User reviews

I've seen this several times now and I can never watch the end of this movie. My husband and I watched it again last night and I simply broke down and cried for ten minutes. Such waste of young lives... To read the later fates of the characters in the credits was particularly wrenching. Very good performances, foremost of which must be Anton Difring. Beautiful use was made of Prague's older quarters. Unlike many I didn't like the music at all; I felt the subject deserved better. One wonders what the widow and daughter of Heinrich thought of the destruction of Lidice and its subsequent reincarnation in the aftermath of the war.

I first saw this movie back in 1976 when HBO, I believe, was making a run of it. It was a riveting movie I never forgot; I taped it from network TV about 12 years ago, and I recently started watching it again. Next I ordered the VHS tape, which arrived today and it is excellent, including quite a few scenes that the network version omits. The only problem is, as one viewer points out, is that in this version there is no subtitles, so you miss some of the dialog in the parts that are spoken in German. (The network version includes the subtitles, but is missing some scenes). The sound quality on the prerecorded VHS version is quite good if played back on a VHS hi-fi deck with a good sound system. I wish this movie were available on DVD! If anyone hears of it becoming available on DVD, please let me know! Hopefully a future DVD release will address the subtitle problem. It is indeed surprising how little attention this movie got. I even ordered a couple of books on Heydrich from Amazon, as well as the novel "Seven men at Daybreak" on which the movie is based. I find that the movie is nearly completely accurate. An excellent movie that anyone interested in history should see at least once.

This detailed account of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, and the tragic aftermath, is likely about as accurate as any dramatic film is likely to be on the subject. The Nazis took an appallingly vicious revenge, and this film is a compelling, somewhat flawed, saga of the great tragedy that is war and conquest. Was the killing of Heydrich, the "Hangman" to the Czechs, really necessary, considering the consequences? It must have seemed so to the British brass and the willing Czech volunteers, but one wonders what the completely uninvolved victims in Lidice may have thought. Viewed as part of the overall slaughter of millions in the course of WW2, these were small numbers of victims, but is even one death negligible? Did Heydrich's removal shorten the war at all? You will have to find your own answers.

As a cinematic action film, this is not an especially inspired production. The story of the parachuting in from British RAF planes of an assassination team proceeds rather slowly until the final battle at the church where the seven partisans were hiding. The German efforts to dislodge them are shown in a detail that may owe something to extrapolation from the facts. Who knows? In any case this is the exciting part of the film. As shown the seven wiped out simply hordes of attacking Germans before the last two took their own lives. There is no question but that in reality the partisans put up quite a fight. They would have had no incentive to surrender meekly to Nazi "mercy".

Acting, except for the very convincing portrayal of Heydrich by Anton Diffring, is generally lackluster, with a few exceptions, and the editing can only be described as choppy. The language convention may seem a tad strange. Conversations that would obviously have been in Czech, are given in English. Conversations in German, occur in German, without subtitles. If you aren't fluent in German, you may miss some nuances. Since few of the cast are Czechs, there is not much slavic flavor evident. Who knows, this may enhance the more universal message that "war is hell". Oh, and did Gabcik and Kubis really take their own lives at the end?

If you like movies with lots of nasty Nazis and their regalia, old fashioned European train stations and exotic locales, you'll do well with Operation Daybreak. I suspect it takes a few dramatic liberties with the assassination of Reinhard Heidrich. But the basic facts are right and nobody claims it's a documentary. There are a couple of flaws. Would the allies drop agents into occupied Europe in daylight? Would the holed up assassins waste their ammunition so liberally. And would the Nazis send so many soldiers into the church basement with so many casualties when there would have been quicker and more effecient tactics. For that matter, would anyone survive multiple hand grenade explosions in an enclosed space such as the church crypt. And if they did, would they have had any hearing left? But at the end of the day --- or the film --- it's a pretty satisfying war movie, if a little on the long side, enhanced by some lovely cinematography. The brooding, low key, warm toned images of Prague, the creative angles and the pavement wet with morning rain are tremendously effective. Much better than your average war movie!

Interesting how much Anthropoid borrowed from this film, especially some moments from the finale.

Other than that, the film is quite good, with a fantastic finale. The epilogue credits are a delightful cherry on top. One of the better WWII flicks out there.

