# The Man with the Iron Heart (film)
**The Man with the Iron Heart** is a 2017 English-language war drama directed by Cédric Jimenez that dramatizes Operation Anthropoid, the 1942 mission by Czechoslovak resistance fighters to assassinate [Reinhard Heydrich](https://www.edgepedia.org/reinhard-heydrich), the Nazi Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia and a chief architect of the "Final Solution"[1](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/the-man-with-the-iron-heart) • [2](https://www.kodak.com/en/motion/blog-post/man-with-the-iron-heart/). It is an adaptation of Laurent Binet's 2010 novel *HHhH*, which won the [Prix Goncourt](https://www.edgepedia.org/prix-goncourt) du premier roman, and was released as *HHhH* in France and as *Killing Heydrich* in Canada[3](https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/ladaptation-de-hhhh-en-tournage) • [4](https://www.tabloidbintang.com/film-tv-musik/ulasan/read/98920/5-fakta-dari-lokasi-syuting-film-the-man-with-the-iron-heart). The title comes from [Adolf Hitler](https://www.edgepedia.org/adolf-hitler)'s nickname for Heydrich, "the man with the iron heart"[4](https://www.tabloidbintang.com/film-tv-musik/ulasan/read/98920/5-fakta-dari-lokasi-syuting-film-the-man-with-the-iron-heart).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / screenwriters | Cédric Jimenez; screenplay by David Farr, Audrey Diwan, and Cédric Jimenez[1](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/the-man-with-the-iron-heart) |
| Source | Laurent Binet's novel *HHhH* (2010), an acronym for *Himmlers Hirn heißt Heydrich* ("Himmler's brain is called Heydrich")[5](https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2017/2/23/new-reinhard-heydrich-biopic-wraps-filming-gets-new-title/) |
| Lead cast | Jason Clarke (Reinhard Heydrich), Rosamund Pike (Lina), Jack O'Connell (Jan Kubis), Jack Reynor (Josef Gabcik), Mia Wasikowska (Anna Novak), Stephen Graham (Heinrich Himmler)[1](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/the-man-with-the-iron-heart) |
| Runtime / rating | 123 minutes; rated R[1](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/the-man-with-the-iron-heart) |
| Filming | Budapest and Prague; principal photography from mid-September 2015, concluding 75 days later, shot on Kodak 35 mm[2](https://www.kodak.com/en/motion/blog-post/man-with-the-iron-heart/) |
| Budget | 28 million euros[6](https://www.elokuvauutiset.fi/site/dvd-arvostelut/ulkomaiset/8068-the-man-with-the-iron-heart-2017) |
| Reception | 67% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (9 reviews); 49% on the Popcornmeter; 6.4/10 on IMDb[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_man_with_the_iron_heart_2017) • [8](https://screenwiseapp.com/media/the-man-with-the-iron-heart-movie) |
## Spoilers
### Subject and structure
The film covers two connected stories. The first follows Heydrich's rise: his court-martial and dismissal from the Navy, his marriage to Lina, who steers him toward the SS, his work under [Heinrich Himmler](https://www.edgepedia.org/heinrich-himmler), and his role in presenting the "Final Solution" at the [Wannsee Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/wannsee-conference)[9](https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2017/6/8/movie-review-the-butcher-of-prague-gets-his-due-in-the-man-with-the-iron-heart-aka-hhhh/) • [10](https://filmuforia.com/the-man-with-the-iron-heart-2017/). The second follows Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis, two Czechoslovak soldiers trained by the British Special Operations Executive and parachuted into occupied [Czechoslovakia](https://www.edgepedia.org/czechoslovakia) to kill him[11](https://archive.kilburnlad.net/reviews/files/HHhH.php). In the film's account of the operation, Heydrich was wounded in the attack and died of sepsis on June 9, 1942[12](https://www.ansa.it/nuova_europa/en/news/sections/news/2017/06/13/movies-the-man-with-the-iron-heart-reinhard-heydrich_b90fe21a-664c-4f39-a5a7-a49fa9a6c42a.html).
