A Forgotten Film: Operation Daybreak (1975)

DVD Cover (Image source)

Operation Daybreak is an old, World War 2-based movie that has been a favorite of my parents since I was a baby. The use of old synthesizer music contributes much to emotions in the major scenes in the film.

Operation Daybreak is a solidly exciting 1975 war drama film about the Czech resistance's plot to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, Deputy chief of the Gestapo and better known as Hitler's executioner. This is flawed but expertly directed by veteran 3 James Bond films' director Lewis Gilbert, and features an assorted cast including American Timothy Bottoms and a particularly good performance by Anthony Andrews as the Czech patriots. That this film grips you is a tribute to the story, and today, when the Czech village of Lidice, which was wiped out by the Nazis forces in retaliation for the assassination, is poorly remembered, its telling never fades in time.

Summary

The movie is a fact-based World War 2 drama about the assassination of leading Nazi SS General Reinhard Heydrich and the subsequent bloody search for the British-trained Czech resistance members who killed him. As the German forces violently sweeped the countryside, the small village of Lidice felt the climax of their rage.

The movie had a good remake as Anthropoid in 2016 but it is not as deeply moving as this one.

Ambush scene of Operation Daybreak

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Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Daybreak
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Anthropoid

Thanks to Ringo Pebam for the Youtube video upload

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