How ‘September 5’ Roots Are in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Munich’

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As a seasoned gamer with an extensive background in film history, I must say that the upcoming release of “Munich: The Edge of War” has me both excited and contemplative. Having witnessed the dramatization of this tragic event several times before, I am intrigued to see how this new adaptation will approach the subject matter.

On the 5th of September, a movie titled “September 5” will be released in limited screenings starting November 29. This film recounts the tragic events of the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis, an incident shrouded in darkness that led to the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches, their 5 captors from the Palestinian terrorist group Black September, and a police officer. The movie, produced by Paramount Pictures, narrates the story through the eyes of the ABC Sports team who were in West Germany covering the Games; Peter Sarsgaard plays the role of ABC Sports president Roone Arledge.

The events following the crisis have been portrayed in other works before. One such instance is the 1986 Canadian telefilm titled “Sword of Gideon“, where Steven Bauer plays a Mossad agent pursuing the Black September plotters under the guidance of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, portrayed by Colleen Dewhurst. This film was adapted from the 1984 book “Vengeance” by George Jones, which also inspired Steven Spielberg’s movie “Munich“. The 2005 historical thriller, “Munich“, starred Eric Bana as an Israeli security expert who gathered a team of assassins including Daniel Craig and Ciarán Hinds to execute a global revenge plan. The script for this movie was co-written by Eric Roth and Tony Kushner in their first collaboration with Spielberg. The storyline raised moral questions and depicted the internal struggles of the killers as they carried out their ruthless mission, drawing criticism from pro-Israel groups like the Zionist Organization of America, who labeled Kushner an “Israel hater.

Following a busy promotional run for War of the Worlds in that year, Spielberg initially opted against media interviews for the more subdued film Munich. As DreamWorks marketing chief Terry Press explained to The Hollywood Reporter, “Sometimes, silence carries more weight than all the noise.” Since there’s already too much chatter in the world, a lack of fanfare can leave an impact. However, Spielberg eventually agreed to grace the cover of Time magazine on December 12th, which labeled Munich as his “hidden masterpiece.” The film received five Oscar nominations, including those for best picture, best screenplay, and best director.

This tale was initially published in an independent issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine, which comes out in November. If you’d like to get the magazine, you can do so by clicking here to subscribe.

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2024-11-22 00:25