MANY SAW EVIL. THEY DARED TO STOP IT.Ā
In 1943, German Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) joins a gang of conspirators trying to overthrow Adolf Hitler and negotiate peace with the Allies. The reason why this story hasn’t been told onscreen that many times is probably due to the depressing outcome of it. Still, director Bryan Singer has turned it into an exciting, straightforward, uncomplicated Hollywood thriller that deserves respect for what it is, even though few of its ingredients are exceptional. Cruise is solid, even relatively subdued, in the lead and supported by a topnotch cast of Brits. Permission was granted to film at the Bendlerblock, adding a touch of authenticity.
2008-U.S.-Germany. 120 min. Color. Produced byĀ Gilbert Adler, Bryan Singer, Christopher McQuarrie. Directed byĀ Bryan Singer. Screenplay: Christopher McQuarrie, Nathan Alexander. Cast: Tom Cruise (Claus von Stauffenberg), Kenneth Branagh (Henning von Tresckow), Bill Nighy (Friedrich Olbricht), Tom Wilkinson, Carice van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann… Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard.
Trivia: Cruise co-executive produced the film.Ā The story has been filmed before several times in Germany and in the U.S. TV movie The Plot to Kill Hitler (1990).
Last word: “I thought it would be this little movie and would star some unknown actors and weād shoot it in Europe and maybe weād get some old German costumes and shoot the military stuff in an abstract way or use stock footage or something, and do it for like $20 million. […] Ā Rather quickly it got bigger because then we signed a deal to make it with Tom Cruise.” (Singer, Movies Online)