What The Critics Say

"Yes, it's violent, but the questions raised, the internal journey followed by the film's characters subtly tends toward peace, or at least rethinking all this violence. " Ross Anthony HOLLYWOOD REPORT CARD "Simply stated, Munich is Steven Spielberg's return to seriousness and his finest film in years." Ty Burr BOSTON GLOBE "Well, it looks like Spielberg has done it again." Eric Lurio GREENWICH VILLAGE GAZETTE "What he [Speilberg] has done about the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict is deliver a visceral, meditative, violent and gritty saga, less a political statement, more a repetitive, conventional political thriller." Stan James THE ADVERTISER "Tremendously exciting. The film moves like a thriller. Eric Bana is magnificent in the role. One of the year's ten best." Peter Travers ROLLING STONE "MUNICH takes a clear-eyed look at a terrible moment in cultural history and the ramifications of that moment, and it's brave enough to say that there are no simple answers, no absolutes, when you are dealing with violence and hatred." Moriarty AIN'T IT COOL MOVIE REVIEWS "A difficult, courageous and disquieting story of violence, revenge and redemption that could have been shaped by no other hands but Spielberg's. It's the best film he has ever made." Jonathan R Perry TYLER MORNING TELEGRAPH

The Munich Massacre

"Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They've now said that there were 11 hostages; 2 were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, 9 were killed at the airport tonight. They're all gone." ABC Olympic commentator Jim McKay reporting live from Munich.

Adapted by from the book "Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team", Steven Speilberg's latest film "Munich" is, like "Schindler's List" a film which will leave a lasting impression upon its audiences. It's a great piece of storytelling which starts in the Olympic Village at the 1972 Games in Munich. Using great perception and mastery, Speilberg pieces together the brutality of the event which saw all eight Palestinian terrorists killed and tragicaly, 11 Israeli team members slaughtered by the Arabs. It was 4:30am on Friday September the 5th, 1972. The terrible events were put into motion after the terrorists scaled a two-metre fence at the village and knocked on the door of Moshe Weinberg, the Israeli Wrestling team coach. He and Joseph Romano held the door against the weight of the intruders while shouting warnings to the other people inside their apartment. Coach Tuvia Sokolovsky and race-walker Dr Shaul Ladany escaped and another four athletes, plus the two team doctors and delegation head Shmuel Lalkin, managed to hide during this time. 33 year old Weinberg attacked the kidnappers as the hostages were being moved from one apartment to another, allowing one of his wrestlers, Gad Tsobari, to escape. The burly Weinberg knocked one of the intruders unconscious and stabbed another with a fruit knife before being shot to death. 31 year old and father of three, weightlifter Yossef Romano, also attacked and wounded one of the intruders before being killed. Five hours later the terrorists made their demands. They wanted 200 Israel held Arab prisoners and the notorious German terrorist leaders Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof released, with guaranteed safe passage out of the country to Egypt. The terrorists and their hostages were flown to Fürstenfeldbruck military airport in two helicopters. A Boeing 727 awaited them. The event took a turn for the worse when Issa and Tony boarded the plane and found there was no crew onboard. At 11:00pm orders were given to five untrained snipers to open fire. The helicopter crews managed to escape during this initial shooting. Then at four minutes past midnight on September the 6th, one of the terrorists jumped out of a helicopter spraying it and the hostages inside with gunfire. Killed were Springer, Halfin, and Friedman, while Berger was wounded in the leg. The kidnapper then pulled the pin on a grenade and tossed it back intothe cockpit, where it detonated. The remaining five hostages in the other helicopter, Gutfreund, Shorr, Slavin, Spitzer and Shapira, were shot to death when Adnan Al-Gashey riddled them with gunfire. Berger, the wounded hostage in the other burning helicopter would die from smoke inhalation. When the gunfire finally ceased, three terrorists were found alive on the tarmac. Jamal Al-Gashey had been shot through his right wrist, Mohammed Safady had sustained a flesh wound to his leg and Adnan Al-Gashey was unscathed. Yusuf Nazzal escaped on foot but was tracked down by dogs and killed. In the end five of the terrorists were killed in that shootout at the Fürstenfeldbruck military airport. Also killed was police officer Anton Fliegerbauer while another policeman was wounded by a colleague. The names of all the terrorists involved in the massacre were: leader Luttif Afif ("Issa"), his deputy Yusuf Nazzal ("Tony"), Afif Ahmed Hamid ("Paolo"), Khalid Jawad ("Salah"), Ahmed Chic Thaa ("Abu Halla"), Mohammed Safady ("Badran"), Adnan Al-Gashey ("Denawi"), and his cousin Jamal Al-Gashey ("Samir"). One of them, Jamal Al-Gashey is believed to be still alive. A memorial service attended by 80,000 spectators and 3,000 athletes was held in the Olympic Stadium during which IOC President Avery Brundage made no reference to the slain athletes. The bodies of the Palestinians killed during the Fürstenfeldbruck gun battle [Afif, Nazzal, Chic Thaa, Hamid and Jawad] were sent to Libya, where they received heroes' funerals and were buried with full military honors. Later on October 29th, a German Lufthansa jet was hijacked. The hijackers demanded the release of the three Black September members being held for trial. Safady and the Al-Gasheys were immediately released by the German authorities. They too received a heroes welcome in Lybia. When it became clear that the terrorists would never be punished Israel's Prime Minister authorised 'Operation Wrath of God' [Mitzvah Elohim]. Israeli agents were authorises to track down and kill everyone who had planned and financed the kidnapping and subsequent death of their eleven citizens. General Aharon Yariv is quoted as saying, "We had no choice. We had to make them stop, and there was no other way; we are not very proud about it. But it was a question of sheer necessity. We went back to the old biblical rule of an eye for an eye." The Inside Story

