Tom Cruise chats with Blockbuster.co.uk about the challenges and responsibility of bringing the true-life tale of Valkyrie to the screen.
From
X-Men director
Bryan Singer comes a thrilling wartime adventure, Valkyrie. Available now from Blockbuster.co.uk, it reveals widespread German opposition to the Nazis as it tells the gripping true story of a daring and ingenious plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Starring Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a man who risked everything to what he felt was right, the film also features a roster of distinguished character actors, among them
Kenneth Branagh,
Tom Wilkinson,
Bill Nighy and
Terence Stamp.
"The Führer's promises of peace and prosperity have fallen by the wayside, leaving in their wake a path of destruction," says von Stauffenberg. "The outrages committed by Hitler's SS are a stain on the honour of the German Army.
"There is widespread disgust in the officer corps toward the crimes committed by the Nazis - the murder of civilians, the torture and starvation of prisoners, the mass execution of Jews. My duty as an officer is no longer to save my country, but to save human lives.
"I cannot find one general in a position to confront Hitler with the courage to do it. I've found myself surrounded by men unwilling - or unable - to face the truth: Hitler is not only the arch-enemy of the entire world, but the arch-enemy of Germany. A change must be made..."
"It was an extraordinary journey," enthuses Cruise, "and it was great to work with such a unique and talented group of actors and filmmakers - I couldn't wait to go to work with them every day. Their help and support made it really special. I'm very appreciative of being able to make this film and have the experience that I had."
Cruise emphasises how fascinated he was by the history revealed in the film. "Originally I didn't know much about the story," he admits. "Just pieces of it, really, but I found it utterly compelling. Though it's history it reads like a suspense thriller."
Certainly it inspired the actor to see wartime Germans and Austrians in a new light. "I've been to Germany many times and have many German friends, but learning this piece of history absolutely changed my viewpoint. The war has always fascinated and horrified me. Even as a child I remember seeing documentaries about WWII, the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, and to know there were Germans who resisted this tyranny, it validated what I had just innately felt."
Cruise says he was particularly impressed by the efforts and ideals of the film's hero, von Stauffenberg. "He was an extraordinary man. Someone who was respected by the soldiers. His door was always open and yet he didn't tolerate fools. He's someone who could work under a tremendous amount of pressure and stress, he was incredibly organised being a supply officer, and he saw the micro and the macro of every situation.
"It's on record that as early as 1938, he opposed Hitler and thought someone ought to shoot him. He thought very much not just of the future of his family and his country but also of the world, and he wanted Germany to have its place, not in terms of world domination, but as a moral leader. That was his belief and what he wanted for his country and I think he was man of great integrity and noble ideas."
Although at first the German media was wary of an American production shooting in Berlin, unconvinced that Cruise and his co-workers were up to the task of telling such a uniquely German story, they soon came to appreciate the filmmaker's commitment to the project.
"Most people knew that we had the utmost respect for the history and the story, so I wasn't aware of that much negativity," says Cruise. "The way we approached the film, the way I've always approached my work, is in a very serious and professional manner. Being an actor and a filmmaker, I always try to make the best possible picture that I can while representing the subject matter and the genre in the best possible way. Also when I go to make a film, I don't just make movies, I make things that I feel very passionate about. Certainly this kind of subject matter offered a great challenge because it was based on true events, but I always approached it with great respect and worked hard to do it justice and bring it to a broader audience.
"At the same time," adds Cruise, "while we were making the film we were aware that it was, first and foremost, an entertainment, and not a documentary for the History Channel." Though as it happens, Cruise did make a documentary on the subject for the History Channel. "We just felt a tremendous sense of responsibility to represent the spirit of the resistance and these actual events as best we could, and we've already put it in front of historians who have validated that accomplishment.
"Those who knew a piece of the story are thanking us for bringing it to light," concludes the star, "and those who didn't are amazed and engaged by it."