While not perfectly accurate in every respect, it is as near to accurate in all of the important respects: the incredible risks (personal and national) and courage of the Czechs; the importance of Heydrich and his cold, brutal and efficient nature; the ending for all involved, in which no punches are pulled; betrayals and loyalty; how, in military operations, always expect the unexpected. Good understated acting, appropriate to the real people. Portrayal of Heydrich equally understated and disturbingly normal. Great music. Haunting, gut-wrenching ending. Slow build-up to climax finely done. I saw the original in the 1970s; video purchased a few years ago is fine except the subtitles are missing for the short German-speaking parts (which I remember in any case). Key event of WWII: if anyone merited assassination, Heydrich did. Quite apart from his activities in "Bohemia and Moravia" where he was known as the "Butcher of Prague", his top position in the SS and police apparatus (second only to Himmler) and his key role in planning and executing the Holocaust left him with the blood of millions on his hands. Of interest, if you watch Wannseekonferenz (1984; German, with English subtitles) and Operation Daybreak back-to-back, you have a continuous and accurate portrayal of Heydrich's last months. The former covers the 90 minutes of the Wannsee meeting in January 1942 in Berlin in which Heydrich, as second most important police official in the Reich, coordinates the implementation and industrialization of the Final Solution, the latter covers from January to June (his death), in which he has added to his CV by becoming the political administrator of Czechoslovakia (also a likely clue to his future ambitions). The two films could not be more different (one almost a stage play, the other more suspense/action), but are unified by excellent portrayals of Heydrich. It also underlines that while the Czechs assassinated Heydrich for purely national reasons, there was no lack of other justifications. If you cannot obtain Wannseekonferenz, the more recent (2001) English remake (Conspiracy, with Kenneth Branagh) will do. IMDb members rate the German version (8.0) slightly higher than Conspiracy (7.7), a judgement I agree with.

As with 'Cry Freedom!' the most moving aspect of this film is the damning roll-call of violent death that ends it. Otherwise it's a rather straightforward plod through the execution of Operation Anthropoid shot on the actual locations and sticking reasonably closely to the facts; but unfortunately rather tinny and uninvolving.

It was only after the war that Heydrich's key role in initiating the Holocaust emerged (which had he lived would have ensured his notoriety on that count rather than purely for the drama of his death, aged only 38). He is here portrayed by Anton Diffring as the usual strutting Nazi target; with the ferocious Nazi reprisals - including the destruction of Lidice - only briefly alluded to.

I knew nothing about this movie until it popped up on TV one evening during the mid seventies. Being Anthony Andrews fans my wife and I settled down to watch the movie and I also recorded it on my newly acquired beta max video recorder. From the start we were drawn in to the story. The characters, the locations, actors and the magnificent musical score. It's the most moving and convincing film I have ever seen. Knowing the film is based on true events makes it all the more poignant. The pace of the movie and almost gentle unfolding of events gives the viewer time to think. It's not the high speed violence we have become used to in recent years. A film of love and hate and the darkest days of the second world war. The final and perhaps inevitable outcome in the last chapter has become etched into my memory forever. I remember Anthony Andrews saying years later on The Michael Parkinson Show that it was a film he was particularly proud to have been a part of. Too right! A star studded cast which so often can be the kiss of death in a film proved to be not the case. Every character was essential and all the actors played their parts well.I have tried to get this film on VHS and DVD but unsuccessfully. It is a film that has had quite a profound effect on the way I think. If you have never seen this movie but are given the chance to watch it, keep a tissue in your pocket. It's a tearjerker.

Operation Daybreak is the World War II movie which adopted from the actual Operation Anthropoid ,occurred in 1942, and some parts are from the novel "Seven Men at Daybreak". It's very interesting that this movie filmed use more than 80% of actual event as the screenplay and many things looked very realistic.

I think this movie has 2 parts. First is the thrilling for every viewer in the SOE's mission to kill General Reinhard Heydrick. (SOE is the British's Secret Service Organization before they changed to MI6) Everyone can see Heydrick's notoriously action which made him "the Butcher of Plague" before his assassination. This part can make everyone think about the operation and could judge about what Heydrick's deserved. Another part is about the tragedy that occurred until the end of the movie.

In my opinion, Operation Daybreak is the very interesting film which everyone who likes in history should see. The most part of the film is inspired by actual story even it is not the documentary. Nevertheless, due to it's not completely "hero" film, everyone should understand the crew and the circumstance during World War II in order to understand this movie.

At last, if you like history, this is one of your choices, but don't hope too much about "the beautiful way of the film".

US directors and Script writers cant imagine to realize a movie in accordance with historical facts. Here is an example of falsification of historical facts which are very well and fully documented.

To assess this nothing is so easy as to check this wikipedia report: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Anthropoid .

The different attempts to murder Heydrich did not occur as shown on the film.

Maria committed suicide in the toilet after asking the Germans to let her go there before leaving the flat.She took a cyanide capsule.

Ata was arrested with his father and was not interrogated in the flat as shown in the movie.He was interrogated with torture throughout the day, refused to talk. The youth was stupefied with brandy, shown his mother's severed head in a fish tank and warned that if he did not reveal the information they were looking for, his father would be next.This finally caused Ata to crack and tell the Gestapo what they wanted to know. Čurda did not play any part in this circumstance.

Waffen-SS troops laid siege to the church the following day but, despite the best efforts of over 700 SS soldiers under the command of Generalleutnant Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld, they were unable to take the paratroopers alive; three, including Kubiš, were killed in the prayer loft (although he was said to have survived the battle, he died shortly afterward from his injuries) after a two-hour gun battle. The other four, including Gabčík, committed suicide in the crypt after repeated SS attacks, attempts to smoke them out with tear gas, and Prague fire brigade trucks brought in to try to flood the crypt. The Germans (SS and police) suffered casualties as well, 14 SS allegedly killed and 21 wounded according to one report although the official SS report about the fight mentioned only five wounded SS soldiers. The men in the church had only small-caliber pistols, while the attackers had machine guns, sub-machine guns and hand grenades. After the battle, Čurda confirmed the identity of the dead Czech resistance fighters, including Kubiš and Gabčík.

How can a script writer have the nerve to distort history like this. How actors can accept to play in such a cheat!

No, although the movie is very well played it doesn't deserve to be seen. It is mandatory to dramatize such events exactly as they occurred; this is part of the world history, some of the people can still be alive and especially the victims of the horror of the Nazi regime and their accomplices in the countries they invaded. It is an obligation to pay the victims tribute for what they suffered for us to be still in free countries today, by at least exposing their history with accuracy.

Whether the USA believe it or not, we European were not playing Hollywood movies at the time and we deserve the utmost respect from this country whatever part did it take in the ending of the war which cant be used as an excuse for such gross distortions of facts.

I first saw this movie about six months ago, recorded it, and have been watching it regularly every since (about once a month). It is such a heart-wrenching movie, and truly one that you can never forget. It's the story of ulimate patriotism and friendship and loyalty. And the best thing about it....it is about 95% true.

The score of this film is absolutely amazing. The slow, pulsating beat that plays every time the movie his a little climax is so much more effective that the rising strings of an orchestra. There's just a subtlety to this whole movie...the pauses and glances are just as meaningful as the worlds spoken.

This is really a classic...as was said by someone else...and it IS criminal that almost no one has seen this movie...but I'm only 15..so what the hell do I know, right? :)

RELEASED IN 1975 and directed by Lewis Gilbert, "Operation: Daybreak" tells the true story of Britain sending a trio of Czech-born commandos (Timothy Bottoms, etc.) to Czechoslovakia in 1942 to assassinate SS-General Reinhard Heydrich (Anton Diffring), Hitler's buddy, infamously known as "the butcher of Prague." Unfortunately, the Czechs paid heavily with the SS eradication of the innocent village of Lidice, as well as (not shown) Lezhaky, the village where the parachutists dropped and received aid in the first act.

The movie plays like a docudrama with a haunting synth-based score, which some love and some hate (regardless, there's some period music as well). The story is a mix of drama, suspense, thrills and tragedy. It's not a typical WW2 movie due to the covert mission. It's more akin to "The Guns of Navarone" (1961), "36 Hours" (1964), "The Eagle has Landed" (1977) and "Valkyrie" (2008), although of course the story is totally different.

One element of the plot will tick you off, but it happens (I'm not going to give it away). Nicola Pagett is jaw-dropping beautiful. The authentic Czech Republic locations are a plus. This really happened; and the ending chronicles what happened to the Czechs.

THE FILM RUNS 118 minutes and was shot in the Prague area. WRITERS: Ronald Harwood (screenplay) & Alan Burgess (novel).

GRADE: B

A sterling and moving tale, concerning british agents and the subsequent assassination of the most evil Reinhard Heydrich (the man who dreamed up the Holocaust). Anto Diffiring plays the heartless monster perfectly and if he had lived (no doubt) would have taken over complete power, as head of the dreaded SS. Although the ending is not so accurate, the rest of the story is pretty much how this suicidal operation took place. A memorable musical score and one of the most underrated WW2 dramas.

Operation Daybreak is an excellent film, I first saw it about 17 years ago and have since watched it several times. The plot is pretty much as it happened, save for some artistic licence with the tear-jerking finale, in real life Kubis(Bottoms) was killed in the prayer loft prior to Gabcik's(Andrew's) suicide. If you go to Prague you may want to check out the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius on Resslova,near Karlova Nam(Charles Square)Metro station,it's the church in the film and the crypt now houses a museum dedicated to the memory of the Czech peoples suffering at the hands of the Nazi's and Heydrich's assassination. Over the river in Kobylisy is the site of the assassination, two nearby streets have since been named Gabcikova and Kubisova in honour of the assassins.

Yes the music does date the film (were ARP synthesisers ever a good thing) but does that matter? No!!

Some poetic licence is taken with the facts (how Jan Kubis really died or the romance with Anna) but the portrayal of the occupiers, particularly Reichsprotektor Heydrich in no way understated how heinous these people were.

The depiction of siege at St Cyril's conveys a whole range of emotions as tension builds. The motivation of the resistance was unquestionably heroic at this part of the episode.

This is so much more than an action story. However the issues tend to be portrayed in a very polar black / white manner. Even Karel Chudra's motivation is shown in very clear terms (he is treated far less sympathetically in Czech history). It is unfortunate that the film did not have time to develop the political tension between London and the local resistance. How aware was London of the probability of reprisals following the assassination? Was it their intention that reprisals would do more to stir local opposition to the occupation than the assassination itself? Why did Karel Moravec later take his own life?

Overall, however, this is a film to see and for the most part it is very realistic. Visit Prague and leave the tourist traps to see St Cyril's - it looks just like the movie and is almost guaranteed to make you cry for all the victims of the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia.

In 1942, the British parachutes in ex-pat Czechs to assassinate SS-General Reinhard Heydrich who is in charge of the Nazi security forces in occupied Czechoslovakia and the presumed successor to Hitler. They join locals to execute the impossible mission.

This is based on the true story of Operation Anthropoid. I'm no expert on any accuracy issues. It is a rather slow start to the movie. It's fine not to be flashy when the characters are trying to hide in plain sight. I do want them to not look like they're hiding. It's great to have the locations which does give it authenticity. The acting is fine but nobody stands out. Timothy Bottoms is trying to be lead but he's not shining through and the material limits him. Karel Curda is problematic. His actions make little sense. I don't see how he thinks a deal could be done like that. He can't be that dumb. His motivation needs to be better. The most compelling part of the movie is the closing text. This is second tier war espionage thriller.

One of the best films I've ever seen.Normally I will only watch Factual films and this is one of the best. One of the strong points of the film is the haunting, moving music throughout.The acting I thought was excellent from the main characters, in particular from Anton Diffring as Heydrich with those steely cold eyes.I enjoyed the film so much that I ordered the book which is called "seven men at daybreak" and was as good as the film but without the music, which is such an integral part of the film itself. From the very beginning in the opening scenes where Heydrich is getting ready, it will have you on the edge of your seat,and from there on you do not want it to end The scene in the crypt at the end is very moving, and of course the music enhances the sadness of the situation. All in all a great movie well worth watching and i can guarantee most who watch it will want to see it again.

John.

Just let down by the strange synthesised 70's music.

In the Movie Operation Daybreak, Martin Shaw, playing Karel Curda, was in fact not married, Curda betrayed his Comrades for the money the Nazis were offering, and after all the Men in the Church were Killed or in the case of the last two assassins, Jan Kubis and Jozef Gabcik Committed Suicide, Curda's reward for treachery was 500,000 Reichsmarks and a new identity, "Karl Jerhot", he married a German woman and spent the rest of the war as a Gestapo collaborator. After the war, Curda was tracked down and arrested, when asked in court how he could betray his comrades in the way he did, Curda replied, "I think you would have done the same for 1 million marks", it is thought that this comment might not have been made, however, there is no evidence to repudiate this, Curda was found guilty of treason and hanged on 29 April 1947. In the Movie, it is made out that Curda did what he did to save his Family, Curda did NOT have a Wife, and therefor, did not have a Family, the motivation for what Curda did was greed, there is a theory that he was married and did what he did to protect his rumoured Family after what happened to Lidice, when the whole town was demolished but so far, there is no actual evidence to prove this theory Karel Curda was a coward and a collaborator for the Gestapo