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Valkyrie
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - MGM Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Jeremiah Chin (17th August 2009). |
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The Film
 Nazis were definitely in style, in 2008, in movies. Between “Valkyrie,” “Defiance,” “The Reader,” “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” and “Good” all coming out in 2008, there was a logjam of Nazi subject matter that seemed like every major studio heard the other had a Nazi related movie and had to get one of their own. The fact that “Defiance,” “Reader,” “Valkyrie” and “Good” all are basically single name titles and all came out in December of 2008 seems like more of a confluence of marketing than art, which is frustrating since nothing says Christmas, Kwanzaa or Chanukah like a new Nazi film in limited or wide release every week. But still, there were some untold stories being put out, like I mentioned in my earlier review for “Defiance” and "Valkyrie" seems to approach a similar angle: an untold WWII era story with huge names in the cast that have huge potential to take you out of the movie. However, director Bryan Singer’s approach is far more consistent with trying to make a good movie than trying to imitate history to a tee, bringing out a far more entertaining, though still flawed, film. In the closing years of World War II, Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) is serving Nazi Germany in Tunisia when a pair of British fighter planes attack his unit. Stauffenberg is badly wounded, losing his left eye, right hand and two fingers on his left, and is returned to Germany. At the same time another assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler (David Bamber) by leaders of the German resistance goes awry, causing some of their ilk to be arrested and requiring new operatives brought into the operation. Soon General Olbricht (Bill Nighy) recruits Stauffenberg into the resistance against Hitler and the Nazi party for the sake of preserving Germany in the face of defeat by the Allied forces. Stauffenberg is initially wary, but soon becomes the leader of the military section of the German resistance, inspiring the redrafting of operation "Valkyrie" in order to allow a transition from the Nazi regime into something new. The new plan would disassemble Hitler’s closest advisors and the SS, allowing the resistance to come to power. All that is needed is the assassination of Hitler by a bomb in his secret estate, delivered personally by Stauffenberg. Above all I’m thankfull that Singer opted to avoid the accent issue all together, rather than follow the path of “Defiance” and others that would force me to watch Tom Cruise in a predictably ridiculous German accent, he just went for the gusto of having everyone use their regular voices and it works. I’m actually impressed I made it through the first paragraphs without mentioning Tom Cruise acting until now, but he’s managed to fade from the limelight for his craziness and doesn’t do a bad job in the film considering he gets to keep his accent. In addition the rest of the supporting cast between Nighy and a crew of other British actors like Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson, and even Eddie Izzard. Everyone hits their character’s notes right, but I think it’s the near overload of familiar faces that helps to avoid the 'THAT GUY?' alarm since you would be so busy seeing all the recognizable actors that it becomes pointless and you just sort of roll along with the film. The only one that really raises an eyebrow is David Bamber, who looks like Hitler and most every other actor that’s portrayed Hitler, but does it much more quietly and is the only one who seems to have ‘ze german’ accent, irking me a bit considering how everyone else seems to be purposefully avoiding it. What really impressed me is Bryan Singer’s visual style that he maintains in a film that didn’t really get a lot of interest from me when it was originally released. All the little details, like a glass eye or some missing fingers, have great consistency between shots. Most noticeably in an early assassination attempt where Cruise is on the phone and looking around angrily with one eye, while the other stays dead on and glass as it should be. Plus the colors and movement of the different scenes works well and doesn’t feel overly glossy or try to hard to be gritty, showing me that even on projects that don’t hold my interest Singer’s abilities can draw me in. I wish I could comment more on the script, it’s all fairly plain for a historical drama/thriller, but it knows how to pace the film well. The first half encompasses the coup and the second covers the results of the near-successful attempt. I like how the film deals with the results of the assassination attempt since we know it wasn’t successful just based on history, but seeing this disruption in the reich’s power is engaging enough for the second half of the film. Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander do a good job with the dialogue and movement seeming natural, though there are no standout lines or speeches for better or for worse. Overall "Valkyrie" went beyond my expectations of just Tom Cruise vs. Hitler the movie, but it doesn’t elevate itself to the sort of memorable fare I would hope to expect from Singer. Cruise has definitely toned down his crazy levels since “Mission Impossible III” (2006) and his acting is moving back towards the level of performance he was known for before Oprah’s couchgate. The rest of the supporting cast accomplishes their roles finely, but it’s really Singer's directing that keeps me engaged throughout a fairly average film.
Video
Presented in 1080p 24/fps 1.85:1 widescreen with AVC MPEG-4 encoding at 21 MBPS, the film itself looks crisp and clean like a Blu-ray should while keeping an appropriate amount of texture in the film that exhibits Singer’s visuals and the production design well. The lighting and colors come through well, with the prominent reds and greys of uniforms popping in the clean transfer. There are some instances of noticeable grain in some of the low woodland light scenes, but it isn’t distracting or frustrating, just noticeable.