"This is an important film --- a searing, gut-wrenching, heartbreaking re-telling of a tragic event and its aftermath, as only Steven Spielberg can do." Jeanne Kaplan KAPLAN VS KAPLAN

The story of the massacre as it unfolded in Munich 1972 was first revealed to the world by ABC sports commentator Jim McKay [real name James Kenneth McManus] who hosted ABC's Wide World of Sports from 1961 to 1998. McKay was in Munich as part of their team covering the XXth Olympic Games [dubbed 'The Olympics of Peace and Joy'] for the American television network. His reporting on what transpired would see him receive the prestigious 'George Polk Award'. During his career McKay won four EMMY awards [1968, 71, 74 & 76]. In 1988 McKay, together with Michael Landon, Richard Levinson and William Link, Bill Moyers, Dick Van Dyke and Betty White, was inducted into televisions 11th Hall Of Fame. Now acclaimed Director Steven Speilberg brings that story to the big screen. Adapted from the George Jonas novel ["Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team"] by co-writers Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Tony Kushner and Eric Roth [Humanitis Award winner for, "The Insider"]. "Munich" is a grippimg, intense and cleverly put tale of the events that followed the massacre of eleven Israeli's who were taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists at the Olympic Village and later assassinated by them as they sat bound by ropes in two helicopters on the tarmac of Fürstenfeldbruck military airport. Master director Steven Speilberg assembled a production team of award winning craftsmen to work on "Munich", and it shows. This is one classy production and one film not to be missed. Producer Barry Mendel ("Rushmore" & "The Royal Tenenbaums"), like many of us recalls the events of Munich 1972 were always a vivid, harrowing memory, and the more he learned about them, the more they haunted him. Which is why he began to envision a thought-provoking suspense thriller about the most unknown and contentious part of the unforgettable story. Mendel has strong recollections of the tragic day it all started and the feeling that something in the world had changed for all time. "I remember Mark Spitz winning all those medals, and the next morning we woke up, turned on the Olympics, and there was Jim McKay telling everyone what had happened." [In fact, Mark Spitz who had already completed his competitions, was hustled out of Munich during the crisis. It was feared that, as a prominent Jew, Spitz himself might be a target for kidnappers.] Mendel continued developing the project over the next four years 'til producer Kathleen Kennedy [who has worked with him on "The Sixth Sense"] became involved. Kennedy took the project to Speilberg. "Steven has the facility to be such a great storyteller, and with a piece of material like this and a subject matter that carries so much importance, I became very excited by the possibilities," Kennedy says. "I couldn’t think of anybody better suited to this story." Speilberg too, remembers where he was and what he was doing on that fateful September day in 1972. "I remember exactly where I was, the television set I was watching it on, and how I was watching, like everybody else, 'Wide World of Sports', when this incident took place," he recalls. "It made an indelible impression on me, and I think that impression was redoubled years later when I saw the documentary 'One Day in September'." Was Speilberg ("Continental Divide" & "Harry and the Hendersons") interested in coming onboard? "I saw that what they were proposing was a very murky, problematic and complicated story not about the massacre itself, but about the aftermath and about the policy of targeted assassination, and I became very interested." But not entirely convinced! So what provided the catalyst that convinced Speilberg to become involved in the project? The work of Tony Kushner. "I wasn’t really sure I was going to make Munich until I began reading Tony’s words, and then everything immediately coalesced for me." 2004 Humanitas Prize winner Kushner says he "distinctly recalls his own experience of the 1972 Olympics, a memory he drew upon as he began his exploration. It was a transformative moment. I was 17 years old and it was a very stark thing for me and my family. It was heartbreaking, devastating. I remember a lot of anger in America and especially a great deal of rage that the situation had been blown so badly." Kushner also revealled the project was without a title for some time. "I like the simplicity of it because I think this is a film that starts with a stark, historical fact and then it shows that there’s nothing simple about it at all and that all the certainties that might seem to surround it can also be questioned," he explained. "There’s also an immense