September 5, rated R
*** ½

This film is about the terrorist attack at the 1972 Summer Olympics, and how it was covered by ABC Sports. The film was directed by Tim Fehlbaum, who has been nominated for an Oscar for best original screenplay. The film was written by Fehlbaum, Moritz Binder and Alex David, who were also nominated for an Oscar for best original screenplay.
The 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany, were the first to be broadcast live. The horror of the Holocaust hangs over the games. These were the first Olympics held in Germany since 1936.
The film begins with the ABC sports crew signing off. Some will have a much-needed day off. We see network executive Roone Arledge instructing that he is not be disturbed until 10:00 am. A relatively inexperienced producer, Geoffrey Mason, played by John Magaro, is to be in charge.

But soon, gunshots are heard. There is confusion at first, as athletes nearby continue to work out and some of the competition continues. Soon enough, it is determined that the Palestinian militant group Black September have taken several members of the Israeli team as hostages, killing two and demanding that 200 Palestinians prisoners be released by Israel, or the remainder will be killed.
Soon Arledge and everyone else that is available are called back in, including sports announcer Jim McKay and news reporter Peter Jennings. A highlight of the film is it’s blending of real-life footage of the terrorists, hostages, McKay and Jennings, seamlessly woven in with the actors in the ABC studio.
ABC is demanding that their news division take over the story, while Arledge insists that the sports division will handle it. And then there is the fact that ABC has to share the satellite needed to broadcast the games with CBS.
This film does a good job telling the story. Almost the entire film takes place in the ABC control room. Getting information is difficult. When to share the information with the 900 million viewers is key. ABC wants to be the first with the story, but they have to make sure they get the story right. But the coverage of ABC may have inadvertently helped the terrorists.
One of the things that really stands out is how technology (television equipment, phones, manually inserting graphics, etc.) has advanced in the 53 years since the time of the events depicted in the film.
This is a well-made and acted, 95-minute intense film, that covers the events of about one day. The excellent ensemble cast includes Roone Arledge, played by Peter Sarsgaard, fill in producer Geoffrey Mason, played by John Magaro, who has the key role in the film, VP of Olympic Coverage Marvin Bader, played by Ben Chaplin, and German Interpreter Marianne Gebhardt, played by Leonie Benesch. The film is rated “R” for language.