User Reviews

I have studied the Heydrich assassination at some length as an historian, and the film does take some liberties with the facts. However this is to be expected as this is drama – not a documentary. The battle at the end does contain some errors such as the end of the agents in the main church, one was fatally wounded and the other two took poison, instead of being killed in the gun battle, but this in no way detracts from the overall accuracy of the film.

The battle in the crypt likewise ended with the four agents committing suicide by gunshot, rather than a mixture of enemy action and suicide.

I have been in the crypt many times and have never failed to be impressed by the astounding courage of these men.

'In their darkest hour they lit a beacon that illuminated the world'

Film based on the true story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague and was adapted from the book Seven Men at Daybreak by Alan Burgess . During World War 2 , in 1942 Czechoslovakia, SS-General Reinhard Heydrich (he was 38 when he was shot but Anton Diffring who was in his late fifties) is appointed by Hitler (George Sewell plays two parts in this movie; he is a German officer, seen at the film's climax and also, briefly he plays Hitler) to become the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia , he is known as "The Butcher of Prague". As a squad of Czech expatriates formed by three soldiers : Jan Kubis (Timothy Bottoms) , Karel Curda , (Martin Shaw) and Jozef Gabcík (Anthony Andrews) are parachuted into Czechoslovakia in order to assassinate the German governor Reinhard Heydrich . The group is assigned a dangerous mission called Operation Daybreak ; it was designed by the Allies to eliminate a high-ranking Nazi (it is believed that Admiral Canaris passed crucial information to Allies for organizing the attack) . They are helped by partisans as Janák (Joss Ackland) , Anna (Nicola Pagett) and Pyotr (Vernon Dobtcheff) .On 27 May 1942, Heydrich proceeded on his daily commute from his home to Prague Castle. Gabčík and Kubiš waited at the tram stop at a tight curve . The spot was chosen because the curve would force the car to slow down . As Heydrich's open-topped Mercedes-Benz reached the curve, Gabčík stepped in front of the vehicle, trying to open fire, but his Sten gun jammed. Heydrich ordered his driver, SS-Oberscharführer Klein, to stop the car. When Heydrich stood up to try to shoot Gabčík, Kubiš threw a modified anti-tank grenade at the vehicle, and its fragments ripped through the car's right-rear fender, embedding shrapnel and fibres from the upholstery into Heydrich's body, even though the grenade failed to enter the car . The assailants initially hid with two Prague families and later took refuge in an Orthodox church dedicated to Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prague. The Germans were unable to locate the attackers until Karel Čurda of the "Out Distance" sabotage group was arrested by the Gestapo and gave the names of the team's local contacts for a bounty .The assassination of Heydrich was one of the most significant moments in the history of the resistance in Czechoslovakia and is considered to be the strongest act of defiance throughout occupied Europe. The act had such an impact that it led to the immediate dissolution of the Munich Agreement as signed by Great Britain and France, as well as Germany's ally Italy. Britain and France agreed that after the Nazis were defeated the annexed territory (Sudetenland) would be restored to Czechoslovakia. As Heydrich was one of the most important Nazi leaders, two large funeral ceremonies were conducted. The first one was in Prague, where the way to Prague Castle was lined by thousands of SS men with torches. The second was in Berlin attended by all leading Nazi figures, including Hitler, who placed the German Order and Blood Order medals on the funeral pillow. The betrayer Karel Čurda, after attempting suicide, was hanged in 1947 for high treason .

It is based on the novel by Alan Burgess and on a true story that also was adapted by Fritz Lang, in 1943 'Hangmen Also Die' , Hitler's Madman (1943) and Atentat (1964). It explores the preparations, execution, and aftermath of this operation and the bloody revenge on the Lidice village . Operation Daybreak shows the operation leading up to Heydrich's death as well as the massive German reprisals that followed it . This movie was one of the few productions who took the time and the effort of duplicating WW2 German Tiger tanks, and since the film was set in the Czech republic, the filmmakers made use of Czech army equipment .One of the best things about this interesting film results to be its excellent recreation , shot in Prague and authentic scenarios, we have the full details of the events, the arrival of the command, the plan of attack, the realization of it, the Nazis retaliated with physical elimination of Lidice, and as they surrounded the Church of St. Cyril by the treachery of one of the components of the command . The picture contains an intriguing but inappropriate original music by David Hentschel composed by means of synthesizer . Furthermore a functional and atmospheric Cinematography by magnificent French director of photography Henri Decaë . The motion picture was professionally directed by Lewis Gilbert . Lewis was a craftsman and expert on all kind of genres such as comedy : ¨Shirley Valentine , Educating Rita , The admirable Chricton¨ ; Adventure : ¨The seventh dawn , The adventurers ¨ ; James Bond movies as as : ¨Moonraker , The spy who loved me , You only live twice¨ ; Drama : ¨Alfie , A cry from the streets¨ and wartime : ¨Damn the Defiant , Sink the Bismark¨ .

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.)

I have loved this film from the first time I saw it in 1977. Great music, amazing story and competent acting (Anton Diffring was brilliant and very, very scary just as Heydrich was supposed to be). I had to find out more about the story and, to my surprise, found out that it is almost completely true ( gun jamming, Heydrich dying ten days later, grassed up by one of their own, killing dozens of germans in the church, both committing suicide at the end etc etc). I noticed previous comments about this film have queried whether it was worth the sacrifice of thousands of innocent people to assassinate one man, namely, Heydrich. Well let me just fill you in on this monster ( The butcher of Prague, The Hangman ). It was Heydrich that was mainly responsible for the 'Final Solution' and in all probability 11,000,000 Jews would have been murdered if he had lived. Also he alone would have been responsible for the 'General Ost Plan', Hitlers determination to exterminate 30,000,000 ( yes 30,000,000 ) Slavs in Russia & Eastern Europe. One last point - Leningrad & Stalingrad would certainly have been German victories if Heydrich had lived. 40% of the wehrmacht (tanks and artillery) were produced in Czech protectorate factories. This production fell by 70% after Heydrich's death, and not surprisingly lead to the collapse of the Russian divisions, who relied mostly on the weaponry produced in Czechoslovakia. He was also in charge of the SD spying network which was incredibly successful.

Make up your own mind - great film though.

OPERATION: DAYBREAK tells the true story of the assassination attempt on the life of Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich in Prague during the Second World War. In terms of narrative structure it's almost exactly the same as in the recent remake ANTHROPOID starring Cillian Murphy; I saw that version first which means that I've been spoilt. As such, while I enjoyed this film, I found it only good compared to the remake which I thought was quite brilliant.

The film plays out in a typically gritty 1970s fashion and could be described as downbeat. The likes of Timothy Bottoms, Martin Shaw, and Joss Ackland play the conspirators and do their jobs well, while Anton Diffring makes for an excellent Heydrich. The film is slightly overlong in parts and it does drag a little in the first half, but once the assassination attempt is staged it really picks up and remains both moving and thrilling right through the climax.

Though this is not a great film, it is worth seeing because it is based on true events that occurred during WWII.

The central story is about three men chosen to target Reinhard Heydrich, the man in charge of Czech territory, and a favorite of Hitler. The consequences of their plan, if successful, were known, so they were involved in a no-win situation.

The most poignant part of the film is the ending, when the viewer is given the final outcomes of the main characters. After watching the film, it is worthwhile to read about the operation and the actual consequences to the town of Liditz (Lidice). Stories about the rule of Nazi Germany are seldom uplifting, but they serve as reminders of what some people are willing to do.