37/21
I had the privilege of seeing this great film at the AFI Film Festival
Plot
During the 1972 Munich Olympics, an American sports team is forced to report on the hostage crisis of Israeli athletes. The film is set in the ABC control room in Munich at the 1972 Olympics.
It realistically portrays the day-to-day aspects of running the control room during the event and, of course, the tragic Black September attack on Israeli athletes
In the control room are ABC sports president Ron Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), newly minted producer Jeffrey Mason (John Magaro), Olympic vice president Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin) and German translator Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benes), all of whom are great in the field. their tasks.
Jim McKay adds to the realism by using archival footage of the tragedy
The film also shows exactly how technology that was considered cutting edge at the time looks ridiculously primitive today (examples include huge VTR machines, competition for satellite space, manual placement of graphics, etc.). But the highlight of any thriller is Tim Fehlbaum’s writing and direction, which keeps you on your toes throughout the film.
But that conundrum certainly doesn’t stop me from highly recommending this great movie – you have to see it!
My only minor gripe is the casting of Benjamin Walker as Peter Jennings – I don’t think he should be playing the beautiful and elegant anchorwoman I remember (I’d probably cut his character and just rely on Jennings’ Olympic Village tape) .