Berlin - Tom Cruise is to reshoot scenes of the execution of the German resistance leader who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944, as a result of mistakes in the first takes, a production spokeswoman said Friday.
'There was a mistake in the filming. That happens,' the spokeswoman said.
She was unable to say how many scenes of the film Valkyrie would have to be reshot in the historic Bendler Block in Berlin, where Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg and three of his co-conspirators were executed by firing squad immediately after the plot had failed.
The errors had come to light over the past few days while the film was being developed, the spokeswoman said.
The scenes were first shot in the Bendler Block almost two weeks ago.
The German authorities initially refused permission for filming there, but later agreed on condition due respect was shown to the resistance leaders.
There is a memorial to the resistance in the building, which is now used by the Defence Ministry.
Before the initial filming, the actors and crew observed a minute's silence. Cruise, who plays Stauffenberg, spoke to those present, thanking the German authorities for giving permission.
The filming of Valkyrie in Berlin has been beset by controversy from the start.
There were strong objections in Germany from the outset to the idea that Cruise should play a German hero, both on the grounds that he does not look like Stauffenberg and more significantly that Cruise is a Scientology devotee, while Stauffenberg was a Catholic.
The original ban on filming in the Bendler Block was even referred to in a recent US State Department report on religious freedom, which criticized Germany for discriminating against Scientology.
Stauffenberg and three other plotters were shot at the site when the July 20, 1944 bid to blow up Adolf Hitler in his Wolf's Lair headquarters failed.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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