Unlike earlier screen versions of the assassination, which center on the assassins, *The Man with the Iron Heart* gives substantial screen time to Heydrich himself and his wife Lina[5](https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2017/2/23/new-reinhard-heydrich-biopic-wraps-filming-gets-new-title/). Reviewers described the result as essentially two films of about an hour each, with the first hour tracing Heydrich's career in montage-like fashion and the second following the resistance fighters through the assassination and its aftermath, including the Nazi reprisals and a shoot-out in the crypt of Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral[13](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-man-with-the-iron-heart/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_man_with_the_iron_heart_2017).
## Production
Producer Alain Goldman acquired the film rights to Binet's novel about two years after its 2010 publication by Grasset, and Jimenez, coming off his crime thriller *The Connection* (2014), was attached to direct[3](https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/ladaptation-de-hhhh-en-tournage) • [14](https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/cinema/le-realisateur-de-la-french-va-tourner-hhhh-avec-rosamund-pike-07-05-2015-4753613.php). The production was primarily French but shot in English, with a cast including [Jason Clarke](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-clarke), Rosamund Pike, Mia Wasikowska, Jack O'Connell, Jack Reynor, Stephen Graham, Céline Sallette, and Gilles Lellouche[3](https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/ladaptation-de-hhhh-en-tournage). [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) ran from mid-September 2015 for 75 days in urban and countryside locations around Budapest, with exterior location work in Prague[2](https://www.kodak.com/en/motion/blog-post/man-with-the-iron-heart/) • [5](https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2017/2/23/new-reinhard-heydrich-biopic-wraps-filming-gets-new-title/).
Cinematographer Laurent Tangy shot the film on Kodak 35 mm, mainly handheld with occasional gyro-stabilized camera work, a choice he justified by the close-up-driven, character-focused approach Jimenez wanted and by the period texture film provides[2](https://www.kodak.com/en/motion/blog-post/man-with-the-iron-heart/). A week was spent in a water tank at MaFilm Studio in Budapest filming a re-enactment of the cathedral crypt shoot-out, in which the Nazis flooded the crypt to flush out the assassins[2](https://www.kodak.com/en/motion/blog-post/man-with-the-iron-heart/).
## Release and titles
The film was originally planned for release in 2016, but the date was pushed to 2017 to avoid confusing audiences with *Anthropoid*, Sean Ellis's film about the same operation, which opened in late summer 2016[4](https://www.tabloidbintang.com/film-tv-musik/ulasan/read/98920/5-fakta-dari-lokasi-syuting-film-the-man-with-the-iron-heart). It reached UK cinemas and home video under the title *The Man with the Iron Heart*, with a UK release listed as 10 November 2017 and a DVD and Blu-ray release on 8 January 2018[15](https://noah-jupe.net/noah/hhhh-2017/) • [16](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/the-man-with-the-iron-heart). [The Weinstein Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-weinstein-company) held United States distribution rights during production[3](https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/ladaptation-de-hhhh-en-tournage).
The retitling drew comment: *The Prague Reporter* noted that the new English title coincides with the title of [Harry Turtledove](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-turtledove)'s 2008 alternate-history novel about Heydrich, in which Heydrich survives the attack, though the film is not based on that book[5](https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2017/2/23/new-reinhard-heydrich-biopic-wraps-filming-gets-new-title/).
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 67% Tomatometer from 9 reviews and a 49% Popcornmeter audience score, and IMDb users have given it 6.4/10[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_man_with_the_iron_heart_2017) • [8](https://screenwiseapp.com/media/the-man-with-the-iron-heart-movie). Boyd van Hoeij, reviewing for *The Hollywood Reporter*, called it a visually impressive calling card for Jimenez while faulting the material's structural weaknesses[13](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-man-with-the-iron-heart/). Reviews repeatedly praised the cast: Ross McIndoe in *The Skinny* wrote that the film gives each member of an excellent cast space to shine even though the film around them does not match them, and called it "without question, a damn fine looking film" that never finds a shape[16](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/the-man-with-the-iron-heart). Allan Hunter in the *Daily Express* gave it 2/5, calling it muddled and lacking in tension[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_man_with_the_iron_heart_2017).
The film received one nomination each at the Jerusalem Film Festival, the London Critics Circle Film Awards, and the Film by the Sea International Film Festival; [Noah Jupe](https://www.edgepedia.org/noah-jupe) was nominated for Young British/Irish Performer of the Year at the London Film Critics' Circle for his role as Ata Moravek[13](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-man-with-the-iron-heart/) • [15](https://noah-jupe.net/noah/hhhh-2017/).
