History Film / Valkyrie

* AdaptedOut: Tresckow is depicted being the one who smuggled a bomb onto Hitler's plane and then recovered it after realizing it didn't go off. While Tresckow was involved in this particular plot, Fabian von Schlabrendorff was the one who actually did these actions.

* AdaptedOut: Tresckow is depicted being the one who smuggled a bomb onto Hitler's plane and then recovered it after realizing it didn't go off. Fabian von Schlabrendorff was the one who actually did this.

* HistoricalBeautyUpdate: Curiously subverted with Stauffenberg - you'd expect any historical character portrayed by Creator/TomCruise to be better looking than the reality, but Stauffenberg [[http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/uploads//monthly_03_2014/post-5143-0-77643400-1393954946.jpg really was that handsome]].

* AdaptedOut: Tresckow is depicted being the one who smuggled a bomb onto Hitler's plane and then recovers it after realizing it didn't go off. Fabian von Schlabrendorff was the one who actually did this.

* AllGermansAreNazis: Stauffenberg and his companions subvert this. They're just [[PunchClockVillain Wehrmacht officers]] and [[RealLife as a matter of fact]], although some of them had been involved in war crimes, most of them were also known for their participation in the German resistance against the Nazi regime and for saving Jews and other minorities from concentration camps and/or mass executions. Henning von Trescow's words -- "We have to show the world that not all of us are like [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler him]]." -- says it all.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: What drives the entire plot. The German officer corps may be full of racists and militarists in the vein of Staufffenberg and Rundstedt, but they're not ''genocidally'' racist like Manstein and Guderian.

** While Stauffenberg is explaining to Hitler the necessity of updating Operation Valkyrie in case the Western Allies attack, Hitler tells him Goering has assured him the Luftwaffe can handle them. Goering smirks complacently, while Goebbels, who has a more realistic view, gives a sour look.

Part of what got interest in this film going is that popular consciousness is that there was no resistance within Germany to the Nazi party after the mass-arrest and exodus of the country's overt opposition to Hitler in 1933, in part due to the fact that Hitler remained in power (and alive) until the Soviets took Berlin. Operation Valkyrie was actually the last of over 15 attempts (and one of the closest to being successful) on Hitler's life by various fringe factions within Germany before the end of the war. Even though the outcome of this assassination attempt is [[ForegoneConclusion rather obvious]], it serves as a reminder that the politics of Nazi Germany [[WeAreStrugglingTogether was far more fractious]] [[InterserviceRivalry than it appears]] at first sight/from Middle- and High-School textbooks.

* CaptainObvious: While going over the process to arm the explosives, Quirnheim remarks that they'll want to be "very far away" once the acid eats away the wire holding back the firing pin.

* HeadbuttingHeroes: Stauffenberg and Goerdeler do not get along. They were also like this in real life, Goerdeler distrusting Stauffenberg due to his socialist connections, and Stauffenberg considering Goerderler to be an out-of-touch reactionary.

* KarmaHoudini: While he may not have done anything overtly villainous, the fact that Major Remer was not arrested and executed is rather surprising. Granted, he was used as an unwitting dupe, but the fallout that followed was so extreme that anyone with a ''passing'' connection to the plot was brutally executed (even UsefulNotes/ErwinRommel, was [[LeaveBehindAPistol forced to kill himself]], not because he was involved in the plot in any way, but just because he probably knew about it and didn't tell anybody). Otto Remer survived the war, went on to found a Nazi successor party that engaged in Holocaust denial (before West Germany banned it), aided Arab states fighting Israel, and died in 1997.
** [[LaserGuidedKarma Friedrich Fromm was not as lucky.]]
** It's probably because Remer undid the entire plot. Assuming he hadn't believed Goebbels and arrested him rather than permitting him to put him on the phone with Hitler, it might have gone very differently...

''Valkyrie'' is a 2008 historical drama film about the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen attempted]] assassination of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler by a dedicated cabal of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons German military officers]], as well as some non-military personnel. It is directed by Creator/BryanSinger, written by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie, and starring Creator/TomCruise, Creator/KennethBranagh, Creator/BillNighy, Creator/EddieIzzard, Creator/TerenceStamp, Tom Wilkinson and Creator/CariceVanHouten.

''Valkyrie'' is a 2008 historical drama film about the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen attempted]] assassination of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler by a dedicated cabal of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons German military officers]], as well as some non-military personnel. It is directed by Creator/BrianSinger, written by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie, and starring Creator/TomCruise, Creator/KennethBranagh, Creator/BillNighy, Creator/EddieIzzard, Creator/TerenceStamp, Tom Wilkinson and Creator/CariceVanHouten.

''Valkyrie'' is a 2008 historical drama film about the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen attempted]] assassination of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler by a dedicated cabal of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons German military officers]], as well as some non-military personnel. It is directed by Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie and stars Creator/TomCruise, Creator/KennethBranagh, Creator/BillNighy, Creator/EddieIzzard, Creator/TerenceStamp, Tom Wilkinson and Creator/CariceVanHouten.

