DVD
REVIEW: VALKYRIE
05/22/09
SYNOPSIS: “Tom
Cruise gives one of the best performances of his career”
(Jeffrey Lyons, NBC/Reel Talk) in this action-packed film
from the director of The Usual Suspects and X-Men. Based on
the incredible true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg
(Cruise) and his ingenious assassination plot targeting
Adolf Hitler, this engrossing thriller reenacts the daring
operation to eliminate one of the most evil tyrants the
world has ever known.
REVIEW: Henning von Tresckow:
We have to show the world that not all of us are like him.
Otherwise, this will always be Hitler's Germany.
I for one was enlightened and impressed to see the
dissention within the ranks of Hitler’s Germany. I must not
have retained my world history very well because I did not
recollect that there had been that many attempts on Hitler’s
life during his reign. This movie is an excellent portrayal
of one such attempt that was very, very close to being
successful. We’re talking about a man that was like a god on
Earth who lived and ruled amongst the German people and a
pretty good amount of those German people were willing to
sacrifice anything and everything to bring this man down.
Hitler was powerful having Valkyrie major steps towards world
domination. He was beyond highly respected and feared and
yet he had to constantly look over his shoulder even while
surrounded by his own people. From their point of view he
was destroying Europe and Germany itself as well. Tom Cruise
magnificently played the role of Col. Claus von Stauffenberg,
the man in charge of this assassination attempt, and he says
it best when he says “I'm a soldier, but in serving my
country, I have betrayed my conscience.” But it takes a lot
of moxie to go up against the Nazis and the Fuhrer and again
he says it best when he says “Only God can judge us now.”
Tom does a great job with this role but I wouldn’t call it
his best work.
You will be gasping for air as you watch this film. It is
tense, nerve raking, loud, startling, and powerful even
though you already know the outcome. What takes this movie
over the top is the fact that it is based on actual events.
I love well made historical movies because all the while you
can remind yourself that, hey, this actually happened. It
makes it that much more moving. So I enjoyed the story and
the way it was laid out was very well paced. The script was
just as tense and sharp as the story and meaningful. There
was very little to no fluff. The cinematography was
masterful with beautiful locations, crisp camera angles, and
mood setting shots. Every time Hitler appeared in a scene,
the entire mood of that scene changed as well. Everything
got quiet and cautious which added to the effect of being in
the presence of this larger than life persona. Speaking of
personas, what a cast. Hollywood has really gone all out on
casting in the last few years and casting directors have
answered the call. Along with Mr. Cruise you’ve got Kenneth
Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Thomas Kretschmann,
Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard, Kevin McNally, and the list
goes on and on. (If you don’t recognize some of the names,
if you look them up you will know who they are, trust me).
The performance of the entire cast was right on for this
production. It really was a pleasure to watch. Even
Priscilla who has specific interests in the Hitler, Nazi,
and Holocaust time period really enjoyed the film. Remember
she left quite upset from the Boy in the Striped Pajamas
picture. Not that it was a bad movie, just that the ending
is disturbing. There is a good amount of Nazi Germany
related movies being released lately and they all seem to be
of very good quality. This is no exception, also due to the
fabulous job by Director/Producer Bryan Singer. Bryan
Singer? Eh, I’m not surprised. Remember the Usual Suspects?
He can do a lot more than just superhero movies.
Film
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
DVD: Valkyrie is presented in
a widescreen format with a 2.40:1 aspect ration. The
transfer looks clean, judging from the watermark screening
received it is very difficult to determine the real quality
of the video, however I wont doubt that the final product
will be just fine. The picture is
complemented with a 5.1 Dolby digital sound in
English, French and Spanish with Spanish and English subtitles.
In terms of special
features the DVD includes only a couple. The first
featurette is "The Journey to Valkyrie", which is
very interesting 16 minutes documentary. In this featurette the filmmakers take viewers into the
process of
making Valkyrie. The second featurette is
"The Valkyrie Legacy". This is very interesting
and excellent 42 minutes History Channel documentary in
which a German historian talks about the real events.
VIDEO:
2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English,
French, Spanish
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English Spanish - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Commentary by Tom
Cruise, Bryan Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie
Commentary by
Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander
The Journey to
Valkyrie
The Valkyrie Legacy
Digital Copy
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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