This movie is a dramatic recounting of Operation Anthropoid, the true name of the successful joint British-Czech-Slovak operation to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, chief architect of the Holocaust, and the so-called "Butcher of Prague," on May 27, 1942 (death on June 4). The movie has been praised by historians for its accuracy and its use of actual sites (except the assassination site which was changed). If you are interested in history, this movie is for you.
The purpose of this review is to point out both real sites related to the assassination and also key filming locations used in the movie. (All coordinates are ready to copy and paste into your Google Earth search box.)
1. Heydrich's Mansion (real): The actual mansion that Heydrich used as his home during his rule in Prague is the Penanske Brezany in Klicany, six miles north of Prague. The mansion is visible at 50 12 46.69 N 14 26 13.64 E.
2. Assassination Site (real): The precise location of Heydrich's car at the moment of the real assassination, the so-called Anthropoid Curve, is 50 7 4.25 N 14 27 50.55 E. Bear in mind that the road system has totally changed since 1942, but part of the road that Heydrich's car proceeded down as it approached the turn is still in existence and can be seen at 50 7 7.60 N 14 27 48.11 E, though it now dead-ends before reaching the assassination site. The curve of the old road basically followed the interior of the curve still visible today.
3. Assassination Site (filming): Because of the changes there, the real Heydrich assassination site was not used in the film. Instead, the assassination scenes were filmed at the bend of Radlicka Road in the Radice district of west Prague. That bend is located at 50 3 46.16 N 14 24 17.24 E. While the road used in the movie for Heydrich's approach to the corner is now basically a shorter ramp off of a new highway and the corner of the building that Anthony Andrews (playing Jozef Gabcik) hid behind has been changed, the site can be confirmed by comparing the Street View of the building on the opposite (south) corner with the building visible in the background at 1:00:14 of the movie (just after Andrews's machine gun jams and he runs, chased by the man playing Heydrich's driver).
4. Chase of Gabcik (filming): Andrews's running scenes were filmed on Ke Koulce Street just south of the Radlicka corner. The doorway he tried to duck into is located at 50 3 43.80 N 14 24 14.63 E. Andrew's run ends as he kills the driver at the bend of the clearly visible footbridge over the railroad tracks immediately east of the Radlicka corner filming site.
5. Town Square (filming). Multiple scenes in the movie make use of the Old Town Square, including the end of Timothy Bottoms' long flight by bicycle after the assassination. The lamppost where he parked his bloody bike is at 50 5 11.91 N 14 25 14.10 E.
6. Final Crypt Scenes (real and filming): Final scenes of the movie in which the assassins are trapped in a crypt under Saint Cyril and Methodius Church in Prague were filmed at the actual church. The vent used by the German soldiers to inject smoke and water into the crypt is the actual vent and is now a street memorial to the assassins. The vent is located at 50 4 33.12 N 14 25 0.93 E. (The battle scenes inside the church were filmed in an accurate studio recreation of the sanctuary, and many crypt scenes were filmed in a studio recreation as well.)
The purpose of this review is to point out both real sites related to the assassination and also key filming locations used in the movie. (All coordinates are ready to copy and paste into your Google Earth search box.)
1. Heydrich's Mansion (real): The actual mansion that Heydrich used as his home during his rule in Prague is the Penanske Brezany in Klicany, six miles north of Prague. The mansion is visible at 50 12 46.69 N 14 26 13.64 E.
2. Assassination Site (real): The precise location of Heydrich's car at the moment of the real assassination, the so-called Anthropoid Curve, is 50 7 4.25 N 14 27 50.55 E. Bear in mind that the road system has totally changed since 1942, but part of the road that Heydrich's car proceeded down as it approached the turn is still in existence and can be seen at 50 7 7.60 N 14 27 48.11 E, though it now dead-ends before reaching the assassination site. The curve of the old road basically followed the interior of the curve still visible today.
3. Assassination Site (filming): Because of the changes there, the real Heydrich assassination site was not used in the film. Instead, the assassination scenes were filmed at the bend of Radlicka Road in the Radice district of west Prague. That bend is located at 50 3 46.16 N 14 24 17.24 E. While the road used in the movie for Heydrich's approach to the corner is now basically a shorter ramp off of a new highway and the corner of the building that Anthony Andrews (playing Jozef Gabcik) hid behind has been changed, the site can be confirmed by comparing the Street View of the building on the opposite (south) corner with the building visible in the background at 1:00:14 of the movie (just after Andrews's machine gun jams and he runs, chased by the man playing Heydrich's driver).
4. Chase of Gabcik (filming): Andrews's running scenes were filmed on Ke Koulce Street just south of the Radlicka corner. The doorway he tried to duck into is located at 50 3 43.80 N 14 24 14.63 E. Andrew's run ends as he kills the driver at the bend of the clearly visible footbridge over the railroad tracks immediately east of the Radlicka corner filming site.
5. Town Square (filming). Multiple scenes in the movie make use of the Old Town Square, including the end of Timothy Bottoms' long flight by bicycle after the assassination. The lamppost where he parked his bloody bike is at 50 5 11.91 N 14 25 14.10 E.
6. Final Crypt Scenes (real and filming): Final scenes of the movie in which the assassins are trapped in a crypt under Saint Cyril and Methodius Church in Prague were filmed at the actual church. The vent used by the German soldiers to inject smoke and water into the crypt is the actual vent and is now a street memorial to the assassins. The vent is located at 50 4 33.12 N 14 25 0.93 E. (The battle scenes inside the church were filmed in an accurate studio recreation of the sanctuary, and many crypt scenes were filmed in a studio recreation as well.)