''Atentát'' (English title: ''The Assassination'') is a 1964 black-and-white Czechoslovak war film directed by

Jiří Sequens Jiří Sequens (23 April 1922 – 21 January 2008) was a Czech film director. Life Sequens was born in Brno. After the Second World War, he went to Moscow where he studied film techniques. When he returned to Czechoslovakia he worked for Cze ...

. The World War II story depicts events before and after the assassination of top

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

leader Reinhard Heydrich in Prague ('' Operation Anthropoid''). Czech historians have called the film the historically most accurate depiction of the events surrounding ''Operation Anthropoid''. The agents portrayed in the film are not referred to by their real names but by the historical cover names they assumed for the operation. For example, Jan Kubiš is called Otto Strnad.

Plot

On September 27, 1941, Reinhard Heydrich, one of the most feared top officials of the Nazi Party, an architect of the Holocaust and Hitler's possible successor, is appointed "Reichsprotektor" of Bohemia and Moravia. As a result of his brutality and oppression he is also called "The Butcher of Prague" or "The Blond Beast". In the UK, a squad of agents is selected and trained before parachuting into Czechoslovakia. The team operates in Prague and plans the attack for about six months. The mission, Operation Anthropoid, is executed in the capital on May 27, 1942, in an ambush. It almost fails when one of their Sten guns jams, but Heydrich is severely wounded by a grenade. Heydrich eventually succumbs to his wounds and during the frenzied aftermath the German high command takes savage reprisals, including the massacre of 340 men, women and children of Lidice and the razing of the village. The group is eventually betrayed by one of its members and they are cornered in a church crypt in Prague. In the gun-battle that follows all agents commit suicide.

Cast

Radoslav Brzobohatý Radoslav Brzobohatý (; 13 September 1932 – 12 September 2012) was a Czech film and television actor. Brzobohatý was born in Vrútky, Czechoslovakia. He appeared in many Czech TV shows, including '' 30 Cases of Major Zeman'', ''Ulice'' and ...

– 1st Lt. Král (based on

Adolf Opálka First Lieutenant Adolf Opálka (4 January 1915 – 18 June 1942) was a Czechoslovak soldier, member of the Czech sabotage group Out Distance, a World War II anti-Nazi resistance group, and a participant in Operation Anthropoid, the successful ...

) *

Luděk Munzar Luděk Munzar (20 March 1933 in Nová Včelnice – 26 January 2019 in Modřany, Prague) was a Czech actor. He appeared in the Czech New Wave film '' The Joke'' (Jaromil Jireš, 1969) and starred in the film ''Poslední propadne peklu'' under di ...

– 1st Lt. Sedlák (based on Alfred Bartoš) *

Ladislav Mrkvička Ladislav Mrkvička (2 February 1939 in Prague – 27 December 2020) was a Czech actor. He starred in the film ''Atentát'' and in the television series ''Thirty Cases of Major Zeman'', both under director Jiří Sequens. For his performance in th ...

– Serg. Vyskocil (based on

Jozef Gabčík Jozef Gabčík (; 8 April 1912 – 18 June 1942) was a Slovak soldier in the Czechoslovak Army involved in the Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of acting ''Reichsprotektor'' (Imperial-Protector) of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, ...

) * Rudolf Jelínek – Serg. Strnad (based on

Jan Kubiš Jan Kubiš (24 June 1913 – 18 June 1942) was a Czech soldier, one of a team of Czechoslovak British-trained paratroopers sent to eliminate acting Reichsprotektor (Realm-Protector) of Bohemia and Moravia, SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydri ...

) *

Jiří Kodet Jiří Kodet (6 December 1937 – 25 June 2005) was a Czech actor. He appeared in more than ninety films between 1951 and 2003. His mother Jiřina Steimarová and his daughter Barbora Kodetová Barbora Kodetová (born 6 September 1970) is a C ...

– Serg. Tousek (based on

Josef Valčík Josef Valčík (; 2 November 1914 – 18 June 1942) was a Czechoslovak British-trained soldier and member of the Resistance in German-occupied Czechoslovakia who took part in the firefight during the aftermath of the assassination of Reinh ...

) *

Harry Studt Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

- Wilhelm Canaris *

Josef Vinklář Josef Vinklář (10 November 1930, in Podůlší – 18 September 2007, in Prague) was a Czech actor, a member of the National Theatre. He was married to Czech actress Jana Dítětová. Biography Born 10 November 1939, but when in 1946 the ...

– Serg. Vrbas (based on

Karel Čurda Karel Čurda (10 October 1911 in Stará Hlína, today part of Třeboň – 29 April 1947 in Prague) was a Czech Nazi collaborator during World War II. Wartime activities A soldier of the Czechoslovak army in exile, Čurda was parachuted into th ...

)

Awards

4th Moscow International Film Festival The 4th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 5 to 20 July 1965. The Grand Prix was shared between the Soviet film ''War and Peace'' directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and the Hungarian film ''Twenty Hours'' directed by Zoltán Fábri. Jur ...

- Golden Prize. * 6th Thessaloniki Week of Greek Cinema - Honorable mention, foreign film out of competition.As ''Ο δήμιος της Πράγας''

Notes

References

External links