Starring Anthony Andrews, Timothy Bottoms and Martin Shaw, the film was directed by Lewis Gilbert and shot mostly on location in Prague.

[2] In late 1941, General František Moravec commands three Czech partisans, Jan Kubiš, Jozef Gabčík, and Karel Čurda, who were trained by the British, to undertake a crucial military operation described as being the most important of the war.

After regrouping with Čurda, they head to Prague and are offered refuge by the Moravec family: aunt Marie and her son Ata and daughter Jindřiška, where they plan how to execute Heydrich.

Under vigilance from Gabčík, Kubiš hides in a control room and aims his rifle at Heydrich, but another train abruptly passes to the opposite direction, obstructing the trajectory.

They devise a new plan to shoot Heydrich as his car slows down at a bend in the road during his regular morning drive into the city from his country residence.

The paratroopers seek refuge in the crypt of Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral, but when the Germans discover their location, a long battle ensues.

[8] To prepare for the role of Kubiš, leader of the group and eventual hero who does the killing, Bottoms spent three months on location in Czechoslovakia.

[9] The castings of Anthony Andrews, Martin Shaw and Nicola Pagett were announced in December 1974, who all had acting experience from London's West End theatre.

[14] The film was entirely American produced and financed[10] and was shot on location in Prague, Czechoslovakia, using various places that were part of the real assassination.

Colin Bennett of Australia's The Age newspaper felt that while the latter part of the film was "very moving", this only made up for the "quiet drabness" that was shown before.

[23] The operation was considered a necessity by Winston Churchill in an effort to raise allied morale, despite the expectation of German retribution.

[citation needed] In the film, Sergeant Karel Curda's betrayal made him appear as a "treacherous weakling", though in reality his confession came after an order by Hitler for the execution of 30,000 political Czech prisoners of war.