*****
DVD Release
During World War Two, a
disillusioned group of high-ranking Nazi officers and politicians come together
in an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Using their powers in government,
they aim to undermine the regime from the inside by altering the plan ‘Valkyrie’
so that when Hitler was assassinated they would be able to end the war.
However, the attempt performed on 20th July 1944 came up against
some severe complications.
Everyone knows how the
assassination attempt ends, and yet that doesn’t seem to matter as we are
wholly on the side of the protagonists and their aim. The empathy we feel for
their cause is huge and throughout the film we’re willing for them to succeed,
and your heart breaks when the inevitable happens. The tension is literally
unbearable at times, but there are also touches of humour and lots of genuine
human emotion on display.
The cast list is astonishing and,
as you’d expect from such an ensemble, the acting is top quality. Tom Cruise
heads the cast as maimed Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg who delivers
the explosive along with his heartbreakingly loyal sidekick, Lieutenant Werner von Haeften (an excellent
Jamie Parker). Haeften’s loyalty and unswerving respect, possibly even love,
for Stauffenberg results in a tear-jerking conclusion and the chemistry between
the two actors is very enjoyable. The rest of the cast is made up of a whole
host of British talent with Bill Nighy as the timid and ultimately weak General Friedrich Olbricht, Tom Wilkinson
as another General, who knows which side his bread is buttered, along with
Kenneth Brannagh and Tom Hollander in smaller roles. Eddie Izzard turns up
unexpectedly and does a great performance, playing it straight throughout.
There is also a whole host of other British actors in the supporting cast, all
of whom earn their stripes.
For such a ‘talkie’ film, the
pacing is excellent and once it starts there isn’t a dull moment. The
cinematography is atmospheric and really adds to the feeling of dread – the
sequence in which Stauffenberg and Haeften proceed through the circles of
security at ‘The Wolf’s Lair’ is nail-biting and emphasises the paranoia that
Hitler was experiencing at this stage of the war. The film isn’t perfect –
sometimes it feels a little too rushed, but overall this is a very engaging
World War Two film.
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