Valkyrie (2008/MGM Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B+     Extras: B-     Film: B-

 

 

In an ambitious move to reestablish the artistic side of the great studio that was United Artists, new co-owner Tom Cruise took a risk to play Nazi Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, one of the men responsible for trying to kill Adolf Hitler in the Bryan Singer thriller Valkyrie (2008), an artistic comeback of sorts for Singer who had been making big budget Superhero genre films for many years.  For an increasingly criticized cruise, it was to show he could still make serious films and for the most part, the film succeeds.

 

Not only is Cruise giving his best performance since Eyes Wide Shut, but he is backed up by a great cast that includes Terrence Stamp, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Carice van Houten, Eddie Izzard and Bernard Hill among others.  It is totally credible and was a moderate hit, though some critics and other media types were ignoring its success.  Editing is good, but this is not the longer version some were hoping for and you can tell more was shot for this film, especially when you consider it went overbudget and this is not counting reshoots.  That they made such a solid film after so many have been made on the subject is also impressive, but this is ultimately the story of heroes and those who changed their mind about one of the ugliest events in human history.  If you missed this before, definitely catch it now because it is some serious filmmaking like we rarely see anymore.

 

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital AVC @ 21 MBPS High Definition image has some fine shots, especially when it comes to the daylight shooting and you can certainly see the money on the screen, but some of the dark shots do not look as good as they should or as they did in 35mm.  The DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless 5.1 also impresses as the film goes from intense dialogue-based scenes to more spectacular battle sequences throughout in what feels like a throwback to the WWII thrillers of the 1960s.  The combination is a pleasant surprise more often than not and even has some demonstration moments.  Extras include seven fine making-of featurettes (including a Reel Pieces piece), two audio commentary tracks (Cruise, Singer & McQuarrie on one, co-writers McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander on the other) and a Music Video and Digital Copy DVD-ROM for PC and PC portable devices.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo