Berlin - The release of Valkyrie, a controversial World War Two movie starring Tom Cruise, has been set for December and January, Twentieth Century Fox said Wednesday in Berlin.

The movie tells the true-life story of one of Germany's few war heroes: Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944 and was executed by the Nazis when the coup attempt failed.

Many Germans were not only unsettled by the return of swastikas and jackboots to Berlin streets during the 2007 filming, but also by the casting. Cruise has been widely criticized in Germany because of his Scientology beliefs.

The distributor, Twentieth Century Fox, said the German release had been set for January 22, 2009. The US release would be on December 26, allowing the movie to play to holiday-season crowds.

Completion of the movie, directed by Bryan Singer, had been repeatedly delayed, but the distributors have always maintained this was purely so they could choose a profitable date for first release. (dpa)