That was an excellent one.

As Good As It Gets

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

RELEASED IN 1975 and directed by Lewis Gilbert, "Operation: Daybreak" tells the true story of Britain sending a trio of Czech-born commandos (Timothy Bottoms, etc.) to Czechoslovakia in 1942 to assassinate SS-General Reinhard Heydrich (Anton Diffring), Hitler's buddy, infamously known as "the butcher of Prague." Unfortunately, the Czechs paid heavily with the SS eradication of the innocent village of Lidice, as well as (not shown) Lezhaky, the village where the parachutists dropped and received aid in the first act.The movie plays like a docudrama with a haunting synth-based score, which some love and some hate (regardless, there's some period music as well). The story is a mix of drama, suspense, thrills and tragedy. It's not a typical WW2 movie due to the covert mission. It's more akin to "The Guns of Navarone" (1961), "36 Hours" (1964), "The Eagle has Landed" (1977) and "Valkyrie" (2008), although of course the story is totally different.One element of the plot will tick you off, but it happens (I'm not going to give it away). Nicola Pagett is jaw-dropping beautiful. The authentic Czech Republic locations are a plus. This really happened; and the ending chronicles what happened to the Czechs.THE FILM RUNS 118 minutes and was shot in the Prague area. WRITERS: Ronald Harwood (screenplay) & Alan Burgess (novel).GRADE: B

What was wrong with this movie? Horrible directing and screen writing. The actors, to their credit, almost surpassed the cheesy soundtrack, inept direction, and poorly developed characters. Heydrich was indeed a monster and he was arguably second in command of the Nazi regime to Hitler. It would have been more interesting to have an actor around his own age (32) to have portrayed him rather than one 25 years older than the actual Heydrich. I cannot underestimate how shoddy the production was, devoid of nuances, amateurish pacing, lighting; everything. They probably had a sub par caterer as well. The question remains as to whether the assassination of Heydrich was worth it. It was common knowledge that the assassination of a German officer in occupied territory usually meant that 50 innocent civilians were rounded up and shot. It shouldn't have been much of a surprise that two villages and their inhabitants were erased as a result of killing the second highest ranking Nazi. Yet had he not been killed, Hitler would have left him in charge of all of occupied Europe. Heydrich was the chief author of the Final Solution and there is little doubt that at least a million more Jews would have been killed under his supervision. The ambitious, scheming Heydrich was a more cunning and efficient killer than Hitler. He may even have found a way to do away with him and extend the war.

I have studied the Heydrich assassination at some length as an historian, and the film does take some liberties with the facts. However this is to be expected as this is drama – not a documentary. The battle at the end does contain some errors such as the end of the agents in the main church, one was fatally wounded and the other two took poison, instead of being killed in the gun battle, but this in no way detracts from the overall accuracy of the film.The battle in the crypt likewise ended with the four agents committing suicide by gunshot, rather than a mixture of enemy action and suicide.I have been in the crypt many times and have never failed to be impressed by the astounding courage of these men.'In their darkest hour they lit a beacon that illuminated the world'

'Operation Daybreak' Which is based on a true story Is a criminally and largely Un-Seen ClassicOperation Daybreak, tells about the assassination of SS general Reinhard Heydrich,who was the inhumane,Reich protector assigned to Prague and Bohemia , Circa 1942,British intellegance informs The two men assigned to this perilous mission, that should Hitler die Heydrich, will Assume Hitler's place,The two men who carry out this deadly mission are The Last Picture Show's(Timothy Bottoms, And Martin Shaw (Tv's Judge john deed) The two who are Czech commandos's, are swiftly parachuted into Prague, Where they set about their plan which gets underway in no time,The mission unfortunately has it's unseen setbacks, Which sees Their target fatally wounded,and then come the massive reprisals, and the thrilling climax that has a bloody shootout in the church where the Partisans, are stationed, the film culminate's in the Churches's catacomb's to an excepitonally and emotionally driven end, Directed by Lewis Gilbert, (The Spy Who Loved Me, Educating Rita, Is a largely excellent production filmed on location in Prague itself, The film which is increasingly HARD to find Really does require a DVD,Urgently!!!