"Operation: Valykyrie" aka "Stuffenberg" (2004)

[stonemint]

This is finally out on a US DVD release. This is the German-made 2004 version of the Tom Cruise opus. Interestingly, the Weinstein brothers (producers of Valkyrie) bought the rights to this prior to the Cruise version coming out.

The US version can be seen in German w/ english subtitles, or dubbed into english. It is only 92 minutes long, but my understanding is that it was made-for-tv, so we could be seeing a cut-down version.

Koch was excellent in the role. He was the SS Officer (Munze) in "Black Book", and was the lead in "The Lives of Others." However, like Cruise, he was too old for the role. (Personally, I would have like to see Thomas Kretschmann play Stauffenberg).

[stonemint]

Some interesting casting. Werner v. Haeften, Stauffenberg's adjutant, is played by Hardy Kruger Jr--the son of Hardy Kruger, who played the SS Pz General in a "Bridge Too Far" and was a NAPOLA grad and an SS man.:

[stonemint]

Christopher Bucholz (the son of Magnificent 7 star Horst Bucholz) is also in it. The guy who played the evil SS Lieutenant in "Black Book" plays a WH Colonel who won't go along with the plot.

What is also interesting is that Carice Van Houten (also of "Black Book") played Nina v. Stauffenberg with Tom Cruise, while she was Koch's girlfriend in Zwartboek.

[stonemint]

This is the guy who played Major Remer in Koch's version--good, but not as good as Kretschmann:

[stonemint]

Whatever you do, avoid director Bryan Singer's 1990 made-for-tv mess,
"The Plot to Kill Hitler."

[magicdutchmen]

I think the German version is better than the Cruise remake.