## Place among Heydrich films
The assassination of Heydrich has been filmed repeatedly: [Douglas Sirk](https://www.edgepedia.org/douglas-sirk)'s *Hitler's Madman* (1943) came first, only a year after the event, followed by [Fritz Lang](https://www.edgepedia.org/fritz-lang)'s *Hangmen Also Die!*, the 1964 Czech production *Atentát*, and 1975's *Operation Daybreak*[9](https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2017/6/8/movie-review-the-butcher-of-prague-gets-his-due-in-the-man-with-the-iron-heart-aka-hhhh/) • [10](https://filmuforia.com/the-man-with-the-iron-heart-2017/). *The Man with the Iron Heart* arrived a year after *Anthropoid* (2016), and comparisons between the two were common in reviews. *The Prague Reporter* judged Jimenez's film a weaker take on the story but credited Jason Clarke and [Rosamund Pike](https://www.edgepedia.org/rosamund-pike) with strong characterizations, noting that Pike's Lina, the initial force behind Heydrich's SS career who comes to look on in horror at what she has created, gets more of a character arc than in previous versions[9](https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2017/6/8/movie-review-the-butcher-of-prague-gets-his-due-in-the-man-with-the-iron-heart-aka-hhhh/).
## References
1. [The Man With The Iron Heart, Paramount Pictures](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/the-man-with-the-iron-heart)
2. [Kodak 35mm delivers the emotional and cinematic canvas for WWII thriller 'The Man with the Iron Heart', Kodak](https://www.kodak.com/en/motion/blog-post/man-with-the-iron-heart/)
3. [L'adaptation de HHhH en tournage, Livres Hebdo](https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/ladaptation-de-hhhh-en-tournage)
4. [5 Fakta dari Lokasi Syuting Film The Man With the Iron Heart, Tabloidbintang](https://www.tabloidbintang.com/film-tv-musik/ulasan/read/98920/5-fakta-dari-lokasi-syuting-film-the-man-with-the-iron-heart)
5. [New Reinhard Heydrich Biopic Wraps Filming, Gets New Title, The Prague Reporter](https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2017/2/23/new-reinhard-heydrich-biopic-wraps-filming-gets-new-title/)
6. [The Man with the Iron Heart (2017), Elokuvauutiset.fi](https://www.elokuvauutiset.fi/site/dvd-arvostelut/ulkomaiset/8068-the-man-with-the-iron-heart-2017)
7. [Killing Heydrich (2017), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_man_with_the_iron_heart_2017)
8. [The Man with the Iron Heart, WISE Score & Parent Review, Screenwise](https://screenwiseapp.com/media/the-man-with-the-iron-heart-movie)
9. [Movie Review: The Butcher of Prague Gets His Due in 'The Man with the Iron Heart' (aka 'HHhH'), The Prague Reporter](https://www.praguereporter.com/home/2017/6/8/movie-review-the-butcher-of-prague-gets-his-due-in-the-man-with-the-iron-heart-aka-hhhh/)
10. [The Man with the Iron Heart (2017), Home Ent release, Filmuforia](https://filmuforia.com/the-man-with-the-iron-heart-2017/)
11. [The Man with the Iron Heart (HHhH), Kilburnlad](https://archive.kilburnlad.net/reviews/files/HHhH.php)
12. [Movies: "The Man with the Iron Heart", Reinhard Heydrich, ANSA Nuova Europa](https://www.ansa.it/nuova_europa/en/news/sections/news/2017/06/13/movies-the-man-with-the-iron-heart-reinhard-heydrich_b90fe21a-664c-4f39-a5a7-a49fa9a6c42a.html)
13. [The Man with the Iron Heart Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-man-with-the-iron-heart/)
14. [Le réalisateur de «La French» va tourner «HHhH» avec Rosamund Pike, Le Parisien](https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/cinema/le-realisateur-de-la-french-va-tourner-hhhh-avec-rosamund-pike-07-05-2015-4753613.php)
15. [HHhH [The Man With the Iron Heart] – 2017, Jupenet](https://noah-jupe.net/noah/hhhh-2017/)
16. [The Man with the Iron Heart: WWII drama, The Skinny](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/the-man-with-the-iron-heart)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Documentary and biographical films › Biographical films of political, royal, military, and criminal figures › Military and war biopics*
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