Trivia for
Valkyrie (2008) More at IMDbPro »

• Tobias Moretti was slated to play Adolf Hitler, but had to decline due to schedule conflicts.
  
  
• Carice van Houten, who plays Nina Stauffenberg, is the longtime companion of Sebastian Koch, who played Stauffenberg in the critically acclaimed German TV movie Stauffenberg (2004) (TV).
  
  
• Initially, Germany's Ministry of Defense would not allow filming on Bendler Block. They relented after appeals from Tom Cruise and Screenwriter/Producer Christopher McQuarrie. The entire crew started every night of filming with a moment of silence in memory of Stauffenberg.
  
  
• Eleven extras playing Wehrmacht soldiers were injured on the set when they fell out of a moving lorry (truck). One suffered a serious back injury, the rest had bruises, cuts, and head injuries. An insurance company investigation concluded that an extra closed the side panel improperly, causing it to open while the lorry was in motion.
  
  
• Some scenes had to be re-shot when the original film was destroyed after being treated with the wrong chemical during development.
  
  
• The film was originally scheduled for release on August 8, 2008, then moved up to June 27, 2008. The producer couldn't find a suitable location for the battle sequence in which Stauffenberg loses his eye and hand, halting production and moving release to October 3, 2008. Filming resumed in June 2008, and release was moved to February 13, 2009. After a successful test screening, release was finally moved to December 25, 2008.
  
  
• Cruise was attracted to the role after seeing a picture of Stauffenberg, and noticing how similar he looked.
  
  
• Germany has strict laws against displaying the swastika, though artistic displays are specifically exempt. Filmmakers usually use incorrect swastikas to avoid causing public outrage. The producer wanted swastikas for authenticity, so the crew posted warnings around the filming locations. Still, a local resident filed an official complaint with the city, who pressed charges against the owners of some filming sites.
  
  
• Patrick Wilson was originally cast in the film but he dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
  
  
• Carice van Houten, Waldemar Kobus, Christian Berkel and Halina Reijn appeared in Zwartboek (2006), Paul Verhoeven's movie based on World War II.
  
  
• When Hitler signs the revised Valkyrie, the fountain pen clipped to Colonel Stauffenberg's bag is a Pelikan M100, produced in Germany during WWII.
  
  
• Three actors in the movie are born on December 12: Kenneth Cranham in 1944, Tom Wilkinson in 1948 and Bill Nighy in 1949.
  
  
• Four cast members also appeared in the Pirates of the Caribbean films together: Bill Nighy (General Ollbricht/Davy Jones), David Schofield (Von Witzleben/Mercer), Kevin McNally (Dr. Goerdler/Gibbs) and Tom Hollander (Colonel Brandt/Lord Beckett). Hollander and David Bamber (Adolf Hitler) have played Mr. Collins in different productions of Pride and Prejudice (the 2005 film and the BBC miniseries, respectively).
  
  
• Two cast members appeared in Der Untergang (2004), about the last ten days of Hitler's life. Christian Berkel played Ernst-Günter Schenck, an SS Doctor. Thomas Kretschmann played SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein, Himmler's adjutant and Eva Braun's brother in law.
  
  
• Philipp von Schulthess, who plays Tresckow's aide in "Valkyrie", is the grandson of Claus von Stauffenberg. In the movie the wife of Stauffenberg is pregnant with the mother of Philipp von Schulthess.
  
  
• David Bamber (Adolf Hitler) is the only non-German cast member who speaks with a German accent. The filmmakers felt that audiences would be distracted by Hitler speaking in Bamber's natural British accent.
  
  
• This is the second movie in which Kenneth Branagh, Kevin McNally and Ian McNeice have appeared together. The other was Conspiracy (2001) (TV). Both, Valkyrie and Conspiracy, are based on true events from WWII and both are stories from the German side.
  
  
• Stephen Fry mentioned on "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" (2001) (on a night when Tom Cruise was another guest) that he was offered a role. He was also very complimentary about Tom Cruise's knowledge of World War II.
  
  
• The song played over parts of the end credits (Track #1 on the soundtrack album, "They'll Remember You") uses lyrics from the the Goethe-poem "Wanderers Nachtlied" ("Wanderer's Nightsong"): "Ueber allen Gipfeln / Ist Ruh, / In allen Wipfeln / Spuerest du / Kaum einen Hauch. - Die Voegelein schweigen im Walde./ Warte nur, balde / Ruhest du auch." This translates into Englisch: "Over all the summits / it is calm. / In all the treetops/ you can feel / hardly a breeze - The birds remain silent in the woods. / Just wait, soon / You'll rest as well." The music was composed by John Ottman and performed by Sylke Schwab and the Rundfunkchor Berlin.
  
  
• Both David Bamber (Hitler) and Tom Hollander (that guy that gets his legs blown off) both played Mr. Collins in "Pride and Prejudice" (1995) and Pride & Prejudice (2005) respectively.
  
  
• Waldemar Kobus (Police Chief Von Helldorf) also appeared in the German film Stauffenberg (2004) (TV), playing Wolf's Lair officer Lieutenant Herber.
  
  
• This film's opening preamble states: "The following is based on a true story."
  
  
• The film's opening prologue is a quotation of a Nazi mandatory loyalty service oath for Soldiers of the German Armed Forces. It states: "I swear by God this sacred oath: That I shall render unconditional obedience to Adolf Hitler[,] Führer of the German Reich and people, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, And that I shall at all times be ready, as a brave soldier, to give my life for this oath . . . "
  
  
• This movie's closing epilogue states: "The July 20 Plot was the last of 15 known attempts by Germans to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Nine month's later, with Berlin surrounded, Hitler committed suicide. Nina von Stauffenberg [See: Countess Nina Von Stauffenberg] and her children survived the war. She died April 2, 2006."
  
  
• This film's final afterword is from the German Resistance Memorial in Berlin. It reads: "You did not bear the shame you resisted sacrificing your life for freedom, justice and honor."
  
  
• This movie actually has two official main titles. Firstly, the wording Walküre is shown. This title then dissolves into its English language equivalent, Valkyrie.
  
  

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