Anthropoid Filming on Prague Streets

Video of the latest Hollywood film captures actors dressed as German soldiers by Karlovo náměstí

Jason Pirodsky

Written by Jason Pirodsky Published on 17.08.2015 16:01:45 (updated on 17.08.2015) Reading time: 2 minutes

If you tried to walk past or drive through Resslova street by Karlovo náměstí this weekend, you might have been turned away by a large-scale film crew with hundreds of extras, many dressed as Nazi soldiers.

They were shooting the upcoming WWII drama Anthropoid, which has been filming on locations in and around Prague since late July.

The film follows the true story of Czechoslovak paratroopers, trained by the RAF, who covertly drop back into the country during Nazi occupation and plot to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, Reich-Protector of Bohemia and Moravia.

Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey) and Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins) star as paratroopers Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík, who were tasked with the assassination.

This latest location on Resslova is outside of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral, where Kubiš and Gabčík took shelter after the assassination attempt in 1942.

Bullet holes from Nazi soldiers attempting to flush them out can still be seen on the church’s exterior. Across the street from the church, the modern Czech pub U Parašutistů is dedicated to the war heroes.

Over the weekend, actors dressed as German soldiers were filmed on Resslova in a re-creation of these scenes. Local production company Lucky Man Films provided iDnes with a video overview of the Resslova location:

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The story of the Heydrich assassination has been previously told in numerous movies, most notably Operation: Daybreak, one of the best Hollywood films shot in Prague, which was also filmed on location around the city.

Like that film, interiors for the Cyril and Methodius Cathedral were recreated in studio at Barrandov for the shooting of Anthropoid.

Earlier scenes, set in the winter of 1941-2, were shot in the Czech countryside. While the country was in the midst of a heat wave, artificial snow created from cellulose was used to help create the illusion of winter. 

The upcoming movie HHHH is also due to film in Prague later this year; it tells story of the assassination from the viewpoint of Heydrich (to be played by Jason Clarke) and his wife Lina (Rosamund Pike).  

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