Exceptional treatment about the Munich Olympics massacre 1972 by Arab terrorists and the vengeance inspired by real events. This is the story of a mission that wasn't acknowledge initially when it happened in 1972 , Golda Meier( Golleen Dewhurst and posteriorly was played in ¨Spielberg's Munich¨ version by Lynn Cohen) pulled together a number of government officials and members of the Mossad( Rod Steiger, similar role to Geoffrey Rush) and they decided to put together a list of people that they felt were responsible for what had happened in Munich. And they made the decision to try to go after those people. It's told there was a committee of 10 people decided to ,sort of, try and sentence to death as many as 11,possible more, possible less but it was probably around 11 Palestinian men . Some of the people that were targeted were definitely part of a terror network and some of the people that were targeted were political leaders, intellectual leaders . The idea was to call attention to the world that Israel would no allow this to happen again. And the mission Golda send them on,it's almost an eye for an eye. Golda Meier took the responsibility on her own shoulders. The main dramatic agents are five guys who are assassinating people,the guys are working for intelligence agency and they weren't sociopaths, they were doing their job . The guys are vulnerable, doubtful with no falling into all the obvious clichés of the hit-man with the doubt . The 5 guys (Steven Bauer, Michael York, Robert Joy, Laurent Mallet) all very different ( in recent adaptation are : Eric Bana,Daniel Craig,Matthew Kassovitz,Cirian Hinds,Hans Zischler), age, background,upbringing, some have been bringing up in Europe, some have been in Israel, they have been selected for their different qualities. We might say it's like a quintet,a musical quintet,they are very sharply defined characters in themselves and sometimes their hesitations look like. They have different ways of speaking ,of behaving ,but they know they are are forged together. They are committed to the cause of Israel and they are ready to fight for his land. Avner( Steven Bauer)married young Jewish (Leslie Hope, after performed by Ayolet Zurer) and doesn't really know why he's chose but for some reason he was chosen as the leader though we really know why the others were chosen. In France Avner contacts to Papa (Lino Ventura , later played by Michael Lonsdale) a strange agent who provides with equipment and information.
It's a totally intelligent movie about hatred and revenge,there is no glory or outcome but pure destruction. It was really no the story of the massacre itself but the aftermath . And this very murky, problematic ,complicated story about the policy of targeted assassination . The picture is produced by Denis Heroux using actual locations, he was working on the movie for long time and he assembled every book and documentary on the subject that he could find including all news footage . The director Michael Anderson gives his own point of view on the story and well based on the novel by George Jonas. The story gives a total immersion into the politics and policies with a point of view coming from both sides,not just one side . The starring Steven Bauer gives warmth and a strength and even a little tickle of fear behind his eyes which humanises people,no matter what their jobs and he was very determined to humanise the characters. The cameraman Claude Agostini creates an atmospheric cinematography though is necessary an urgent remastering because of the copy is worn-out. And the master George Delerue composes an evocative score musical. This TV picture is professionally directed by Michael Anderson.
