2024   Constantin Film

Rated:  R

Length:  1 hr  35min

Drama ~ History ~ Thriller ~ True Story

Directed by:  Tim Fehlbaum.

Starring:  Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, and Leonie Benesch.

The Day Terror Went Live

During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany two very important events took place that altered the course of history. ABC Sports was covering the event live in Munich with a full team and broadcasting live worldwide via satellite for the first time ever, and a Terrorist group named Black September broke into the apartments housing the Israeli athletes and took them hostage. They immediately demanded release of 200 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel. Word spread quickly and the ABC Sports News Team jumped into action covering every minute of the ordeal and broadcasted it worldwide. It was the first ever televised Olympics and a terrorist attack in real time. September 5 recreates the event from the perspective of the ABC crew in their control room.

FROM THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

“September 5” unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today. Set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, the film follows an American Sports broadcasting team that quickly adapted from sports reporting to live coverage of the Israeli athletes taken hostage. Through this lens, “September 5” provides a fresh perspective on the live broadcast seen globally by an estimated one billion people at the time.

At the heart of the story is Geoff (John Magaro), a young and ambitious producer striving to prove himself to his boss, the legendary TV executive Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard). Together with German interpreter Marianne (Leonie Benesch) and his mentor Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), Geoff unexpectedly takes the helm of the live coverage. As narratives shift, time ticks away, and conflicting rumours spread, with the hostages’ lives hanging in the balance, Geoff grapples with tough decisions while confronting his own moral compass.

Interwoven with real footage from that day it is a fascinating look at the events that happened and the quick thinking of the ABC team in real time as they decided that since they had the capability, the world should see the events unfolding before them. It is also an interesting look at TV production in real time without the aid of computers and graphics. There is an interesting scene where we see how they came up with titles to overlay on the live feed. Very interesting stuff, way different than now when we can quickly add graphics to video in seconds.

It is a True Story and you know I love the True Story Movies. It is also a really good movie, you feel as if you are right there in the control room with them sweating out every second and every decision. Very well done down to the details in the control room, I was eyeing some of the vintage audio gear on the wall. Very Authentic!

I highly recommend this one. Give it a go!