31/13

I had the privilege of seeing this excellent film at the AFI Film Festival

Narrative

During the 1972 Munich Olympics, an American sportscasting crew is drawn into the coverage of the hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes.

The film is set in the ABC control room in Munich during the 1972 Olympics

It realistically portrays both the routine aspects of running the control room during the event and, of course, the tragic event of the Black September attacks on the Israeli athletes.

The film also accurately depicts how technology that was considered cutting edge at the time seems hilariously primitive today (examples include giant VCRs, competition for satellite space, hand-inserted graphics, etc)

The control room is occupied by ABC Sports President Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), fledgling producer Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro), Olympic Vice President Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin) and German translator Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch), all of whom are excellent in their roles.

Adding to the realism is the use of archival footage of Jim McKay reporting on the tragedy

But a key aspect of any thriller is the screenplay and direction by Tim Fehlbaum, who keeps the viewer on the edge of his seat throughout the film.

But that quibble certainly doesn’t stop me from recommending this excellent film highly – it’s a must-see!

My only minor quibble is with the casting of Benjamin Walker as Peter Jennings – he doesn’t seem like the handsome and elegant newsman I remember (I probably would have cut his character and relied on the recording of Jennings speaking from the Olympic Village).