Introduction

Valkyrie is a 2008 thriller film directed and co-produced by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander.

The film is set in Nazi Germany during World War II and depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country.

The film was released by American studio United Artists and stars Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, one of the key plotters.

The cast included Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Terence Stamp, and Tom Wilkinson.

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Outline

During World War II, Wehrmacht Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg is stationed in Tunisia, where he becomes increasingly disillusioned with the future of Germany under Hitler’s tyranny. His battalion comes under attack by P-40 fighter-bombers of the No. 3 Squadron RAAF, Desert Air Force. Stauffenberg is severely injured in the air raid and is evacuated home to Nazi Germany. While recuperating, he is recruited by General Olbricht into the German Resistance, which includes General Ludwig Beck, Dr. Carl Goerdeler, and Erwin von Witzleben.

Stauffenberg proposes using Operation Valkyrie, which involves the deployment of the Reserve Army in a national emergency, as a means to take control of the country. The plotters redraft the plan’s orders to dismantle the Nazi régime after assassinating Hitler. Stauffenberg’s new role within the Reserve Army grants him direct access to Hitler, who approves the redrafted plan without fully examining the modifications. Realising that only General Friedrich Fromm, the head of the Reserve Army, can initiate Valkyrie, they offer him a position as head of the Wehrmacht, but Fromm declines to be directly involved.

Stauffenberg is ordered to assassinate both Hitler and Himmler at the Wolf’s Lair. He persuades General Fellgiebel to cut off communications after the attempt. On 15 July 1944, Stauffenberg attends a strategy meeting at the Wolf’s Lair with a bomb, but does not receive permission to proceed as Himmler is absent. Meanwhile, the Reserve Army is mobilised by Olbricht. Stauffenberg leaves with the bomb and the Reserve Army is ordered to stand down. Fromm threatens Olbricht and Stauffenberg that he will arrest them if they try to control the Reserve Army again; Stauffenberg berates the plotters for their indecisiveness and condemns Goerdeler. When Goerdeler demands that Stauffenberg be relieved, Beck informs him that the SS has issued a warrant for his arrest, and that he must leave the country immediately.

On July 20, 1944, Stauffenberg and his adjutant Lieutenant Haeften return to the Wolf’s Lair. Due to the warm weather, the conference is being held in an open-window summer barrack, minimising their bomb’s potential effectiveness. Stauffenberg places the briefcase containing the bomb close to Hitler before leaving. An officer moves the case behind a table leg, inadvertently shielding Hitler. When the bomb explodes, Stauffenberg is certain that Hitler is dead and flees. Before shutting down communications, Fellgiebel calls Mertz about the explosion but cannot confirm Hitler’s death. Just before severing communications, Fellgiebel sees that Hitler has survived.

Stauffenberg returns to Berlin. Olbricht refuses to mobilise the Reserve Army without confirmation that Hitler is dead – Mertz forges his signature and issues the orders. With Valkyrie underway, the plotters order the arrest of Nazi party leaders and SS officers, convincing lower officers that the Party and the SS are staging a coup, and soldiers begin to take control of the ministries. Rumours surface that Hitler survived the blast, but Stauffenberg dismisses them as SS propaganda. Fromm learns from Field Marshal Keitel that Hitler is still alive. The General refuses to join the plotters, resulting in them detaining him.

Major Otto Ernst Remer of the Reserve Army prepares to arrest Goebbels, but is stopped when Goebbels connects him by phone to Hitler. Recognising the voice on the other end, Remer realises that the Reserve Army has been duped. SS officers are released and the plotters are besieged inside the Bendlerblock. The headquarters staff flees, but the resistance leaders are arrested. Attempting to save himself, Fromm convenes an impromptu court martial, places Beck under arrest, and sentences Von Quirnheim, Olbricht, Haeften, and Stauffenberg to death. Beck commits suicide and the ringleaders are executed by firing squad – Stauffenberg’s last act is to cry “Long live sacred Germany!”

A post-script displays the text of the German resistance memorial.

Cast

• Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg.
• Kenneth Branagh as Major General Henning von Tresckow.
• Bill Nighy as General of Infantry Friedrich Olbricht.
• Terence Stamp as Colonel General Ludwig Beck.
• Tom Wilkinson as Colonel General Friedrich Fromm.
• Carice van Houten as Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenber.
• Kevin McNally as Dr. Carl Friedrich Goerdele.
• David Schofield as General Field Marshal Erwin von Witzleben.
• Christian Berkel as Colonel Albrecht Ritter Mertz von Quirnheim.
• Jamie Parker as Lieutenant Werner von Haeften.
• Eddie Izzard as General of Signal Corps Erich Fellgiebel.
• David Bamber as Adolf Hitler.
• Thomas Kretschmann as Major Otto Ernst Remer.
• Harvey Friedman as Dr. Joseph Goebbels.
• Kenneth Cranham as General Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel.
• Matthias Freihof as Heinrich Himmler.
• Waldemar Kobus as Wolf-Heinrich Graf von Helldorf, chief of the Berlin police.
• Halina Reijn as Margarethe von Oven, secretary in the Bendlerblock.
• Werner Daehn as Major Ernst John von Freyend.
• Tom Hollander as Colonel Heinz Brandt.
• Bernard Hill as a General working with Stauffenberg in Tunisia.
• Ian McNeice as the composite “Pompous General” who attempts to disrupt the coup headquarters.
• Gerhard Haase-Hindenberg as Hermann Göring.
• Anton Algrang as Albert Speer.
• Helmut Stauss as judge Roland Freisler.
• Matthew Burton as Lieutenant General Adolf Heusinger.
• Philipp von Schulthess as Major General Henning von Tresckow’s aide.
  • von Schulthess is the grandson of Claus von Stauffenberg.

Trivia

• Cruise’s casting caused controversy among German politicians and members of the von Stauffenberg family due to the actor’s practice of Scientology, which is viewed with suspicion in Germany.
  • Because of this, the filmmakers initially had difficulty setting up filming locations in Germany, but they were later given access to locations such as Berlin’s historic Bendlerblock.
  • German newspapers and filmmakers supported the film and its intention to spread global awareness of von Stauffenberg’s plot.
• The film changed release dates several times, from as early as 27 June 2008, to as late as 14 February 2009.
• The changing calendar and poor response to United Artists’ initial marketing campaign drew criticism about the studio’s viability.
• After a positive test screening, Valkyrie’s release in North America was ultimately changed to 25 December 2008.
• United Artists renewed its marketing campaign to reduce its focus on Cruise and to highlight Singer’s credentials.
• The film received mixed reviews in the United States and in Germany, where it opened commercially on 22 January 2009.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s): Bryan Singer.
• Producer(s): Christopher McQuarrie, Bryan Singer, and Gilbert Adler.
• Writer(s): Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander.
• Music: John Ottman.
• Cinematography: Newton Thomas Sigel.
• Editor(s): John Ottman.
• Production: United Artists, Bad Hat Harry Productions, Cruise/Wagner Productions, and Studio Baelsberg.
• Distributor(s): MGM Distribution Co. (US) and 20th Century Fox International).
• Release Date: 25 December 2008.
• Running Time: 124 minutes.
• Country: US and Germany.
• Language: English and German.