Add news
News Every Day |

'September 5' review: ABC Sports team gets serious in a pulse-pounding look back at '72 Olympics crisis

When I think of the best movies about television journalism, personal favorites include “Network” (1976), “The China Syndrome” (1979), “Broadcast News” (1987), “The Insider” (1999) and “Good Night, and Good Luck” (2005). I’m now adding to that shortlist the engrossing and pulse-pounding procedural “September 5,” which takes us into the heart of the ABC control booth as a team of sports journalists is tasked with covering the unfolding events of the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games.

We know the tragic outcome of the terrorist attack by militants from a group calling itself Black September, who murdered 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team. We’ve seen excellent films about this horrific event, including the Academy Award-winning documentary “One Day in September” from 1999, and Steven Spielberg’s historical drama “Munich” (2005), which focused on the Mossad assassinations following the Munich massacre.

What makes “September 5” unique is the P.O.V., with director Tim Fehlbaum, cinematographer Markus Förderer and the production design team re-creating the ABC Sports broadcast facility control room in sets built at the Bavaria Studios in Munich, and additional filming taking place in the city. Add to that the use of anamorphic lenses, a handheld docudrama style and a seamless blending of dramatic re-creations and real ABC footage from the time, and “September 5” envelopes you in its storytelling technique.

'September 5'

Paramount Pictures presents a film directed by Tim Fehlbaum and written by Fehlbaum, Moritz Binder and Alex David. Running time: 94 minutes. Rated R (for language). Opens Thursday at local theaters.

Even though events have been compressed to fit a 22-hour timeline into a 94-minute movie, and some conversations and characters are fictional, there’s never a moment when it feels as if events have been amped up or overcooked.

The 1972 Summer Olympics in West Germany were of monumental importance to the hosts, who were hoping to put further distance between the modern era and the darkness surrounding the Berlin Olympic Games of 1936. On a relatively light day of competition, several ABC Sports higher-ups are taking a well-deserved break, and it’s business as usual at the network’s temporary headquarters when gunshots are heard at the Olympic Village, which is just blocks away.

It's up to a young producer named Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) to take control of the fluid situation and marshal the troops, as they begin to realize the magnitude of the crisis and decide how to cover the story. Magaro figures out a way to move the bulky studio cameras outside to capture images of the Olympic Village and even devises a way to smuggle reels of film from the sequestered village back to the newsroom by forging a fake Olympic athlete ID for a temp employee named Gary Slaughter (Daniel Adeosun) who duct-tapes the canisters to his torso. He’s born to the challenge.

John Magaro plays producer Geoff Mason, a key player in ABC Sports’ coverage.

Paramount Pictures

Peter Sarsgaard is an electric presence as president of ABC Sports Roone Arledge, who refuses to hand over the coverage to the news division because unlike the ABC News division, ABC Sports isn’t in New York, it's right there, on the scene. Benjamin Walker does fine work as Peter Jennings, who had established ABC’s Middle East Bureau in 1969. He was on the scene in Munich and managed to sneak into the Italian athletes’ compound, which was near the Israeli residence, and provide eyewitness accounts.

(Other real-life on-air personalities, including the great Jim McKay, who became an ad-hoc news anchor during the crisis, are depicted only on monitors, in real news footage. It’s the right touch.)

Director Fehlbaum, who co-wrote the script with Mortiz Binder and Alex David, makes room for just the right amount of cultural and political insight, as represented in such characters as Marvin Bader (a very good Ben Chaplin), the Jewish American vice-president of operations, and the fictional construct Marianne Gebhardt (a wonderful Leonie Benesch), a young German production assistant who becomes a key asset due to her translating abilities, even as she’s subjected to casual sexism from some of the men in the control room.

Mason gets so caught up in capturing the intense and riveting visuals that one staffer sarcastically calls him “Kubrick,” while Bader becomes the moral conscience. They are covering this act of terrorism in real time, with family members of hostages watching; what happens if a masked gunman takes a hostage out on a balcony and shoots him? Do they cut away? There’s a stunning moment when the team realizes the terrorists are also watching the coverage, thus keeping them abreast of the West German police’s strategy. By going live, were they endangering lives? Tough calls had to be made, time and again, over those agonizingly tense 22 hours.

As evidenced by the coverage — professional and amateur — of the horrific fires in Los Angeles on mainstream and social media, these days virtually all major events are shared in real time, with analysis and context coming later. But in 1972, covering an act of terrorism as it unfolded was a new challenge, and as “September 5” so brilliantly illustrates, the men and women of ABC Sports proved to be more than up to the task.

Здоровье

15+ фото, на которых все идеально до такой степени, что даже не верится

Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

The Ashton Jeanty Bears Smoke Just Got Even Thicker

Will AI ever cure cancer? The multibillion-dollar race to bring the first AI-discovered drug to market

Here’s more of what you’ll see through Meta’s $1,000 smart glasses

Creating and sharing deepfakes through tools such as OpenAI is now a crime in New Jersey—punishable by up to 5 years in prison

Ria.city
Реклама
  • ИП Попов А.П.
  • ИНН: 602715631406
В г.Ноксвилл начали выдачу средства для восстановления потенции

В аптеках г.Ноксвилл найдено средство, усиливающие потенцию в 29 раз! Им оказался обычный...






Реклама
  • ИП Попов А.П.
  • ИНН: 602715631406
Ревматолог: "4 апреля 2024 в г.Ноксвилл запущена квота"

Каждый человек с больными суставами имеет право получить...


Реклама
  • ИП Попов А.П.
  • ИНН: 602715631406
Ревматолог: "4 апреля 2024 в г.Ноксвилл запущена квота"

Каждый человек с больными суставами имеет право получить...

Read also

A ride on the Marrakesh Express

College Students Can Get a Two-Month Free Trial of ChatGPT Plus

Push for better approach to domestic violence

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

Darts star leaks World Championship payslip as he reveals long list of ‘deductions’ left him with just £5,200 winnings

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

Creating and sharing deepfakes through tools such as OpenAI is now a crime in New Jersey—punishable by up to 5 years in prison



Sports today


Новости тенниса
Екатерина Александрова

Екатерина Александрова уверенно обыграла Диану Шнайдер в 3-м круге турнира в Чарльстоне



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

Фиксики — партнеры Всероссийской олимпиады для школьников «Наука вокруг нас»



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

«Формула-1»: Как автоспорт стал платформой для мировых брендов


Новости России

Game News

Call of Duty will finally let console players turn off crossplay to dodge PC cheaters, which is potentially terrible news for all the legit PC players


Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine

Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine

Russian.city

Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine


Москва

Певица Анна Плетнева борется с жесткой депрессией написанием картин


Губернаторы России
Василий Уткин

Юрист Хаминский: экс-жена Уткина может претендовать на часть его наследства


«Несколько часов назад он был жив»: тело Паши Техника перевезут в Москву

Мужа спасла, себя — не смогла. Переживания спровоцировали у Назаровой рак?

Когда слово объединяет: ГПМ Радио приглашает на «Тотальный диктант»

Ведущие ГПМ Радио – Санкт-Петербург станут чтецами «Тотального диктанта»


Linkin Park решили вернуться в Россию

Опубликовать стихи поэта. Опубликовать стихи друга.

Генпрокуратуру попросили отобрать у Лаймы Вайкуле квартиру в Москве за 56 миллионов рублей

Готовят почву? Linkin Park решили вернуться в Россию


Бухарест (ATP). 2-й круг. Гаске сыграет с Коболли, Баутиста-Агут – с Комесаньей, Баес – с Уго Карабелли

Теннисистка Касаткина потерпела первое поражение под флагом Австралии

Екатерина Александрова уверенно обыграла Диану Шнайдер в 3-м круге турнира в Чарльстоне

Странный спорт – Медведев пошутил о теннисе


Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this


В Москве стартовал главный театральный фестиваль России

«Авторадио»: 32 года вместе со слушателями

Победит сильнейший. Какие растения смогут пережить заморозки 5–6 апреля

Когда слово объединяет: ГПМ Радио приглашает на «Тотальный диктант»


Борис Надеждин: политика объявили банкротом на сумму $1,2 млн

Кураторские Плейлисты.

Собянин: в 2025–2026 годах завершится реконструкция семи вокзалов

Судья дал ход иску против Илона Маска и DOGE


Администрация Трампа поручила Пентагону подготовиться к войне с Китаем, пока Пекин подтверждает связи с Москвой

Как сложилась судьба самого юного защитника города Игоря Михайлова

Сразу после увольнения: Экс-глава Саратовской области стал фигурантом уголовного дела

Правонарушителя ранили в ходе перестрелки с полицией в Москве


Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this


Путин в России и мире
Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this



Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine



Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine



Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine

Персональные новости Russian.city
Сергей Брановицкий

Ремикс Песни. Создание ремикса Песни. Создание Хитового ремикса песни.



News Every Day

Will AI ever cure cancer? The multibillion-dollar race to bring the first AI-discovered drug to market




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости