Munich is a poignant and dramatic, slow-moving Spielberg film that has at its core the effects and fallout from the 1972 Munich Olympic Games massacre. Members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by a group known as Black September, reported to have ties to ... Read review
Munichis a film with no easy answers, and plenty of uncomfortable moments. It also finds ... more
Steven Spielberg on masterly form behind the camera, telling a relentlessly serious and unsettling story with the gravitas it absolutely requires.Set immediately after the murder of nine Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics (an event thats brutally re-enacted), the film is supposedly a fictionalised account based on true events of what happened next. Namely, the Israelis ordering together a secret team--led by Eric Banas Avner--to take out those they considered responsible.Only its not that easy. It doesnt take long for the film to start blurring the moral debate. Is what Avner and his team are doing that different from the original assassins? Can he reconcile the brutality of his actions? And what happens when the programme of retaliation doesnt go quite to plan?By turns,Munichis a brutal, gripping and important film. Its not always easy to penetrate, and it really demands some good old-fashioned concentration to fully appreciate it. Yet its superb filmmaking, and an engrossing piece of cinema. Oscar may have snubbed it, but youd be wise not to make the same mistake.--Jon Foster
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Release Date: 2008-01-01, Rating Suitable for 15 years and over,
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: John Duigan - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Penelope Cruz
Advantages: Incredibly powerful drama in places Disadvantages: Takes too long to get anywhere
Munich is a poignant and dramatic, slow-moving Spielberg film that has at its core the effects and fallout from the 1972 Munich Olympic Games massacre. Members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by a group known as Black September, reported to have ties to a militant group linked to the Fatah organisation.
The film opens with some graphic scenes showing the massacre within the first five or ten minutes, ... ...it was a good film, it did take too long to give the impact it did so well.
Munich is a film I recommend watching. I am glad I saw it, although I probably wouldn't bother again. It is available from amazon.co.uk for £3.90 at the moment. ... more
Munich is a poignant and dramatic, slow-moving Spielberg film that has at its core the effects and fallout from the 1972 Munich Olympic Games massacre. Members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by a group known as Black September, reported to have ties to a militant group linked to the Fatah organisation.
The film opens with some graphic scenes showing the massacre within the first five or ten minutes, before Spielberg introduces us to the squad of assassins who then plan to hunt down 11 Black September members and kill them as revenge.
It is a very suspenseful and dramatic film, with patience needed throughout. Do not expect a fast paced tense thriller, because that's not what this is about. It's a serious drama, with the suspense the main focal point, and the emotions that the squad must go through, each with their own skill and reason for recruitment, but each having to wrestle with their own demons throughout the film.
The cast do a fine job, with Eric Bana doing the leading. There is also a decent turn from Daniel Craig, despite the dodgy South African accent, and solid performances from such recognisable stars as Geoffrey Rush and Ciaran Hinds. Overall, the main focal point of the stars has to be Bana, and his personal struggle with coming to terms with what he is doing.
There are some great scenes from Bana towards the end of the film, where things catch up with him, and we are constantly reminded throughout the film that all characters lead lives other than those we initially see. It's an important point to note that most of the time in films, we don't get to see the personal lives of the main protagonists, just the bits necessary for the film. Munich, however, shows that these people have personal lives, even families, and it makes what the squad are doing all the more difficult. Spielberg and the cast manage to capture this very well on screen.
Despite this, I felt that the film was just too slow for me. I couldn't keep focus, despite the powerful drama unfolding. Indeed, it was the unfolding that just took too long for me, and I started to lose interest. By the end of the film, I was very tired, and although I can safely say it was a good film, it did take too long to give the impact it did so well.
Munich is a film I recommend watching. I am glad I saw it, although I probably wouldn't bother again. It is available from amazon.co.uk for £3.90 at the moment.
Advantages: NON POLITICAL Disadvantages: RUBBISH ACTING
Sunday afternoon weather outside is terrible and I am getting over a bad cold so I decided to watch Munich the dvd. I had high hopes for this DVD prior to viewing having read a book about the Munich massacre and seen the excellent documentary One Day in September 1999. However I was very disappointed by the film, which tells of the massacre of eleven Israeli athletes in the Olympic games in Munich in 1972, which is the factual part of the film and The Israel government's response to the massacre, which is considered to be part fiction/part fact.