resonance to the name Munich. It’s the birthplace of Nazism and of the Munich of 1972, all at once. It has a kind of iron ring that seems appropriate to the relevance of the story." Unfortunately, world events today dictate that the story of "Munich" is still a relevant one. What They Had To Say "There are more speaking parts in this film than any I’ve ever directed, including "Catch Me If You Can". Having this many characters in a multi-layered story that spans a couple of years and numerous countries, it was very important to me that even the smallest character be as interesting as the most central character," Steven Speilberg said. "This story portrays a very painful and tragic part of our collective history, and I wanted to have an amazing ensemble to tell it."
"Steven was absolutely fluid in his directing style. He would see something happening and immediately try to take advantage of it, which is a very exciting way to work," says Daniel Craig. "It’s also very scary. But if you’re going to be in that situation, it’s good to be doing it with Steven Spielberg, because he brings such a wealth of knowledge about every aspect of cinema to the process."
"I was only four or five at the time, but I always remembered some of the images, and it was a story that became very familiar to me through the years," says Australian actor Eric Bana. "It’s an event that keeps coming back at you, because it still seems so current."
"I was blown away by the screenplay, by the structure of it, by the subtlety, by the intelligence, by the power and the guts," says Mathieu Kassovitz [who directed one of my all-time favourite foreign language films: "The Crimson Rivers", starring Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel]. "I think it’s a very smart movie about the concept of vengeance itself."
"I was quite sporty when I was young so I always watched the Olympics," Irish actor Ciaran Hinds says. "Due to what was happening in Northern Ireland, I was very aware of this kind of violence as a global thing. Because of this, the whole idea of Munich was very interesting to me. It has a way of looking at history that isn’t black and white. I think Steven presents a story that asks a lot of questions but doesn’t serve the answers up on a plate, and that is very important."
German actor Hanns Zischler was 25 in 1972. "We were all suddenly aware that this theatre of the Olympic Games had become a stage for a dark, horrible drama. And it all happened on television before the eyes of the world. For me, it was fascinating to have a chance to explore these events from a different angle in Munich." Cast & Crew Bytes "MUNICH" stars .......
AFI and Australian Film Critics Circle Award winner Eric Bana ["Chopper", "Black Hawk Down", "The Nugget", "Hulk" and "Troy"]; Daniel Craig ["The Power Of One", "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider", "The Jacket" and "Layer Cake"]; Ciarán Hinds ["Oscar and Lucinda", "Road to Perdition ", "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" and "Veronica Guerin"]; 1995 Cannes Film Festival Best Director Award winner and 1994 César Award for Best Young Actor winner Mathieu Kassovitz ["Café au Lait", "Hate", "Assassins" and "Gothika"]; 2000 Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear Award winner Hanns Zischler ["Kings of the Road", "Paradiso", "Taking Sides" and "Sunshine"]; Ayelet Zurer ["A Night Without Lola", "Desperado Square", "Nina's Tragedies" and "Electricity Man"]; Academy Award ® for Best Actor, BAFTA, Golden Globe, Emmy, AFI, and Screen Actors Guild Award winner Geoffrey Rush ["Shine", "Quills", "The Tailor of Panama" and "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers"]; Gila Almagor ["The Rose Garden", "Life According to Agfa", "Dangerous Acts" and "The Gospel According to God"]; Ami Weinberg ["The Vulture", "Facing the Forests", "The Bourgeoisie" and "A Five Minute Walk"] and Lynn Cohen [ "The Station Agent", "Evergreen" and "While the Widow Is Away"] as Golda Meir. "MUNICH" was .......
directed by Three time Academy Award ® winner Steven Speilberg ["Schindler’s List", "Saving Private Ryan", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Catch Me If You Can" and "Jaws"]; screenplay by Academy Award ®, Writers Guild Award and recipient of the Humanitas Award Eric Roth ["The Nickel Ride", "Forrest Gump", "The Horse Whisperer" and "Ali"] and Pulitzer Prize, Emmy Award, TWO time Tony Award, Three time Obie Awards, the Evening Standard Award recipient Tony Kushner ["A Bright Room Called Day", "Caroline, or Change", "The Good Person of Sezuan" and "Angels In America"]; original story by Edgar Allan Poe Award, Two time Nelly Award, Two time Gemini Award and Two time Max Award winner George Jonas ["By Persons Unknown", "Final Decree", "Crocodiles in the Bathtub" and "Politically Incorrect"]; costume