Directed by:
Sean EllisCinematography:
Sean EllisCast:
Cillian Murphy, Jamie Dornan, Charlotte Le Bon, Aňa Geislerová, Toby Jones, Harry Lloyd, Alena Mihulová, Sam Keeley, Jan Budař, Ondřej Malý, Mish Boyko (more)VOD (5)
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Based on the true story of two Czechoslovak soldiers sent to assassinate the head of the SS in 1941. SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich was the Reich's number three and main architect for the 'Final Solution'. (official distributor synopsis)
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I'm very much looking forward to the dubbed version, which is probably a first. But otherwise, I have to admit that Anthropoid is a tasteful perspective from the outside and a good counterpart to The Assassination. The Czechs have small roles and, led by Aňa, they add to the atmosphere and the final shootout will make you hold your breath and keep your eyes wide open.
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Of course we would prefer if it was made by Spielberg or Polanski with their elegant optics and artistic touch. Anthropoid has nothing like that. But let’s be glad Sean Ellis made it into at least a decent action thriller. The actors are fine given that the screenplay doesn’t give them much to work with and the period atmosphere is captured well. Ellis also gives it the necessary momentum, like a mechanical but skillful cameraman who knows how to achieve both dynamics and fluidity. The climax in the cathedral is satisfactorily long and precisely escalated. And the main thing: when watching Anthropoid, I was proud for a moment that I come from Czechoslovakia.
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The assassination of Heydrich is undoubtedly a very strong theme, which this time was taken up by several countries, which had both advantages and disadvantages. For me personally, the biggest stumbling block was the unconvincing and dull performance of the actors in the first two thirds of the film, which was to some extent also caused by the fact that none of the actors used their mother tongue. I would honestly put the romantic line aside completely, because I found it mostly redundant. Nevertheless, the film picks up from the interrogations and the final church siege was very well shot and staged. Pity about the lacklustre and uninteresting (two-thirds of the way through) start.
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The first movie about Czechs in a long time that we needn’t feel embarrassed about. Operation Anthropoid was a purely political move meant to prove to the Brits that Czechoslovakia had the right to reappear on the map. It demonstrated that we were still a force to be contented with and it’s a little strange that this was filmed by a Brit and not a Czech. This was a project of love for Sean Ellis and that is evident throughout the movie. The beginning is rather slow, but this gives Kubiš and Gabčík the chance to gain sympathy with the viewer, and the year 1941 certainly wasn’t all hustle and bustle. The range of different accents didn’t bother me, and could be expected due to the international cast. Super acting, Dornan tries very hard, Murphy in Shelby mode (from Peaky Blinders) and both of the girls are really fine. The atmosphere of fear and anticipation works perfectly and the bloodbath finale in the church is both naturalist and full of despair. Just that dumb piano toward the end spoils things. A decently filmed piece of history which, despite minor flaws, is on a level with the competition.
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A solid performance with the likeable Cillian Murphy/Jamie Dornan duo. The first half is a bit too slow for me, but after the assassination the film picks up decently, there are some disturbing scenes and it all culminates with an excellent church shootout that has a lot of pizzazz and drive. A decent film about us. 75%
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