''Valkyrie'' is a 2008 historical drama film about the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen attempted]] assassination of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler by a dedicated cabal of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons German military officers]], as well as some non-military personnel. It stars Creator/TomCruise, Creator/KennethBranagh, Creator/BillNighy, Creator/EddieIzzard, Creator/TerenceStamp, Tom Wilkinson and Creator/CariceVanHouten.

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Otto Remer, the commander of the Reserve battalion, is portrayed as a PunchClockVillan who follows orders and switches sides without showing any evident sympathy towards either side. In reality, Remer was a fanatical Nazi who later founded the Socialist Reich Party in postwar West Germany, an openly fascist group that was later outlawed by the government. He also became an early proponent of Holocaust denial, funded neo-Nazi groups and was arrested as late as 1992 for incitement of racial hatred. On the DVD commentary, Bryan Singer and Christopher [=McQuarrie=] admit that they downplayed Remer's personal fascism, partly to make him a more compelling character and partly to enhance the film's suspense (as there'd be little doubt which side he'd ultimately take if he was a Hitler loyalist from the start).

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Otto Remer, the commander of the Reserve battalion, is portrayed as a PunchClockVillian who follows orders and switches sides without being particularly concerned about what's happening. In reality, Remer was a fanatical Nazi who later went on to found the Socialist Reich Party in postwar West Germany, an openly fascist group that was later outlawed by the government. He also became an early proponent of Holocaust denial, funded neo-Nazi groups and was arrested as late as 1992 for incitement of racial hatred. On the DVD commentary, Bryan Singer and Christopher [=McQuarrie=] admit that they downplayed Remer's personal fascism, partly to make him a more compelling character and partly to enhance the film's suspense (as there'd be little doubt which side he'd ultimately take if he was a Hitler loyalist from the start).

* HistoricalVillianDowngrade: Otto Remer, the commander of the Reserve battalion, is portrayed as a PunchClockVillian who follows orders and switches sides without being particularly concerned about what's happening. In reality, Remer was a fanatical Nazi who later went on to found the Socialist Reich Party in postwar West Germany, an openly fascist group that was later outlawed by the government. He also became an early proponent of Holocaust denial, funded neo-Nazi groups and was arrested as late as 1992 for incitement of racial hatred. On the DVD commentary, Bryan Singer and Christopher [=McQuarrie=] admit that they downplayed Remer's personal fascism, partly to make him a more compelling character and partly to enhance the film's suspense (as there'd be little doubt which side he'd ultimately take if he was a Hitler loyalist from the start).

** The plotters are portrayed as this in the film. There's no doubt that the plotters were not Nazis, but certainly were not covert Republicans who believed in equality and democracy. In reality the German officer corps, especially the aristocratic elements that made up a fair chunk of it and the plotters, were strongly authoritarian and murderously anti-leftist and pro-German. Stauffenberg, for example, [[http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/GENOCIDE/reviewstr12.htm viewed Poland as "an unbelievable rabble" best under the whip, and as a country filled with "a lot of Jews and a lot of cross-breeds"]]. However, he was disgusted when he later learned that Jews were being rounded up and shot ''en masse'', which was reportedly a factor in him turning against Hitler. The [[http://www.verbrechen-der-wehrmacht.de/docs/home_e.htm German officer corps apparently actually cared about Jewish people, was disgusted by their slaughter]], and masterminded a plot to assassinate Hitler that would include the closing of concentration camps. We do know that they intended to stop the Final Solution, and that they intended to establish at least a token/weak democracy in the vein of Imperial Germany. However, we also know that they hoped to retain Hitler's pre-war conquests--Austria, the Sudetenland, Memel--as well as the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Corridor Polish Corridor]]", transferred from Poland to Germany after World War I and annexed back to Germany after Hitler conquered Poland at the start of World War II. In many cases, the plotters only turned on Hitler because he was losing the war, and had every intention of fighting on against the Soviet Union. We don't know much else, including why they and most of their families were executed, as there were very few living witnesses to convey their motives. It is however true that it would have been difficult for the audience to get behind protagonists who disagreed with less than 20% of Nazi ideology. That said, they weren't ALL vehement racists and autocrats. Tresckow in particular had genuine moral objections to Hitler and believed the plot had to go forward even if it was doomed to fail just to show that there was a resistance (not surprisingly, the movie includes this).

* Von Tresckow's initial attempt on Hitler's life fails when his time bomb is taken on a plane and ices up due to the altitude.

