''Operación Ogro'' is a

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written and directed by

Gillo Pontecorvo Gilberto Pontecorvo (; 19 November 1919 – 12 October 2006) was an Italian filmmaker associated with the political cinema movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for directing the landmark war docudrama ''The Battle of Algiers'' (19 ...

. The film is based on true events in Spain during the early 1970s and is based on the eponymous book by Julen Agirre (pseudonym of Eva Forest).Obituary
''The Guardian''. The film won the David di Donatello (an annual Italian motion picture award) for Best Film. All the actors, a mix of Spaniards and Italians, spoke Spanish in the dubbed version released in Spain, and in Italian in the dubbed Italian version.

Plot

This drama documentary film describes the attack - known as Operación Ogro - made by four Basque separatist members of

ETA Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...

, on 20 December 1973 against

Luis Carrero Blanco Admiral-General Luis Carrero Blanco (4 March 1904 – 20 December 1973) was a Spanish Navy officer and politician. A long-time confidant and right-hand man of dictator Francisco Franco, Carrero served as the Prime Minister of Spain and i ...

known also as the "Ogro" (ogre). Under the pretence of being bank officials the men involved - Ezarra, Txabi, Iker and Luken - settle in Madrid and plan to kidnap the "Ogro" from the church where he goes to mass each morning. In return for his release they plan to demand the release of 150 Basque political prisoners. However the planning has to change since Carrero Blanco becomes Spanish Prime Minister and Henry Kissinger was set to come visit him, all the security measures around him were multiplied. They then decide to blow him up with a bomb laid under the road upon which his car is going to pass. They dig a tunnel and lay the explosives and the assassination occurs.

Cast

* Gian Maria Volonté: Izarra *

José Sacristán José María Sacristán Turiégano (born 27 September 1937), better known as José Sacristán, is a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor. At Gijón International Film Festival in 2015, he received the Nacho Martinez, Nacho Martinez Awar ...

: Iker *

Ángela Molina Ángela Molina Tejedor (born 5 October 1955) is a Spanish actress. Aside from her performances in Spanish films, she has starred in multiple international productions, particularly in a number of Italian films and television series. Family Mol ...

: Amaiur *

Eusebio Poncela Eusebio Poncela Aprea (born 15 September 1947) is a Spanish actor. Biography Eusebio Poncela Aprea was born in Madrid on 15 September 1947. After graduating in drama, he made his debut onstage in the play '' Mariana Pineda'' in the mid 1960s ...

: Txabi *

Saverio Marconi Saverio Marconi (born 1 April 1948) is an Italian stage director and actor. Life and career Born in Rome, after his debut as a stage actor, Marconi had his breakout role in 1977 playing Gavino Ledda in the Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's drama fi ...

: Luque *

Georges Staquet Georges Staquet (1932, in Bruille-lez-Marchiennes – 2011) was a French actor. Partial filmography * ''The Day and the Hour'' (1963) - L'aubergiste (uncredited) * '' Bande à part'' (1964) - Legionary * ''Marie Soleil'' (1964) * '' Pierrot l ...

: The builder * Nicole Garcia: Karmele *

Féodor Atkine Féodor Atkine is a French actor of Russian-Polish origin, born on 27 February 1948 in Paris. A screen performer, he has participated in numerous plays, films and television series in France and abroad. Life and career Féodor Atkine was born ...

: José María Uriarte (alias Yoseba) * Estanis González * Agapito Romo:

* José Manuel Cervino: The milkman *

Ana Torrent Ana Torrent Bertrán de Lis (born 12 July 1966) is a Spanish film actress. Early life and career Her debut came in 1973 with the starring role as "Ana" in the film ''El espíritu de la colmena'' (''The Spirit of the Beehive''), directed by V ...

: Basque girl

History

Operación Ogro The assassination of Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco, also known by its code name Operación Ogro ( en, Operation Ogre), had far-reaching consequences within the politics of Spain. Admiral Carrero Blanco was killed in Madrid by the Basque ...

'' ("Operation Ogre") was the name given by

to the assassination of

, the then Prime Minister of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in 1973 and the successor of Spanish ''

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...

'' Francisco Franco. This attack was carried out on 20 December 1973. An ETA commando group using the code name Txikia (after the nom de guerre of ETA activist Eustakio Mendizabal killed by the

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the au ...

in April 1973) rented a basement flat at Calle Claudio Coello 104,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

on the route over which Carrero Blanco used to go to Mass at San Francisco de Borja church. Over five months, this group dug a tunnel under the street - telling the landlord that they were student sculptors to disguise their real purpose. The tunnel was packed with 80 kg of explosives that had been stolen from a Government depot. On 20 December 1973, a 3-man ETA commando group disguised as electricians detonated the explosives by command wire as Carrero Blanco's Dodge Dart passed. The explosion sent Carrero Blanco and his car 20 metres into the air and over a five-storey building. The car crashed down to the ground on the opposite side of a Jesuit college, landing on the second-floor balcony. Carrero Blanco survived the blast but died shortly afterwards. His bodyguard and driver were killed instantly. The "electricians" shouted to stunned passers-by that there had been a gas explosion, and subsequently escaped in the confusion.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1979 films Italian drama films Spanish drama films 1970s Spanish-language films 1979 drama films Italian films based on actual events Films about terrorism in Europe Political thriller films Films set in Madrid Films directed by Gillo Pontecorvo Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films about ETA (separatist group) Films about assassinations 1970s Italian films