Officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, the Olympische Sommerspiele 1972 (trans. 1972 Summer Olympics) were held in the host city of Munich, West Germany (prior to unification) between 26 August and 11 September, 1972. There were many individual achievements during the games, but Olga Korbut’s gravity defying gymnastics, Mark Spitz’s seven gold medals and British runner David Bedford’s famous red socks were overshadowed by the murder of 11 Israeli athletes by a terrorist group known as Black September.

Tim Fehlbaum’s docudrama is an hour-by-hour account of what transpired over twenty hours on the eleventh day of the Munich Olympics. Through the lens of the ABC Television Sports broadcasting team, the audience witnesses critical decision making by the ABC production team and the use (and potentially misuse) of new satellite technology.

While much of the action takes place in an on-site television control room, Fehlbaum keeps the tension tight over almost the entire 94 minutes. Even knowing the outcome, one cannot help second-guessing each situation. Real life media personalities are played by actors: American sports and news broadcasting executive Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), Canadian television journalist Peter Jennings (Benjamin Walker) and television producer Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro).

The film also shows archive film footage of the late sportscaster Jim McKay, as he pivots to explain hard news. Arguably, one of the standout performances was by Leonie Benesch as the fictional character Marianne Gebhard, the only natural German speaker who, while proving her value as a member of the team, was subject to Chauvinism by her male colleagues.

The event has already been covered a number of times, notably, with Steven Spielberg's 2006 historical drama Munich. For me, September 5 is much better.

© 2024 John Anthony Jane