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Munich
2005
Inspired by real events, Munich reveals the intense story of the secret Israeli squad assigned to track down and assassinate the 11 Palestinians believed to have planned the 1972 Munich massacre of 11 Israel athletes - and the personal toll this mission of revenge takes on the team and the man who led it. Read more
| Starring | Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Geoffrey Rush, Mathieu Kassovitz |
|---|---|
| Director | Steven Spielberg |
| Genres | Audio Descriptive, Drama, Thriller |
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Munich
Inspired by real events, Munich reveals the intense story of the secret Israeli squad assigned to track down and assassinate the 11 Palestinians believed to have planned the 1972 Munich massacre of 11 Israel athletes - and the personal toll this mission of revenge takes on the team and the man who led it.
| Starring | Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Geoffrey Rush, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Ciarán Hinds, Marie-Josee Croze, Gila Almagor, Ayelet Zorer, Hiam Abbass, Ziad Adwan, Sharon Alexander, Mosko Alkalai, Mathieu Amalric, Guy Amir, Arthur Chazal, Ric |
|---|---|
| Director | Steven Spielberg |
| Studio | UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 37 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Audio Descriptive, Drama, Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English, English Audio Description |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, Icelandic |
| Released | DVD: 12 Jun 2006 Production year: 2005 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (4)
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Included in Entertainment Weekly's Top Ten Films Of The Year -- Steven Spielberg's brilliant political thriller is a work of spectacular and unsettling excitement
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Spielberg has completed the process begun with simpler SCHINDLER'S LIST to become a truly adult director, with this, his bravest film
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Most helpful member's review
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63 out of 68 people found this review helpful
Tit for Tat in a war that may see no end
The Jewish / Palestinian conflict has been raging since 1947 and the episode in Munich with the massacre of the Israeli Olympic team back in '72 is just one chapter from this sorry affair. The film Munich is both powerful and depressing because it addresses the contradictory solution of using violence to end violence. An unofficial Israeli hit squad is led by Avner (Eric Bana) and they have to assassinate one by one the Palestinian perpetrators of the Munich massacre. However as their targets each meet a grisly death the assassinations begin to question their own sanity and moral justification that what they are doing makes any sense. The film is not biased in any way as Speilberg does allow the Palestinians a voice to put across their case. Similarly he also focuses on the Jews who have to live with the consequences that so long as they harbour the Palestinians as sub human they have to live with the consequences. Hatred begets hatred. Munich ends on the note that neither side has the high moral ground.
The film does not quite work as a thriller because the assassination set ups become boring by the third target and you know what will come next. It is also about thirty minutes too long but it is difficult to see how any of it could have been trimmed as their is so much too cram in. The acting is very good by all especially Eric Bana who is growing in stature with every film. There are some nice shots by Speilberg and the sound is excellent. Some scenes are very tense and exciting such as the stand off with the PLO in a Greek hotel whilst others can almost send you asleep. The Seventies is wonderfully recreated even if some of the sets (especially London) look a little obvious. Munich is probably Speilberg's bravest movie since Schindler's List and for that he must be commended. Don't let anyone else make up your mind as to whether it is pro or anti Jewish. Go see it and make your own mind up because it is definitely worth watching. -
Most recent members' review
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
Certainly worth a look
Munich is the supposed story of the assassins dispatched by Golda Meir to target the men behind the killing of Israeli athletes at the Munich olympics.
This is an ambitious movie that, despite the big budget set-pieces, really focuses more on the phsychology of retribution, and what it means for society and for the men, led by Eric Bana, who must carry it out.
It's rare to see a major Hollywood studio tackling a theme as challenging and relevant as this, and doing it in a sensitive and balanced way. For that reason alone the movie is worth a look.
There are also some memorable performances: Geoffrey Rush is excellent as the Mossad controller. Ciaran Hinds stands out as one of the assassins. And the under-appreciated Michael Lonsdale (in his mid-seventies now) has great on-screen presence as a mercenary intelligence source.
That said, the movie has its faults. The assassins seem implausibly amateurish at times, and far too concerned with the rights and wrongs of their mission.
On a more basic level, the story is episodic, with plenty of gaps. The victims, for example, are located as easily as you might find a plumber in the yellow pages. And the lead character's backstory is introduced without being properly developed. Presumably these elements were dealt with in greater detail in the book upon which the movie is based.
The net result is that, while the story is interesting, it's hard to find any point of real emotional engagement.
Overall, despite these faults, this is still a provocative movie that's worth a couple of hours of anyone's time. -
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Munich
Inspired by real events, Munich reveals the intense story of the secret Israeli squad assigned to track down and assassinate the 11 Palestinians believed to have planned the 1972 Munich massacre of 11 Israel athletes - and the personal toll this mission of revenge takes on the team and the man who ...
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