I have seen 'Downfall', but I haven't seen Valkyrie yet.
Yeah, there was something to it (Downfall), still I don't think the film was that great. Bruno Ganz probably saved the scene. Great actor.

I still give Charlie Chaplin a top rating for his personification of H in 'The Great Dictator'. (1940)

If you want some real stuff, get ahold of Leni Riefenstahl's 'Triumph of the Will'.

There is also Syberberg's 'Our Hitler - A Film from Germany' 1977, which I haven't seen either. I think it has a playing time of 4 hrs+. Correction: 442 minutes running time.

As far as side effects of 'Valkyrie', I have my own thoughts about effects and I don't think they are so far off to the side.

They don't need Valkyrie for that. They've been using the "end justifies the means" rational for ages.

- Peter.

Well worth watching. Am I imagining a documentary which featured her very late in life with no regrets for that film?

I agree in theory that they don't. However, there has been a lot of theological writing about Dietrich Bonhoeffer's participation in the plot. The visual display of the event might further enliven the argument to the faithful on the religious right, despite the fact that most German theologians opposed to the Nazis like Bonhoeffer, were socialists.

Yes. My cousin just back from China got me a DVD of her 36 Olympic's film along with that documentary. I've not watched them yet but hope to soon. He said next time he's in outer Mongolia he'll try to pick up Triumph of the Will for me.

- Peter.

I have to admit, I have never seen this film, nor afiliated documentation. I am not a particular fan of the subject, to say the least, even though some may think that way.

I think, if I had to pick a favorite, it'll still be Chaplin's "Great Dictator".

This is a little off topic, but I was in Washington DC a few weeks ago hanging out with a bunch of Turks. For the first time in my life, I saw a person with a 'Hitler Moustache'. It was odd. I'm assuming that style of moustache is socially unacceptable for the obvious reasons. It made me wonder if the guy wearing it was making a deliberate statement about Fascism. Turkey's Kemalism does have a strong Fascist strain to it.

There is lot's of individuals who like to get in other people's faces that way. It must have been a legit fashion, back in the days. I dunno. Chaplin was wearing the same kind of mustacho.

Like I mentioned previously, one of the many morons I met in my life, happened to be from Canada. As I worked with him, he thought it was funny to throw the 'Hitler Gruss' at me, one morning when I entered the facility, based on his knowledge and me being of German origin.

The world is full of such morons.

As to the effects of Valkyrie on Americans' mindset and perception about Germans in general, I hope and I believe, it may contribute to - at least - a slight notion of Germans' redemption in the face of the Western World.

For the longest time the primary historical data has excluded many details, witnessing notions and activities throughout the German population, contrary to the dominating view of the Third Reich.

If only some get a climpse of an idea, T. Cruise's perfomance and the movie was worthwhile being brought to life.

There was a documentary on Hist Intl a few nights ago which hinted at the same. A lot of the Germans interviewed took along time to come to grips about their history and the Jul 20th incident seemed to help them believe that not all Germans were Nazis.

I only caught the last 1/2 hour or so and I hope it comes on again.