The actual fact of the kidnap and massacre of the athletes is told in various flashbacks throughout the film, which I thought was a major fault of the film. The kidnapping and massacre of the athletes should have been shown at the start of the film as anyone unfamiliar with the story ...
thegreengoblin 29.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Munich (DVD)
Advantages: Re live a glorious European semi-final from the 80's Disadvantages: It makes you sad we aren't this good anymore!
EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS' CUP SEMI-FINAL - 2ND LEG
Wednesday 24th April 1985 Goodison Park, Liverpool, England.
Everton (0) 3 v's Bayern Munich (1) 1
COST = I bought it for around £4.99 + postage from Amazon. Shop around, there are a number of different websites that will offer a good deal on football DVD's. The Everton club shop, accessible via the website www.evertonfc.co.uk will also sell the DVD, but they have released a better one, which also includes the Final.
EVERTON, still one of English football's most decorated Football Clubs, formed in 1878 In Liverpool, have a rich history and tradition in the game. The club have had many ups and downs, as have I watching them, but somehow sit as the 4th most successful English club with 9 league titles + 1 old division 2 title, 5 F.A. Cup successes, 9 Charity Shield successes ...
Advantages: good acting, good plot Disadvantages: bit too bloody at times
A few years back I remember hearing of this film because there was a lot of hype about it around the time of the Oscars. It never did win an Oscar but it won a few other awards so it did well. I wasn't exactly sure what this film was about but judging from what I had seen it looked like a bit of an action film. I also noticed Eric Bana was in this film and think he's an ok actor so I decided to give this film a chance and rented out the DVD.
It is based on true events as it says at the start about the 1972 Olympics where the 11 athletes were murdered at Munich. The government decides to set up an operation to kill the terrorist group involved in the Munich murders. So the team of five are led by Anver (Eric Bana) a family man who has a wife who is pregnant who he has to leave for a while to successfully complete this mission. Anver ...
ms19 03.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Munich (DVD)
A thought-provoking surprise from famed director Steven Spielberg, MUNICH explores the after effects of the brutal terrorist attacks on the Israeli athletic team at that German city's 1972 Olympic games.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Introduction From Director Steven Spielberg, Munich The Team The Mission
Aspect Ratio
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD Description
A thought-provoking surprise from famed director Steven Spielberg, MUNICH explores the after effects of the brutal terrorist attacks on the Israeli athletic team at that German city's 1972 Olympic Games. Loosely adapted from the book VENGEANCE by Hungarian George Jonas, the script was largely written by the provocative, award-winning playwright Tony Kushner (ANGELS IN AMERICA), who lends an incisive intelligence to the dialogue. The film begins with the violent sequence of the terrorists carrying out their attacks on the Israelis; a bloody and gruesome sequence that is deftly and beautifully handled by Spielberg and his brilliant cinematographer, Januzs Kaminski. Back in Israel, we meet the handsome and charming Avner, deeply in love with his beautiful, pregnant wife. Domestic bliss is short-lived however; immediately following these Black September attacks, Avner (THE HULK's Eric Bana), the son of an Israeli hero, is summoned by his country's famed secret service agency, the Mossad, to carry out violent retaliations against those Palestinian terrorists allegedly behind the Munich massacre. Commanded from afar by prickly government agent Ephraim (the inimitable Geoffrey Rush), Avner and his team of handpicked men pugnacious South African Steve (Daniel Craig), goofy ex-toy maker Robert (French actor Matthieu Kassovitz), morally conflicted Carl (Ciaran Hinds), and terse professional Hans (Hanns Zischler) must deal with some shady, nefarious international figures as they track down their Palestinian prey. Their mission takes them everywhere, from the villas of Rome to a seedy hotel in Cyprus, and with each successful kill, Avner's iron will begins to dissolve, and guilt and doubt begin to take hold of his conscience. Strong performances (particularly by the magnetic Eric Bana), gripping action, moral complexity, and a political urgency make the film not only consistently entertaining, but enormously important. Kushner and Spielberg work together to make it clear that the past informs the present, and the lingering final shot should leave viewers with much to think about.
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