45/44
It was my privilege to see this excellent film at the AFI Film Festival
Chronology
During the 1972 Munich Olympics, an American sports broadcasting team is thrust into covering a hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes.
The film takes place in the ABC control room in Munich for the 1972 Olympics
It realistically depicts both the routine aspects of running a control room during an event and then, of course, the tragic unfolding of the Black September attacks on Israeli athletes.
The film also accurately shows how technology that was considered cutting edge back then, but looks hilariously primitive today (examples include giant VTRs, competing for satellite space, manual insertion of graphics, etc)
The control room is populated by ABC Sports President Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), aging producer Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro), Vice President of Olympic Coverage Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), and German actress 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’s account of the tragedy
But the key aspect of any thriller is Tim Fehlbaum’s writing and direction, which keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire film.
But that quibble certainly doesn’t stop me from highly recommending this excellent film – it’s a must-see!
My only minor quibble is the casting of Benjamin Walker as Peter Jennings – he doesn’t seem quite right to play the handsome, elegant anchorman I remember (I probably would have cut his character and relied solely on the tape of Jennings’ speech from the Olympic village).
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