Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,
September 5 takes us behind the scenes of ABC's coverage of the 1972 Summer Olympics massacre in Munich (2024; Rated R; Directed By Tim Fehlbaum; Streaming on Paramount+ and MGM+). My word for this movie is edgy.
The 1972 Summer Olympics were the first to be broadcast live. I was in junior high. September 5 was a Tuesday so I must have been in school, yet I remember being glued to Jim McKay's coverage of the terrorist attack by Black September. The coverage lasted 22 hours so I'm sure I watched as much as possible outside of school hours. My 13-year-old self didn't really comprehend what was going on, but I knew it was bad, and I knew some Israeli athletes had been killed and others taken hostage.
I also didn't know it was unusual for the coverage to be handled by the sports department, but September 5, a docudrama, shows us President of ABC Sports Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard - an actor I like a lot) fighting to keep this powerful story away from the news division. With the organizational skills of Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro), the head of the control room, who quickly manages the change in focus, and German interpreter Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch), who can tell them what's coming over the police radio, the sports department broadcasts the first ever live terrorist attack on television, watched by 900 million people.
The movie is fast paced and the archival footage of Jim McKay's coverage is skillfully woven in between the actions of the actors. I knew what was going to happen, yet I felt the tension as strongly as I did when I was 13 years old.
I strongly recommend this movie.
Happy viewing!
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
Sounds like a movie I would like to see.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised it didn't receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Its only nomination was for Best Original Screenplay, which went to Anora. I haven't seen Anora.
DeleteI never watched this at the time, but I remember hearing about it. Never have been one to watch the Olympics, I guess. Don't generally ever watch sports. The only things I ever did watch a couple of times were gymnastics and ice skating, I think. This would all be pretty new to me. Sounds interesting--and I like all the Sarsgaards!! :)
ReplyDeleteI used to watch parts of the Olympics. In 1972, Mark Spitz won his 7 gold medals for swimming and Olga Korbut was a gymnastics sensation. I don't remember how Jim McKay's coverage of the attack caught my eye, but I was definitely following it even though I didn't know what Black September was. I don't remember talking about it at school. If I had mentioned it, other kids would have said, Whut?
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