Bluray Review: Valkyrie with Tom Cruise

Bryan Singer's World War II German Resistance Film is Released in HD

Jun 6, 2009

After a fairly good run at the box office, Bryan Singer's Valkyrie hits the high-def format, filled with informative tidbits about the men who tried to kill Hitler. 8/10

Based on the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and a group of military men who tried to assassinate Hitler in order to prevent a permanent condemnation of Germany and its proud history, Valkyrie is yet another fine piece of work by gifted director Bryan Singer (X-Men, Apt Pupil, The Usual Suspects).

For those unfamiliar with the subject of this film, Valkyrie recounts the real-life events of the failed coup in July of 1944, to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), an embittered career officer in the German Army, is approached by some like-minded senior Army officers, who are already plotting to kill the Fuhrer, for fear that Germany would otherwise always be remembered as "Hitler's Germany", due to the seemingly invincible Nazi army.

And so, an elaborate coup is staged, using a plan already pre-approved by Hitler himself, Operation Valkyrie. In short, the plan is one designed to ensure contingency, securing stability of government, should Hitler ever be killed, allowing key members of the armed forces to occupy select areas of government, throughout Germany.

As these men stake their lives on this potentially suicidal mission, the film follows each character as they play their part in the coup, unaware that a well placed bomb may not have gone off as planned.

A veritable nail biting war thriller, Valkyrie is sure to entertain historical buffs, as well as newcomers to the genre.

This two-disc Bluray copy (in this case, disc two being the digital copy now coming as standard for most new releases) comes equipped with enough extra material for anyone to get familiarized with the more complex details of this real-life event.

Some of the features include "Journey to Valkyrie", which is the generalized making-of seen on most bonus features rosters. Two of the other features, "The African Front Sequence" and "Recreating Berlin" focus more on the production aspect of the film, in terms of effectively bringing some authenticity to the war scenes shot in Berlin proper, as well as the difficult coordination of the aerial attack in Africa, seen at the start of the film (i.e. the event that caused Stauffenberg his permanent injuries and amputation).

Ironically, the real gem on this Bluray disc (other than the incredible crispness of the video transfer) is the audio commentary by Bryan Singer, Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie. Unlike most backslapping commentaries out there, you can really tell from the interaction between these men, that they had done their homework while preparing for this film, and also offer lighthearted quips every once in awhile, to avoid droning on about techno-babble associated with filmmaking.

It is suggested you skip the "Reel Pieces With Tom Cruise and Bryan Singer recorded live at New York's 92nd Street Y", which is nothing more than a recorded interview on stage, moderated by Dr. Annette Insdorf. Though often informative, viewers may get fed up by how full of herself and sycophantic Insdorf can be, her airs of greatness and self-proclaimed fame negatively impact this segment. Honestly, when the moderator blurts out non-sequiturs like "when I was the official interpreter for Francois Truffault, etc..." (which is true, but irrelevant nonetheless), one must wonder how it has anything to do with the subject at hand. She comes off as worst than James Lipton, on Inside the Actor's Studio.

Those who have seen this film in theatres last December will appreciate the excellent transfer to high definition. The sound and picture are impeccably rendered, and the overall product is equipped with enough historical data to help any viewer in catching up to the tale at hand. A great find.

8 out of 10 for a well packaged war thriller, and an entertaining and worthwhile audio commentary by Cruise, Singer and McQuarrie.

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