design by Joanna Johnston ["Hellraiser", "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", "The Sixth Sense " and "Love Actually"]; production design by Rick Carter ["Amistad", "A.I. Artificial Intelligence", "Cast Away" and "Back To The Future II & III"]; edited by Three time Academy Award ®, Two time BAFTA Award and Two Time EDDIE Award winner Michael Kahn A.C.E ["Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Schindler’s List", "Saving Private Ryan" and "Fatal Attraction"]; cinematography by Two time Academy Award ® winner Janusz Kaminski ["Schindler’s List", "Catch Me If You Can", "Minority Report" and "The Terminal"]; original music by 43 time Oscar ® nominee John Williams ["Catch Me If You Can", "Superman", "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Memoirs Of A Geisha"] produced by Steven Speilberg ["E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial", "The Color Purple", "Empire of the Sun" and "Memoirs of a Geisha"]; Colin Wilson ["Casper", "Amistad", "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" and "War of the Worlds"]; Kathleen Kennedy ["E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial", "Jurasic Park", "The Sixth Sense" and "The Bridges of Madison County"] and Barry Mendel ["Rushmore", "The Sixth Sense", "Unbreakable", "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou"]. What It's All About On September 5th 1972, Palestinian fedayeen ['men of sacrifice'] scale the fence at the Olympic Village in Munich. Once inside, the men, wearing tracksuits, armed with Kaleshnikov rifles and bearing hand grenades take members of the Israel Olympic Team hostage. The leaders demands are simple. Israel must release 200 Arab prisoners it is holding. The terrorists want safe passage out of the country. The German government refuses to allow an Israeli special-forces team to operate in Munich. The Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and her government refuse any negotiation with the terrorists. In the end 11 Israeli's will die along with five of the eight terrorists. Golda Meir and the Israeli cabinet’s top-secret "Committee X" agree to a secret operation. It will be known as 'Operation Wrath of God'. Israel will base a team of men in Europe to track down and kill those who organized and financed the terrorists who committed the atrocities in Munich. Five men are recruited. They will all join up in Europe. They will have no official connection with Israel. They will be paid through secret bank accounts. They must eliminate those involved in the slaughter of the Israeli citizens. No-one must escape the Wrath Of God. The Verdict " Let me make a salient point right from the start, "This is the quickest 163 minutes I've spent in a theatre in a long while." Speilberg's "Munich" is a taut thriller that will, at times, having you hold your breath in anticipation, clutching your seat in fear and exhaling a big sigh of relief each time the hit team manages to make good their escape. Just as he did with "Schindler's List", Speilberg has created a wonderful exercise in storytelling that is superb. The six main characters are played so well it's easy to forget that they are, after all, only acting. The menacing tone of the film is raised and lowered with an edgy, foreboding soundtrack engineered by the master of Hollywood composers, John Williams. FOUR STARS. Don't hesitate in seeing this on the big screen readers because the effect will not transfer to the small screen. Much Kudos must go to Eric Bana, Ciarán Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Geoffrey Rush and the new James Bond Daniel Craig for a fine turn of acting. Very highly recommended." Who's Who?

Eric Bana Daniel Craig Ciarán Hinds Mathieu Kassovitz Hanns Zischler Ayelet Zurer Geoffrey Rush Gila Almagor Ami Weinberg Lynn Cohen Amos Lavie Moshe Ivgy Michael Warshaviak Sharon Cohen Alexander Schmuel Calderon Oded Teomi Michael Lonsdale Mathieu Amalric

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Avner Steve Carl Robert Hans Daphna Ephraim Avner's Mother General Zamir Golda Meir General Yariv Mike Harari Attorney General Meir Shamgar General Nadev General Hofi Mossad Accountant Papa Louis

The Crew Directed by Steven Spielberg Screenplay by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth Produced by Kathleen Kennedy/Barry Mendel/Steven Spielberg/Colin Wilson Original Music by John Williams Cinematography by Janusz Kaminski Film Editing by Michael Kahn Casting by Lucky Englander/Fritz Fleischhacker/Jina Jay Production Design by Rick Carter Set Decoration by John Bush Costume Design by Joanna Johnston Run Time 163 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2006 - Universal Pictures - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2006 - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved