The 2008 film , directed by Bryan Singer and starring Tom Cruise, is a gripping historical thriller that dramatizes the real-life 20 July plot of 1944. It follows Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and a cadre of disillusioned German officers as they attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler and seize control of the government using the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan. Key Themes and Production The Weight of Moral Conviction: