In 1942, Britain sends a group of British-trained Czech commandos to Prague to assassinate SS-General Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Nazi security services.In 1942, Britain sends a group of British-trained Czech commandos to Prague to assassinate SS-General Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Nazi security services.In 1942, Britain sends a group of British-trained Czech commandos to Prague to assassinate SS-General Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Nazi security services.
Reinhard Kolldehoff
- Fleischer
- (as Rene Kolldehoff)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGeorge Sewell plays two parts in this movie; he is a German officer, seen at the film's climax, and also briefly plays Adolf Hitler.
- GoofsJan Kubis did not commit suicide in the basement. He died in the fight inside the main section of the church.
- Crazy creditsThe end credits show what happened to the real people portrayed in the film.
- Alternate versionsBBFC cuts were made to the original UK cinema version to remove blood spurts from a machine gunning. The 1987 video release was uncut.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Storyville: The Real Great Escape (2012)
Featured review
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.
- frank-ruddock
- Jan 2, 2006
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Seven Men at Daybreak
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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