MovieChat Forums > Valkyrie (2008) Discussion > i wasnt aware the germans spoke english?

i wasnt aware the germans spoke english?


and that basically everyone in this movie was either american or english!!! They should have made this more authentic with german accents and subtitles... And throw in some germans already!!! Major mistake

reply

They could have, but they decided not to, so they just discarded all of the criticism they knew would come if they tried to have all of their actors do German accents, and instead included the first scene. This shows (as Stauffenberg monologues from German into English) that the entire movie, they really are speaking German, but for the sake of the audience it is translated, and then why not just use the actors' original accents?

David Bamber, who plays Hitler, does put on a German accent. Thomas Kretschmann, who plays Major Remer, is German and keeps his accent.

reply

I am not a fan of subtitles.

And speaking with German accents might give more people the illusion that they were listening to Germans, but in reality, it wouldn't have been any more realistic than doing without them. Whats important to me is the story and the acting.

reply

It was done so that Americans like myself could understand what they're saying without breaking immersion by making them read subtitles.

reply

[deleted]

Tom Cruise wasn't alive at the time, either. Another major mistake.

reply

Do you mean Germans like Thomas Kretschmann (Remer), Christian Berkel (Mertz von Quirnheim), Matthias Freihof (Himmler), Valdemar Kobus (von Helldorff), Werner Daehn (von Freyend), Gerhard Haase-Hindenberg (Goering), Anton Algrang (Speer), Helmut Strauss (Freisler), and of course Philipp von Schulthess (von Tresckow's aide), who is the grandson of Claus von Stauffenberg? This was an international production and was reflected by an international cast, hence Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Bernard Hill, Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson, and Eddie Izzard (English), not to mention Carisa Van Houten and Halina Reijn (Dutch). The film was directed and co-produced by Bryan Singer (American), who wanted Cruise (also American, as well as a co-producer) in the picture and didn't want a docu-drama, but a wartime political thriller. Germany was originally very hesitant to provide resources for this film, as Cruise (who bears a strange resemblance to von Stauffenberg) is controversial due to his adherence to Scientology, which is banned as a cult in Germany. Eventually they did cooperate and allowed film production to proceed on location at Studio Babelsburg, Berlin's oldest surviving film studio. Originally off-limits to film producers, the Finance Ministry allowed use of the notorious Bendlerblock, where the executions actually took place.

American films tend to be in English, reflecting the mother tongue of the intended audience. This film started out in German and changed to English during Cruise's voice-over at the beginning of the film, a familiar-enough device that tells us all it's being translated for us, not necessarily for the benefit of the cast (most of whom speak or understand German) but for that of the audience. It may be displeasurable for some, but is it REALLY a major issue in this film?

reply