Operation Valkyrie (2008)

Operation Valkyrie (2008)

Release Date: 11 February 2009 (Indonesia)
Quality: DVDRip
Language: English | German
Runtime: 115 min
Director: Bryan Singer
Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), United Artists, Bad Hat Harry Productions
Movie Info: IMDb
Cast: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Carice van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard, Kevin McNally, Christian Berkel
Genre: Drama | History | Thriller | War
Watch: Trailer
Size: 724MB

Plot: Valkyrie opens with a Colonel Stauffenberg in Africa, penning in a journal his thoughts about World War II, and how he feels Hitler is destroying Germany. Stauffenberg states he took an oath to swear allegiance to Hitler, but feels he owes more to Germany. He argues with a general about holding a key city in a futile effort against the British Army and American General Patton. The general agrees to have the 10th Panzer moved to a different location where they can be evacuated back to mainland Europe. Shortly thereafter, the camp is attacked and Stauffenberg is badly injured, losing one of his eyes, his right hand, and two fingers from his left hand.

The next scene shows Hitler visiting a base camp in Germany, and a nervous General Trescow onlooking. As Hitler prepares to depart, Trescow and an associate hide a bomb in a wine case and give to a man on Hitler's plane, but it fails to detonate in flight, and Trescow must return to headquarters to retrieve it. Once he arrives, he meets up with who is revealed as a fellow conspirator, a General Olbricht. Trescow safely retrieves the wine case and he and Olbrict discuss a member of their secret committee who was recently arrested. Trescow recommends Olbricht contact Colonel Stauffenberg as a replacement, which Olbricht does, and bring Stauffenberg to one of the clandestine meetings.

In the meeting, Stauffenberg meets three of the most important figures in the resistance. A Dr. Goerdeler, who will become Chancellor of Germany should the plot succeed, a General Beck, who will lead the Armed Forces, and a man named Witzleben. After tempers flare, Stauffenberg agrees to help. At a later meeting, Stauffenberg suggests they utilize Operation Valkyrie, which is a plan that uses the Reserve Army to keep order amongst the Germany country should anything disrupt communications from Hitler, or should Hitler be killed. Stauffenberg rewrites the order to exclude the SS from taking control, which would leave the head of the Reserve Army, General Fromm, in charge of Germany. Reaching out to General Fromm, Stauffenberg and Olbricht are surprised at his rejection, but Fromm keeps quiet, choosing to neither support the dissenters nor reports them to the authorities. Meanwhile, General Trescow is sent to the front lines. Stauffenberg is promoted to head of the plan, and he, along with his assistant Lieutenant Haeften, take the order to the Berghof to be signed off by Hitler himself. Hitler, with his inner circle present, praises Stauffenberg's loss of appendages as the attitude necessary for his military, and states Stauffenberg is the ideal German. He then signs off on the bill, saying he's sure the changes are adequate.

Back at command, a Colonel Quirnheim shows the dissenters how to use pencil detonators, and Stauffenberg persuades a General Fellgiebel, who controls communications at the Wolf's Lair, to help. Stauffenberg has been promoted to General Fromm's chief-of-staff, and thus has access to Hitler's military debriefings, so the plan goes as follows: Stauffenberg and Haeften will travel to Hitler's bunker, the Wolf's Lair, to attend a military meeting. Stauffenberg will ignite one of the pencil detonators and then have Fellgiebel call and pretend to be a general, pulling Stauffenberg out of the meeting while Haeften waits with a car. In theory, Stauffenberg and Haeften will have six minutes to drive before the bomb detonates, giving them time to return to the airfield and fly off before they can be suspected. The only condition the heads of the dissenters give, however, is that head of the SS Himmler, along with Hitler, must be present for Stauffenberg to arm the bomb. Stauffenberg travels to the Wolf's Lair and has all preparations ready, but notices Himmler is not present at the meeting and calls the committee to ask if he may proceed anyways. He is refused by the committee, unbeknownst to Olbricht, who mobilizes the Reserve Army anyways. As Stauffenberg safely extracts himself and the bomb from the bunker, the Reserve Army believes they were just running a training drill, and Olbricht and Stauffenberg are ordered to report to General Fromm, who is outraged they would mobilize the army without his permission. He tells them that if this happens again he will arrest them both.