September 5
In 1972, Germany saw its role as host of the Olympic games as a way to move beyond its WWII history, impressing audiences by using technology to broadcast the event live, globally, for the first time. But it also failed to install armed guards in the athletes' Olympic village fearing negative optics, a decision that would have dire consequences on "September 5."
Laura's Review: B+
Swiss cowriter (with Moritz Binder and Alex David)/director Tim Fehlbaum has gathered the perfect ensemble to recreate the high wire act of innovation and ethical conundrums facing ABC Sports when its producer Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) refused to hand over coverage to the ABC News team when Palestinian terrorists took Israeli athletes and coaches hostage during the 1972 Olympic games. After establishing the new phenomenon of live worldwide coverage and American jubilation over swimmer Mark Spitz's unprecedented seven world record winning gold medals, the pre-dawn arrival of coordinating producer Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) to their bunker-like warren of a studio begins a ticking clock as unspeakably horrific events unfold.
It's ABC Sports' German translation assistant, Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch, "The Teacher's Lounge"), who hears a disturbing sound through a door left open to the cool air. Geoffrey begins to make calls while she picks up a walkie talkie and heads out to investigate, reporting that dozens of police cars have begun arriving outside the Olympic village. Mason jumps into action, ordering their live outdoor camera to be repositioned for coverage of the Israeli apartment currently under siege. Jim McKay is called in. Technician Gary Slaughter (Daniel Adeosun, "The Book of Clarence") is given an athlete's ID card to get past police who have closed access to the village, camera equipment hidden in his backpack.
As Marianne works to identify the men taken hostage, we witness the era's rampant sexism, the woman in the thick of things asked to get coffee (later, recognizing her efforts, the same man will bring her a cup). Earlier she'd been verbally attacked by VP of Olympic Operations Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin) over Germany's history ('Are your parents still alive? Let me guess - they didn't know either.'), but she will be a critical team member, on the ground at the airport during the event's final, awful moments. Another woman, studio camerawoman Gladys Deist (Georgina Rich), will come up with a savvy solution when ABC has to cede its satellite slot to CBS by using a bug to identify ABC's continuing coverage.
But the man of the hour is Mason, thrust into a position he'd never expected and having to tussle with Bader over whether or not to report the rumored release of the hostages (which, of course, turned out to be false). The team will have to navigate such crucial decisions as to whether to continue broadcasting if someone is shot on live television while trying to gather facts during chaos. As they cover German police scaling walls and creeping across roofs towards the Israeli hostage apartment, someone will note that the athlete apartments are equipped with televisions, a horrifying realization. When the police begin to clear out the entire area, Peter Jennings (Benjamin Walker, "In the Heart of the Sea"), secured on a balcony across from the apartment, is told to hide.
Editor Hansjörg Weißbrich ("I'm Your Man") cuts to the chaotic environment, enveloping us in several simultaneous scenes of action as well as the team's coverage as Lorenz Dangel's percussive score propels us. One wonders why this historic television event was shot in widescreen rather than a boxier format, but cinematographer Markus Förderer ("I, Origins") keeps us within the team's perspective, McKay's interview with an escaped Israeli team member reflected on the window where Mason watches, Marianne's nighttime view of the airport kept at a frustrating distance. Sound is integral as well, from those distant shots which shatter the predawn serenity to the roar of helicopters flying overhead, taking the terrorists and their hostages to their eventual fate.
Those who remember the event are sure to be chilled hearing Jim McKay announce 'They're all gone' once more (the filmmakers chose not to cast an actor as McKay, instead using archival footage). Those who do not will likely be just as jarred by that image of a Black September terrorist wearing a black skimask emerge onto a balcony as Geoffrey Mason is. "September 5" reenacts a tragedy through the eyes and emotions of the people who let the world watch it happen.
Robin's Review: B+
In September of 1972, the eyes of the world were focused on Munich, West Germany and the Summer Olympics. Then, terror gripped the Olympic village and the only news coverage was from the team of sports journalist who had to do a 180 and cover “September 5.”
Here is a world event that I not just believe I saw, but actually vividly remember watching the horror of the Israeli hostages taken by the Palestinian terrorist group, Black September, and its tragic outcome. I also remember ABC Sports anchor Jim McKay jumping into the breach and covering the massacre until its very end.
What “September 5” shows is the dedication of the team behind McKay as they took on the role of hard news journalists reporting the world shaking crisis. The story, by director Tim Fehlbaum, Moritz Binder and Alex David, is a you-are-there thriller of the events of that terrible day from the eyes of the ABC sports team covering the Olympics.
The day begins with the regular hustle and bustle of a seasoned team of sports reporters plying their familiar trade. Then, the first reports come in of the Israeli Olympic wrestling team being taken hostage. Suddenly, the ordinary becomes extraordinary and producer Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) makes the decision to keep the coverage with the ABC Sports team – eschewing the big bosses in America and refusing to hand over the critical coverage.
From here, we are shown the nuts and bolts operation of a well-honed team as they maneuver cameras into place and provide live, up-to-the-minute news as it unfolds – to the very horrible end. At a brief 1:35 runtime, there is no slack at all in the telling. All of the energy, emotion and professionalism you expect are right up front and, quite literally, you are there.
Paramount Pictures releases "September 5" in NY and LA on 12/13/24, opening in Boston on 1/10/25 and wide on 1/17/25.
