39/41

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

Scenario

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)

ABC Sports President Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), fleet producer Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro), Olympic Vice President Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin) and German translator Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch) are all in the control room 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 Tim Fehlbaum’s screenplay and direction, which keeps the viewer on the edge of their seats 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 presenter I remember (I probably would have cut his character and relied on the recording of Jennings speaking from the Olympic Village).