September 5: The 1972 Olympic Terrorist Attack, Live on ABC

The 1972 Olympics were a triumph for one Jewish athlete, American Mark Spitz, until he was forced to leave early, under armed heavy guard. Soon after Spitz swam to his seventh gold medal, the Games turned tragic for eleven Jewish Israeli athletes and coaches, who were murdered by Palestinian terrorists. Yet, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) never acknowledged their deaths during the Games proper, until they final observed one single solitary minute of silence during the 2020 Covid games in Tokyo, having long deferred to states that hate Jews and sponsor terrorism. Nevertheless, the world knows full well of the Munich atrocities, thanks in part to ABC Sports’ coverage. Swiss director and co-screenwriter Tm Fehlbaum recreates the broadcast team’s tense hours managing their coverage from the network control room in September 5, which releases today in New York theaters.

On paper, it looked like a slow news day for the American team, which is why ABC Sports President Roone Arledge and anchor Jim McKay (seen entirely and extensively in archival footage) had originally taken the day off. They soon returned when staffers reported hearing gunfire in the Olympic Village.

Only few hundred yards away, the bunker-like ABC facility was so close, yet so far—but it was certainly much closer than a studio in New York. Soon, broadcast director Geoffrey Mason and his operations boss Marvin Bader figure ways to steal shots including repurposing the aerial camera and moving one of the studio cameras right outside their facility. They also manage to dispatch Peter Jennings and a cameraman to athletic dorm opposite the unfolding hostage crisis right before the clueless Bavarian police shutdown access to the area.

However, the audience’s POV never leaves the makeshift ABC studio, so we see the outside footage at the same time as do Arledge and his employees. Fehlbaum deliberately presents the story from a narrow perspective, but it captures the confusion and the ethical dilemmas that result from trying to cover violent breaking news. In fact, we watch with the ABC crew as they realize their live coverage may have sabotaged the Bavarian police’s planned rescue attempt.

In fact, Fehlbaum and co-screenwriters Moritz Binder and Alex David directly address the moral implications of the terrorists’ savagery by introducing viewers to David Berger, an Israeli weightlifter hostage (and former American), whom ABC cameras filmed at length during his visit to Auschwitz the previous day. Use of that footage (recreated with actor Rony Herman) both humanizes the victims and draws a clear comparison between the Black September terrorists and Hitler’s National Socialists (although not mentioned in the film, it was later revealed German Neo-Nazis groups provided logistical support for the September 5^th attack). Yet, he also skillfully builds tension from the claustrophobic setting.

Frankly, the Jennings estate might not be thrilled with September 5, because Benjamin Walker’s impersonation-style depiction makes the newsreader look like an arrogant snob. However, Ben Chaplin’s performance as Bader is richly complex, particularly in the ways he relates to his Jewish heritage (which grows increasingly complicated, for obvious reasons).

John Magaro realistically portrays Mason’s shock and disillusion, as his greatest professional moment in the sun turns into a nightmare of profound dimensions. Yet, perhaps the most arresting performance comes from Leonie Benesch, as German translator Marianne Gebhardt, whose pride in Germany’s new progressive direction turns to horror and disgust at its incompetence and short-sightedness.

Oscar Contender: Munich ’72 and Beyond (short)

It only took 45 years, but Germany has finally recognized the eleven Israeli athletes and coaches murdered at the 1972 Munich Olympics, along with a West German policeman. So much for German efficiency. In contrast, it took less than a day for the PLO-offshoot Black September to permanently shatter the illusion of Olympic brotherhood. The horrific attack and subsequent decades long struggle for both the German government and the International Olympic Committee to acknowledge the tragedy are chronicled in Stephen Crisman’s short documentary, Munich ‘72 (trailer here), which commences a series of special screening this Friday in New York and Los Angeles.

Nearly everything about the Olympic terrorist attacks are worse than you assumed. The FRG’s response was stunningly incompetent and there is ample evidence to suggest a government cover-up of the worst details remains ongoing. What is undeniable is eleven Israelis were assassinated by Black September for the crimes of being Jewish and Israeli (some were also Holocaust survivors).

Crisman concisely but comprehensibly recaps the crimes with the help of fellow team-mates, surviving family members, and journalists covering the Munich Games. Ironically, some of the most telling commentary comes from so-called Palestinian “journalists,” who accurately gloat the murders put their cause on the world’s front-burner. However, when pressed regarding the torture endured by the athletes, including a castration allowed to fatally bleed out, they protest ignorance or respond with the sound of crickets chirping. (Raed Othman, cat got your tongue?)

Indeed, this is a case where the world (especially Europe) rewarded cowardly carnage. Time and again, survivors describe the dissembling responses they received from Germany and the IOC when they requested a proper memorial for their loved ones. We hear at length from Ankie Spitzer, Ilana Romano, and Michal Shahar, who suffered such terrible losses and then endured decades of insults in the form of silence from the craven IOC.

The Munich memorial looks classy and altogether fitting, which is something. However, until the IOC finally acknowledges the twelve victims during the official Olympic ceremonies, they continue to provide passive encouragement for further acts of utter butchery.

It is amazing how much Crisman packs into twenty-nine minutes. The film is part history lesson, part expose, and partly a tutorial in how to affirm life in the face of death. Even if you think you know what happened, Munich ’72 will deepen your understanding. It is an infuriating and inspiring film that everyone should see, because the implications of those horrendous events definitely apply to our era as well. Very highly recommended, Munich ’72 and Beyond will have a series of special Oscar season screenings starting this Friday (11/3) at the Cinema Village in New York and the Laemmle Music Hall in Los Angeles.