12/37

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

Scenario

During the 1972 Munich Olympics, a team of American sports broadcasters are forced to cover a hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes. I had the privilege of seeing this excellent film at the AFI Film Festival.

in their roles

It realistically depicts both the normal aspects of the control room during the event and, of course, the tragic event of the Black September attacks on Israeli athletes. The control room is staffed by ABC Sports President Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), young producer Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro), Olympic Vice President Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), and German translator Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch).

giant VTR machines, competition for satellite space, manual graphics insertion, etc)

The film also accurately showcases how technology that was considered cutting-edge at the time seems laughably primitive today (e.g. But the most important aspect of any thriller is Tim Fehlbaum’s writing and direction, which keeps you in your shoes throughout the film.

The realism is provided by Jim McKay’s use of archival footage in his reporting of the tragedy

My only minor quibble is with the casting of Benjamin Walker as Peter Jennings – he doesn’t seem quite right for the handsome and elegant anchor I remember (I probably would have cut his character and relied solely on Jennings’ voiceover from the Olympic Village). However, this joke certainly doesn’t stop me from highly recommending this excellent film – it’s a must-see!