The Assassination

Unbeatable stuff. For me personally, it is absolutely realistically filmed, from the beginning, from Beethoven, to the end in the church and the crypt below... Čurda's call: "Boys, come out, you won't get hurt. Nothing happened to me either!" was in my head for a long time. In short, this amongst the best Czech war films, and it can boldly compete with its foreign competitors. Vávra can’t compete with Sequens - nobody can make this sort of atmosphere anymore. (2007-09-24)

Jiří Sequens simply knew how to shoot action movies that aren't entirely brainless and still manage to grip you. Moreover, there is essentially no ideology here, and it's focused solely on how the assassination of Heydrich unfolded or could have unfolded, as well as the events behind the scenes and what followed. Much is conveyed through dialogues alone, but sometimes that's quite sufficient. (2015-01-13)

Although I'm part of the modern and new generation, I have no problem with old films, especially war films. And when I add that The Assassination is a Czech production, there’s no debate—I turn on the TV immediately. Sequens might have passed me by with most of his work, but it's clear that he was a talented director who knew how to showcase his skill. What I liked about The Assassination was the cast, which at that time represented the top tier of actors. Everyone delivered great performances, but I must praise the person responsible for casting Heydrich.  Siegfried Loyda played the role incredibly convincingly and handled it wonderfully. For its time, the sets were truly ahead of their time—I can hardly believe this film was made 53 years ago. The story was impressive, though I would critique the creators for skipping certain parts of the plot (e.g., when the paratroopers suddenly appeared in the church without explaining how they got there). That part was better handled in the newer Anthropoid. However, the final shootout in the church was spot on, and the fear on the actors' faces seemed real (which showcased their quality). That scene was executed perfectly. I give the film 82%. (2017-09-01)

Undoubtedly the best film by Sequens, though the five stars are really for the subject matter, as the assassination of the Reich Protector is an incredibly compelling and powerful artistic theme. This time, history wrote the screenplay... Despite all his efforts, Sequens never ranked among top Czech directors, but since he worked with top actors, aimed for a realistic reconstruction, and avoided cheap sentimentality, a great film was made. Overall impression: 90%. (2007-05-05)

As a reconstruction of one brief phase of Czech history, The Assassination works well. The atmosphere of occupied Prague is excellent, the German actors are truly evil and, from the point of view and the dramatic flow, the film is up to its serious, blood-stained premise. In addition, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is flawlessly incorporated into the opening credits, which are chilling in themselves. However, at closer inspection, the structure creaks noticeably. Everything is dealt with very quickly, especially in the first half, the assassination itself comes almost out of nowhere, and the good guys in particular are desperately monotonous – none of them gets much space and it's very hard to like any of them enough that we don't really wish them dead. That said, the riveting pace is not always a bad thing, especially in the action-packed ending, where form finally triumphs slightly over content and where the hopelessness and the vision of impending death permeating the entire story finally turns into the film's main asset. The generous 4 stars are for the excellent ending. (2014-05-29)