The terrorist attack during the 1972 Munich Olympics was an unspeakable tragedy that haunted the International Olympic Committee for decades. On September 5, 1972, a terrorist group known as Black September killed two members of the Israeli Olympic team and took another nine hostages, demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and other countries. What occurred over 24 hours has been depicted in numerous television programs, documentaries such as the Oscar-winning “One Day in September,” and films, including Steven Spielberg’s highly regarded 2005 thriller “Munich.” Regrettably, history was made for other reasons that fateful day and it was the first time a terrorist attack was covered on live television. And that’s the lens that director Tim Fehlabum observes the proceedings in his taut new thriller, “September 5.”
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A world premiere at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, “September 5” follows the ABC production team as they work around the clock to cover the Olympic Games. This was the first Olympics to use satellites for live reporting and the network embraced the technology by putting camera feeds all over the Olympic village. They even had a stationary camera at the top of the radio tower which also happened to house their control room.
On the night of September 4, Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard, always good), heads home for some sleep while producer Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro, fantastic), relatively inexperienced for such a marquee event, takes over the night shift. It becomes immediately clear that Arledge isn’t impressed with Mason, who will take the directing chair later that day as a colleague has a rare day off. In the early morning of the 5th, while prepping for that day’s coverage, Mason and other members of the crew hear what sounds like gunfire in the distance. Soon, they receive reports that hostages have been taken in the village, within walking distance of their location, and sensing the moment, Mason is forced to wake his cranky boss up.
Soon, a pre-“World News Tonight” anchor Peter Jennings (Benjamin Walker) is grabbing the only cameraman available to sneak into another building in the Village to report on the proceedings. The face of ABC’s coverage for decades, Jim McKay (depicted in actual footage) was called in for to anchor from the studio. Through it all, ABC had just one employee who could translate German for them, Marianne (Leonie Benesch, once again fantastic). The staff quickly used old-school ingenuity to jerry-rig a radio to listen in on German police conversations that Marianne translated. Mason has a massive studio camera pushed out of the building and onto a slope to get a view of the apartments. He also has an employee masquerade as a member of the U.S. Team to get into the Olympic Village to pick up film from Jennings’ camera person and provide them with fresh film canisters. Like an expert news producer, Mason has someone quickly grab the one hostage who escaped, Tuvia Sokolsky, for a live interview with McKay before he’s lost to the authorities.
While all this is happening in the background, Alredge is not only battling for control of the one satellite that multiple American networks are sharing but also fending off a feisty news division that wants to take over coverage. No, in their eyes, this isn’t a story for his lowly sports division. Meanwhile, Mariane is under massive pressure to be a Swiss army knife for the Americans while realizing her nation’s hopes to depict a “new” post-war Germany are fading by the minute. And beyond everything happening in front of him (and a lack of sleep), Mason is under fire from superior Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin, almost unrecognizable), who questions his decisions including, at one point, reporting that the hostages have been freed.
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A breezy 91 minutes, “September 5” is captivating on multiple levels and, frankly, a surprising success considering Fehlabum‘s previous work. Even though the fate of these hostages was determined over five decades ago and you witness the events from a distance, Fehlabum and his editor Hansjörg Weißbrich will keep you in suspense as the drama plays out. The filmmakers’ decision to use real broadcast footage could have easily backfired, but intertwining just McKay with Walker’s portrayal of Jennings strikes the perfect balance (it also helps they have the larger-than-life Howard Cosell call into the control room rather than have him appear on screen). It only reinforces the sense that you are part of a live news story and the genuine tension that accompanies it. Oh, and as a lesson in the craftsmanship that went into what is now “old school” analog television coverage, the movie will be eye-opening for many.
Quizically, the only aspect of the story “September 5” fumbles is the political ramifications of Black September’s actions. It gives the innocent Israeli victims their due but simply leaves it at that. This is not a movie that wants to seriously dive into the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The terrorists are largely lifeless which, granted, was what was known during the actual broadcast. It’s mostly captivated by the inherent drama capturing the event. The balance of brilliant decisions and unfortunate mistakes that plague coverage of an event like this. And it’s smart enough to recognize that for these television creators, this isn’t something they will shake off in a day or two. But they did their job and like no one before them. You just wish what happened next was explored beyond the requisite title card before the credits roll. [B]
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