I'd prefer Puerto Ricans.

I'm thinking no.

One of the letters states that it is a pity the Germans did not make a movie about which won an Oscar), and several first-rate German actors. The movie is out in DVD - in German- and ought to be released at least with English subtitles.

I have not yet seen , however one gets the impression that the German movie hews more closely to reality. There was no scene, for instance, in which a pregnant Nina von Stauffenberg clutches her womb. The couple parted without her knowing about her husband's plans. She was arrested, though, and the children were taken from her to be given other names and adopted by other people. The war ended, and with it these atrocities.

Germans for a long time had a very divided attitude towards Stauffenberg and the conspirators of 20th July 1944. I remember the outcry that went up shortly after the war when a new military post was supposed to be named after Stauffenberg . Now, the opposite is true. Last year, Stauffenberg's 100th birthday was celebrated with reverence - new generations of Germans have grown up with entirely different values. Together with the circle around Sophie Scholl his figure is becoming emblematic for resistance , even in almost impossible circumstances.

You're right! To do this movie justice, it should have been done in German with English subtitles like The Longest Day, a film about D-Day, which used all German actors speaking in their native tongues. That would have shut Mr. Cruise out. A German accent could have possibly helped his credibility in this serious role which was a reach. But then I remember Billy Crudup's faltering French accent in Charlotte Gray, which he seemed to lose halfway through movie, and that just might be worse than no accent at all.

And I agree Cruise has limited emotional range and lacks subtlety. I saw Magnolia. But I liked him in Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire, so as I said previously, he needs to stick with Americana and play to his strength.

As to the lady who accuses many of us of pontificating. Hell yes. We are. But isn't what blogging is all about? I don't think you have to see the movie to have an opinion of Tom Cruise. I'll wait until it's on DVD at the library and rent it for $1.00.

Actually, the story is about Hitler killing Von Stauffenberg, to be precise. I prefer movies like the Anne Frank story with Ben Kingsley as her father (made for TV, but better than most screen films), if you are going to focus on the Nazizeit. Even Schindler's List was a little creepy in terms of honoring participants in the war effort, and only the montage at the end with real life survivors and their descendants made it tolerable, at least to me.

Considering how Wil Smith spouted "useless eater" sociology on the Oprah show, I would say that the Germans concern for Scientology being too close to Nazism rings true.

How stupid can Wil Smith be to buy such nonsense and then spout it out on Oprah?

Scientology stupid, that's how stupid.

I dislike the man - I have no respect for his personal beliefs. BUT he is a decent acotor. I think you sir, have merged the actor and the person into one. This is a good solid movie and if the actore was in the tabloids for working with the homeless and with the poor in Africa, you would be praising his role in this movie .. but since you remember him jumping on Operas couch, you have this twisted perverse opinion of him as an ACTOR .. its sad. Hes a good actor and this is a "good" film - leave it at that or can you not seperate the two ?

I think the movie you mean starred James Mason in one of his usual tortured dark passionate hero roles (did you see Julius Caesar?) as the protagonist. The only reason I remember it is that I had (and still have) a huge crush on James Mason. Someone will come up with the title.

So saith Noel Coward...

I think Tom Cruise is just about as beastly as we need to get!

Don't watch tv or movies.

The setting must be the East Prussian lair from which the Nazis outlined and executed their murderous rampage upon the Government General of central Poland. Why on earth would anyone want to "go back there" over the Christmas holidays, of all times, particularly when the plot failed?

Because a movie about killing Hitler will give Jewish people something to do on Christmas Day?

They did. It's called Stauffenberg. It came out four years ago and starred Sebastian Koch, who played Georg Dreyman in The Lives of Others.

Never assume that because nobody in America has ever heard of it, that it didn't happen.

tell me how a "German accent" would make this movie more authentic? How about speaking German with English subtitles? A German accent would be a joke. These men are operatives in the German resistance. Would they not speak German, straight up?

Tom Cruise has been a bad actor from the get-go. I think he's gorgeous to look at and can even transcend pin-up status but there is no "there there." He's got no range, no emotional range whatsoever, his voice is flat and when he overacts it's really a disaster [see Magnolia]. I want to root for him, but I've been let down so many times...

I think he is passable in smaller roles and second banana roles, like Rain Man. But otherwise I cringe watching him.

They were not looking to sue for peace, to the contrary, they sought victory over the Allies...

Mmmm, not exactly. IIRC, they were looking to make peace with the West so they could concentrate all their fire on Russia.

Also, I get the distinct impression you're confusing the Battle of Britain (summer of 1940) with the invasion of Normandy (summer of 1944). Apologies if I'm mistaken.

It's certainly everybody's right to have their own opinion of Tom Cruise, both as an actor and as a person. And there are certainly plenty of things that can be legitimately criticized with regard to what we know of his personal life, many of them arising from his devotion to Scientology. But the degree of vitriol exhibited in some of these comments seems to me to be rather over the top. I don't believe myself to be in a position to judge him on a personal level, since so much of what I know about him comes through the filter of a sensationalist and celebrity obsessed media. However, when it comes to acting, I find it hard to believe that someone who has done the work he has done in films such as 'Born on the Fourth of July', 'Rain Man', and 'Jerry Maguire' can be described with seriousness as having no talent. It may well be that he is seriously miscast in this latest film. I haven't seen it and probably won't, but the reviews seem to indicate that. And, like any actor, his performances can vary widely in quality depending on the suitability of the material, the direction. etc. But seeing the terms that some people have used about his acting in these letters does make me suspect that their reaction to his work is being dictated by their personal hostility toward him...whatever that may be based on.