Valkyrie
Valkyrie is the name of an instantly recognizable piece by Wagner. Wagner was one of the few artists sanctioned by the Third Reich so it’s no surprise to have it as a code name for a military plan of action for the protection of the fuhrer should anyone want to launch a coup against Adolph Hitler. During he reign of terror there were over a dozen attempts to assassinate him, the last involved using Valkyrie – not to defend Hitler but to take him down. This could only be accomplished with some revisions of the Valkyrie mandate – no easy task since it involved the personal OK of the Reich Chancellor. The job was successfully done by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) a disenchanted soldier whose decorated war injuries landed him a cushy position with direct contact to Hitler. Once the Valkyrie changes were signed off a coup was launched that was perfect in every way save for one – nobody bothered to check the weather forecast. We all know what bunker Hitler met his fate in so the results of this adventure are easy to surmise. Still it makes for a ride as edgy and thrilling as that Wagnerian opus.