The Man with the Iron Heart (2017)

As the German Fascists expand their borders, scorching Europe from end to end, two brave Czechs of the Resistance prepare for a suicide mission to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, the hideous mastermind behind the "Final Solution".

Director:

Cédric Jimenez

Writers:

Laurent Binet (based on the novel by), David Farr (screenplay by)

Stars:

Jason Clarke, Rosamund Pike, Jack O'Connell

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Clarke	...	Reinhard Heydrich
Rosamund Pike	...	Lina Von Osten
Jack O'Connell	...	Jan Kubis
Jack Reynor	...	Jozef Gabcík
Mia Wasikowska	...	Anna Novak
Stephen Graham	...	Heinrich Himmler
Thomas M. Wright	...	Josef Valcík
Barry Atsma	...	Karl Hermann Frank
Geoff Bell	...	Müller
Enzo Cilenti	...	Adolf Opalka
David Horovitch	...	Admiral Hansen
Abigail Lawrie	...	Libena Fafek
David Rintoul	...	General Wagner
Ian Redford	...	Ernst Röhm
Adam Nagaitis	...	Emile Curda

Storyline

1942: The Third Reich is at its peak. The Czech resistance in London decides to plan the most ambitious military operation of WWII: Anthropoid. Two young recruits in their late twenties, Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis, are sent to Prague to assassinate the most ruthless Nazi leader - Reich-protector Reinhard Heydrich, Head of the SS, the Gestapo, and the architect of the "Final Solution".

---

Plot Keywords:

czech resistance | nazi | operation anthropoid | resistance | central europe | 

---

Taglines:

Based on the extraordinary true story of the man who ruled the SS... and those who dared bring him down.

---

Genres:

Action | Biography | Thriller | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sequences of disturbing violence, brief strong sexuality, nudity and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was scheduled for release in 2016 but was pushed back to 2017 because of the possible conflict and confusion with Anthropoid (2016), starring Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan, which tells the same story of Operation Anthropoid, the mission to assassinate Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich, and which was released late summer 2016.

---

Goofs

The actor playing Heydrich does not look like him at all - even his hair colour is wrong.

---

Quotes

Reinhard Heydrich: You are right. You do your job and I'll do mine.

---

Connections

Version of Opus Pro Smrtihlava (1984)

User Reviews

Incoherent WWII drama - if you watched Anthropoid, you can skip this one.

This movie feels like someone shot two separate movies - one being Heydrich's biography, second being action thriller about his assassination - cut the run time of each one to half and merged them together. The first half follows Reinhard Heydrich on his rise to power, orchestrated by his wife Lina. It's not exactly a thrilling spectacle, but both Jason Clarke and Rosamunde Pike deliver solid performances (although Clarke is far from the brilliance of Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's list). The problem is that the story line seems absurdly rushed, many important events are left out or shown through short collages with voice-over and music playing and it just feels incomplete. I would love to see a full 2 hours long Heydrich's biography that would dig deeper into Heydrich's relationship with his wife, his rise to power and his work and status in the Nazi regime.

Unfortunately, after one hour of this rushed biography, the movie almost completely abandons Heydrich and his wife (both have literally minutes of screen time in the second half, most of it together) and shifts focus to Czechoslovak paratroopers in Prague. Since then, it feels like Jimenez just took the movie Anthropoid (2016), cast new actors, re-shot the movie shot by shot and cut out half of the scenes. If you have seen Anthropoid, you can skip the second half in its entirety and you won't miss anything. The fact that Jack O'Connel and Jack Reynor look alike to the point it's easy to confuse their actions doesn't help either. The only upside of the second half is Mia Wasikovska who does much better job than Ana Geislerova in Anthropoid. HHhH (or The Man with the Iron Heart) is not a bad movie per se, it's just oddly structured, rushed and given the existence of Anthropoid, feels a bit redundant.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA France UK Belgium Germany

Language:

English German Czech Latin French

Release Date:

7 June 2017 (France)

Also Known As:

The Man with the Iron Heart

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

EUR27,800,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,412,639

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmNation Entertainment, Echo Lake Entertainment, Lantern Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1