* AmbitionIsEvil: Invoked in reference to Fromm, though in this case, it's more "Ambition makes you pliable". Given that Fromm is the only person who can officially initiate Valkyrie, Beck asks if he can be brought to their side. Tresckow and Olbricht note that Fromm is a "careerist pig" and has never hidden his displeasure at the fact he's gone as far as he can under the Nazis. Beck tells them to offer him a key position in the new regime in exchange for his support.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The plotters are portrayed as this in the film. There's no doubt that the plotters were not Nazis, but certainly were not covert Republicans who believed in equality and democracy. In reality the German officer corps, especially the aristocratic elements that made up a fair chunk of it and the plotters, were strongly authoritarian and murderously anti-leftist and pro-German. Stauffenberg, for example, [[http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/GENOCIDE/reviewstr12.htm viewed Poland as "an unbelievable rabble" best under the whip, and as a country filled with "a lot of Jews and a lot of cross-breeds"]]. However, he was disgusted when he later learned that Jews were being rounded up and shot ''en masse'', which was reportedly a factor in him turning against Hitler. The [[http://www.verbrechen-der-wehrmacht.de/docs/home_e.htm German officer corps apparently actually cared about Jewish people, was disgusted by their slaughter]], and masterminded a plot to assassinate Hitler that would include the closing of concentration camps. We do know that they intended to stop the Final Solution, and that they intended to establish at least a token/weak democracy in the vein of Imperial Germany. However, we also know that they hoped to retain Hitler's pre-war conquests--Austria, the Sudetenland, Memel--as well as the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Corridor Polish Corridor]]", transferred from Poland to Germany after World War I and annexed back to Germany after Hitler conquered Poland at the start of World War II. In many cases, the plotters only turned on Hitler because he was losing the war, and had every intention of fighting on against the Soviet Union. We don't know much else, including why they and most of their families were executed, as there were very few living witnesses to convey their motives. It is however true that it would have been difficult for the audience to get behind protagonists who disagreed with less than 20% of Nazi ideology. That said, they weren't ALL vehement racists and autocrats. Tresckow in particular had genuine moral objections to Hitler and believed the plot had to go forward even if it was doomed to fail just to show that there was a resistance (not surprisingly, the movie includes this).

* SpannerInTheWorks: The assassination attempt is defeated by the weather: it's too hot so Hitler moves the briefing out of the ''Führerbunker'', where the concrete surrounds would have amplified the explosion's pressure wave, and into a more open-plan outbuilding where the windows and weaker walls absorb some of the energy. Colonel Heinz Brandt also moves the briefcase containing the bomb to the other side of a table leg, creating an additional barrier between the blast and Hitler, but ironically causing his own death.

* FinalSpeech: "You may hand us over to the executioner, but in three months' time the disgusted and harried people will bring you to book, and drag you alive through the dirt in the streets." Nothing of the sort happened to [[HangingJudge Judge Freisler]], whom the comment was directed at. In fact, he died during the British bombing of Berlin while conducting the trial of Fabian von Schlabrendorff -- [[DeathFromAbove a bomb fell through the open roof]] [[KarmicDeath in the middle of the trial and blew him up]]. A worker in the hospital when the body was brought in commented "[[BondOneLiner It was God's verdict]]." Even more awesome (and hilarious) was that [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing not a single person present responded negatively to this comment.]]

** Ludwig Beck's death was also toned down from history, in real life he shot himself in the head ''[[BungledSuicide twice]]'' and still had to be [[MercyKill finished off by a guard.]]
** [[HangingJudge Roland Freisler]], the judge at the conspirators' [[KangarooCourt trial]], was actually toned down for the film: in real life, he was a [[LargeHam screaming, ranting]] [[EvilIsHammy lunatic]] known for bellowing at the defendants at the top of his lungs, and had the conspirators' [[EvilIsPetty belts taken away]] so they would be forced to hold their pants up and [[EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor he could make crude jokes at their expense.]] And yes, he really did wear a [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver blood red judge's robe.]] It also does not mention his [[LaserGuidedKarma supremely ironic]] death, when he was blown up in his own courtroom during the trial of ''another'' anti-Nazi resistance member.

* EvilIsHammy: Ian [=McNeice=]'s character shouting at the top of his lungs that Hitler is alive after he is taken for arrest. Also, judge Reisler's trial who was truly scenery-chewing but was toned down for the film.

* FinalSpeech: "You may hand us over to the executioner, but in three months' time the disgusted and harried people will bring you to book, and drag you alive through the dirt in the streets." Nothing of the sort happened to Judge Freisler, whom the comment was directed at. In fact, he died during the British bombing of Berlin while conducting the trial of Fabian von Schlabrendorff -- [[DeathFromAbove a bomb fell through the open roof]] [[KarmicDeath in the middle of the trial and blew him up]]. A worker in the hospital when the body was brought in commented "It was God's verdict."

* HangingJudge: Judge Roland Freisler. He's actually toned down a bit in the film compared to how he was in real life.

** While Stauffenberg tries to recruit Fellgiebel into the conspiracy, he angrily accuses the conspirators of being this in a bid to save their own skins now the war is clearly a lost cause. His own remarks about the pointlessness of trying it could also paint him in this trope.

* KarmaHoudini: While he may not have done anything overtly villainous, the fact that Major Remer was not arrested and executed is rather surprising. Granted, he was used as an unwitting dupe, but the fallout that followed was so extreme that anyone with a ''passing'' connection to the plot was brutally executed (even the great MagnificentBastard, UsefulNotes/ErwinRommel, was [[LeaveBehindAPistol forced to kill himself]], not because he was involved in the plot in any way, but just because he probably knew about it and didn't tell anybody). Otto Remer survived the war, went on to found a Nazi successor party that engaged in Holocaust denial (before West Germany banned it), aided Arab states fighting Israel, and died in 1997.