Valkyrie: They Dared To Stop It

Big Hollywood ^ | 1/8/2009 | Assemblyman Chuck DeVore

[GVnana]

Valkyrie: They Dared To Stop It

by Assemblyman Chuck DeVore

Film is power. As with ideas and the words that convey them, film can inform, inspire, and move people to act - for better or for worse. Some films need to be made. Others are better left unmade for the harm they cause. Of course most films fall into neither category, being rather a general waste of time - amusement - as such, true to the Latin root meaning “to stare stupidly.”

Of the films that need to be made, some are made with more ease than others. Schindler’s List, for instance, needed to be made and, while the subject matter was difficult, the story’s focus on the heroic character of Oskar Schindler made director Steven Spielberg’s task agreeable enough. With a powerful and likable cast, Schindler won Spielberg seven Oscars.

Valkyrie is the other sort of film that needed to be made - the one that isn’t so clean and agreeable, depicting real people with real flaws working up enough courage to confront evil in spite of their shortcomings. It is instructive that the film’s tagline is, “Many saw evil. They dared to stop it” rather than the morally satisfying, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

Valkyrie follows men, not necessarily good men, who take life as it is dealt to them right up on the screen, drawing in the audience, and inviting those watching to question whether they would have summoned the courage to do the right thing from deep inside the monstrous regime that was Hitler’s Nazi Germany.

[Arizona Carolyn]

I disagree. Cruise is the spitting image of the character he played in the movie... I think he did well in the roll. He is starting to mature in appearance and IMHO better rolls await him as a result.

[Arizona Carolyn]

You could hear a pin drop in the theater when the movie ended. I can only think of a handful of movies where that has happened.

[wolf78]

It almost was destroyed, but Hitler's orders were disobeyed.

By Speer. But the so-called Nero Decree was dated March 19, 1945. The Stauffenberg Plot was a year earlier. You see my point?

[Barnacle]

You could hear a pin drop in the theater when the movie ended. I can only think of a handful of movies where that has happened.

It is spellbinding indeed.

[Barnacle]

...if only people in Berlin had not frozen

Ultimately, all hinged on the decision of the communications department. They had to make a choice. The choice they made was tragic, but not surprising. After all, Hitler would have carefully screened the heads of those operations and ensured that they were loyal Nazis.

I have to wonder how American military officers would react if this country was ever taken over by a madman like Hitler. Let's hope we never have to find out.

[Arizona Carolyn]

I fear it would be a similar scenario, look how they have managed a coup over every aspect of our daily lives just by crying global warming... and how many people have bought it...

[Barnacle]

Actually, I think it was best that Hitler lived. He was so screwed up and surrounded by such sycophants that he was an assistance to Allied victory.

With the Nazis out of the way, the generals would have surrendered to the allied forces and kept the Russians out. There would not have been an Iron Curtain.

As Patton said, "All Nazi's are bad, but not all Germans are Nazi's." and, "Actually, the Germans are the only decent people left in Europe. It's a choice between them and the Russians. I prefer the Germans."

[Leisler]

There were hundreds of Generals and thousands of Colonels. They did nothing but obey, invade, destroy and kill.

As a group they weren't to rational taking on the whole world, or watching millions of their own beloved Germans get killed or watch the war turn against them. They kept loyallay, or blindly following Hitler's crackpot ideas, supposedly even when they knew he was an idiot.

Then all of a sudden they are supposed to become ‘our Germans’ against the Soviets, oh and we are supposed to dump the Soviets too.

It didn't happen, they didn't do it, we weren't going to go along with it.

History played out as it did in reality. They never did Hitler or the Party in, the Army fought loyally right to the end.

[GVnana]

Enemy at the Gate — was the siege of Leningrad armageddon or what?

[GVnana]

Wow. Good reviews. I haven’t seen it yet. Plan on going this week.

[Barnacle]

Plan on going this week.

I saw it alone. That's fine, but it's been rough for me ever since because (as you might have noticed) I am craving discussion on it.

I hope you enjoy enthusiastic conversation following the movie.

[Barnacle]

Have you seen the movie? If not, please see it. You won't be disappointed.

Then, we'll discuss it.

[GVnana]

Sure. Looking forward to it. I love historical dramas and suspense thrillers, so Valkyrie looks like it fits both bills.

[Niuhuru]

I hope not too.

With Obama in office I think we may have to.