English, when 95% of films made about people who don't speak English are in English?! It's hardly unique in that respect - most films do it that way so what's the big deal?! Just look at Schindler's List or The Pianist - both true (like Valkyrie), both mostly in English, and yet neither was criticised for it.

I enjoyed the movie, in spite of Tom Cruise. I will probably buy it on DVD.