Audio
Presetned in either English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixed at 48kHz/24-bit, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are also available. The DTS-HD soundtrack does a good job in it’s range from the big explosions of the opening and middle scenes with the incredible amounts of dialogue in the film. The film moves well in terms of the different scenes that track through the loud clicking heels of Nazis through hallways or the room filled with typewriters, bringing a great sound to the film. The soundtrack a good job of blending into the film without trying to provoke too much impact from the viewer and making itself overtly noticeable. Spanish, French, English for th hearing impaired, Cantonese, Mandarin, Portuguese and Korean subtitles are available.
Extras
It’s nice to see a release that doesn’t try to double dip or skimp on the early release including a good set of special features with 2 audio commentaries, 6 featuretes, a documentary and bonus trailers. DISC ONE: The first audio commentary track is with actor Tom Cruise, director/producer Bryan Singer, and co-writer/producer Christopher McQuarrie. This track covers all aspects of production and is a very casual yet engaging conversation between the three, mostly dominated by Singer and McQuarrie with Cruise jumping in and out, leaving no awkward pauses or gaps. They bring up interesting points about the different choices made in the film, certain revisions from the script or reasons why they did no accents or praising the different actors. They all make some interesting points about how they don’t try to teach a history lesson, yet instead delivering a solid story. One of the best points was on Singer’s style of ‘man-held, not hand held’ camerawork in the second half, opting for a handheld feel without trying to create the shakes and bumps associated with that sort of style. The second audio commentary is with screenwriters Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander, who cover some of the same ground as in the first commentary, but expanding upon their stories of how they built up the plot and made the film without trying to teach the audience history for 2 hours. They delve into the history of Stauffenberg and the historical inaccuracies that they purposefully took up for the film in order to create a more streamlined film that would be truer to the history. Their discussion of this approach is a great look at how to write historical films without trying too hard to give a history lesson and leave audiences disinterested. “The Journey to Valkyrie” runs for 15 minutes and 56 seconds. This first featurette serves as a making-of for the film, covering much of the production story ground that was talked about in the earlier commentaries, but it’s supplemented with some great behind the scenes footage and photos of Berlin that inspired McQuarrie with the concept. Though short, it’s got a good amount of interesting footage to cover the different parts of production without getting boring or drawn out. “The Road to Resistance: A Visual Guide” runs for 9 minutes and 8 seconds, this featurette covers more of the historical ground that was left out of the film. Phillip von Schulthess, the grandson of the real Claus von Stauffenberg, looks at the history of the German resistance with historians and historical photographs, while visiting some of the important locations in the present day. While it does boarder on the heroification of Stauffenberg, it’s a good historical supplement to the film and gives some interesting background with many photos of Berlin at the time and some of the major players in the film, without saturating the featurette with footage of the film and giving due respect for the history. “The African Front Sequence” runs for 7 minutes and 1 second. This featurette covers the most traditional action-heavy scene in the film, with all of the practical explosions, tanks and planes that were used to create the sequence. Some of the footage is reused from the featurette and many of the stories are carried over from the commentaries, but it goes a bit deeper and talks with the designers of the effects. A cool featurette for everyone who loves to look at effects. “Taking to the Air: Vintage Planes in Flight in ‘Valkyrie’” runs for 7 minutes and 32 seconds. Much like the previous featurette, this featurette looks at all of the historical and replica planes that they used in the many different sequences in the film. Another fun look, that seems to blend more of the historical pieces with the stunt flying needed for the film to create the proper effect for the film. “Recreating Berlin” runs for 6 minutes and 51 seconds. This fourth featurette deals with constructing set pieces and redesigning parts of Berlin to make it appear as it would at the time of the film. Going through the modern look of the locations and the transformations that went through in different parts of the film, covering similar ground to “Road to Resistance” but from the film’s perspective with effects, design and production. “92nd Street Y: Reel Pieces with Tom Cruise and Bryan Singer” runs for 38 minutes and 57 seconds. This final featurette is really just a recording of a panel with Cruise and Singer in New York at the 92nd Street Y, dealing with the making of the film and production, stories which have been heard multiple times before, but also including some questions from the live audience at the time of the recording. The fan questions that get asked are interesting, like what films Cruise wants to be remembered for, how to create dramatic tension with aspects of history that are fairly known, but Cruise is a bit evasive, though Singer is still very good. “The Valkyrie Legacy” runs for 1 hour 54 minutes and 15 seconds. This is a full sized documentary produced by Cruise and Singer, that feels like a History Channel feature on the German resistance story with different descendants, historians and people involved in the film. It’s a larger, glossier version of the historical featurettes that does a good job of showing the entire historical situation leading up to the German resistance along with it’s conspirators. It’s not too often that you see a full sized documentary included on a set, but with this kind of unknown historical story, it’s a great addition to an already well put together set. Bonus trailers on the disc are: - “The Pink Panther 2” which runs for 1 minute and 59 seconds. - “Quantum of Solace” runs for 2 minutes and 21 seconds. DISC TWO: This disc is simply a digital copy of the film.
Overall
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