Anyone see "Munich"?

Tmy

Philosopher
Tmy
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Oct 23, 2002
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I was wondering if anyone got to see the movie. Was it bias? Any reason for people to be offended? Is it any good or accurate?

I remeber some History Channel show onhow the Mossad hunted the terrorists down. It was really interesting. They would post the guyz obituaries inthe paper BEFORE killing them. Total headgames with the terrorists. It also talked about the mistakes they made, and how some inncoent people were killed.
 
I am off work until wednesday for Jesus's birthday and plan to see it if time allows. So far it has been met with more praise than condemnation, even by some of the murdered athletes' widows.

I am old enough to remember watching it unfold on TV. I also remember that other Palestinian terrorists then hijacked a Lufthansa Boeing 727 over Turkey and demanded the release of the Palestinian terrorists held by Germany for the Munich massacre.

Germany did cave in and released the Palestinian "Munich massacre" terrorists.

{edited to add}

Here's an interesting thesis by the Marine Corps Command and Staff College regarding the Israeli response to the Munich massacre.
 
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Yes, I saw it yesterday. Two thumbs up! Very good. I had a few complaints with it, but mostly minor stuff. It won't be my best film of the year, but will almost certainly be in the top 10.

Like my friend said - both sides (Jew & Arab) are upset with Spielberg, so he must have done something right!
 
Has Spielberg said anything about why he chose to portray this particular aspect of the situation? I believe he shows the assasinations afterwards, correct? Why did he make the choice to make the movie about that, as opposed to other aspects, such as the event itself? Or the planning and actions that led up to it?

I was just wondering, that's all. Anybody got a link to an interview where he discusses this?
 
Freakshow said:
Has Spielberg said anything about why he chose to portray this particular aspect of the situation? I believe he shows the assasinations afterwards, correct? Why did he make the choice to make the movie about that, as opposed to other aspects, such as the event itself? Or the planning and actions that led up to it?

I was just wondering, that's all. Anybody got a link to an interview where he discusses this?
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No, I have not heard why he decided on this. However, it is based on a book, the name of which I don't recall, so maybe the book is only about the aftermath.
 
Freakshow said:
Oh, interesting. I didn't know it was based on a book. I'll have to look into that. Thanks, CS.
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The title of the book is 'Vengeance'. I remember reading it 20 years ago when it was first published. Haven't seen the movie yet.
 
Freakshow said:
Has Spielberg said anything about why he chose to portray this particular aspect of the situation? I believe he shows the assasinations afterwards, correct? Why did he make the choice to make the movie about that, as opposed to other aspects, such as the event itself? Or the planning and actions that led up to it?

I was just wondering, that's all. Anybody got a link to an interview where he discusses this?
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There's already a documentary that goes into the event itself, titled One Day In September. I've never seen a film on the actual assassinations that followed, so this (I think) is an original entry into that subject.
 
patchbunny said:
There's already a documentary that goes into the event itself, titled One Day In September. I've never seen a film on the actual assassinations that followed, so this (I think) is an original entry into that subject.
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Yes, that's what I watched when researching documentaries to teach to some upper-school students. So, I'll go see this film. I want to make my own mind up.

One interesting summation, The War on Munich - from Salon.com, by Michelle Goldberg:

"The same day, Variety editor Peter Bart published a dispatch about awards season campaigning. Noting that Spielberg was lying low, he wrote, "Having gone to such excruciating pains to explain that there is no 'right' and 'wrong' in the Middle East (thus adding to the film's exhaustive length) the filmmaker understandably wants to avoid the angst of the interview circuit." (Variety had already given the movie a scathing review.) The following day, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Ehud Danoch, Israel's consul general in Los Angeles, airing similar criticisms. "According to Danoch, throughout the film Spielberg equates the Mossad agents and the terrorists," Haaretz wrote, quoting him saying, "This is an incorrect moral equation. We in Israel know this. There is also a certain pretentiousness in attempting to treat a painful, decades-long conflict by means of quite superficial statements in a two and a half hour movie.
As the political attacks pile up, the real meaning of "Munich" -- a flawed but powerful and, yes, complex movie -- threatens to get lost amid all the huffing and bleating...
...But the political discussion around "Munich" has already been framed in a way that obscures the film itself."


I admit... I'm also going to see it as Eric Bana (Avner) is an Australian actor.
 
Spielberg did a bit of an interview about "Munich" in a recent Time.
 
Just a side note. There has been a movie made on this subject already.
I can't recall the name, but supposedly it is factually based on the leader
of the team who got recruded to Musad then quit, moved to NY and then went back to Israel. In the movie he was a captain(?) of some tank unit.

THe guy who played the lead was the guy who was Tony Montana's partner in Scarface.
 
Magyar said:
Just a side note. There has been a movie made on this subject already.
I can't recall the name, but supposedly it is factually based on the leader
of the team who got recruded to Musad then quit, moved to NY and then went back to Israel. In the movie he was a captain(?) of some tank unit.

THe guy who played the lead was the guy who was Tony Montana's partner in Scarface.
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You're thinking of Sword of Gideon (1986)
 
I, too, read Vengeance about 20 years ago. I was impressed with the details the author revealed but also with his changing moral views.

iirc, he maintained his belief in the righteousness of accurately targeted retribution but became disgusted with the collateral damage Israel was willing to bear and very upset with the methods of the Mossad not only in dealing with the terrorists but in dealing with him and his agents.

Recommended read.
 
The movie doesn't open here until the 6th, I'm hoping to see it.

I read Vengeance some years back, though I should probably go back to it before seeing the movie.
 
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