Occents.

Rating: 7/10 (1 December 2009)

Period drama is hard enough (you get things like cobblestones on a parade ground being decidedly modern, in a film set in the Forties - a fact MISSED in the "goofs" section for THIS film).
And when the end result is known (like, "Titanic" SINKS) it is even harder.
But when it is set in a foreign country, it is IMPOSSIBLE.
One is reminded of Disney's 1960 cartoon of "101 Dalmations" - where everyone spoke with English accents, but the puppies all had American ones.
And in the British TV series "Van Der Valk" (set in Holland) everyone just used standard British accents - even when the characters visited Britain. But then, all but the OLDEST Dutch people speak FLUENT English - and German - and French. (I also remember being pleased they showed Britain as it was - an incompetent MESS, compared to the efficiency of the Dutch).
Then there is the British sitcom "Allo, Allo" where the French, German and British characters all spoke English - but with different accents. Great fun was had when they couldn't understand each other, since they were theoretically speaking different LANGUAGES! (Okay, you had to BE there - but WE laughed).
However, this was not a comedy - thus attention should have been PAID to this issue. This reporter found it DISTRACTING that most of the cast spoke with English accents (they were English ACTORS) while the main stars used American ones.
At times, Tom APPEARED to be trying to ape his English supporting cast - but the results were variable, to say the least.
And of course, Hitler HAD to speak with a German accent, or he wouldn't have been Hitler.
One cannot easily see how this problem could have been solved, short of having everyone speak German with subtitles throughout (yeah - audiences would have LOVED that) or having everyone re-voiced by actors capable of speaking English with German accents (and Tom's fans would not have stood for THAT).
Nevertheless, given the above problems, this was still a valiant effort at portraying a facet of WW2 that many are not aware of. In the early days, it is easy to see how the German people were swept along by the Nazi's promises. But when the full horror had been played out, there were many who realised the voyage begun was now a cruel folly and were eager to STOP it.
Although one had HEARD of the assassination attempts - and vaguely recalled the name Von Stauffenberg - this writer found this semi-documentary of the events fascinating.
And Cruise's performance wasn't bad either.