Rent September 5 (2024)

Tense Thriller - September 5 review by GI

A taut, smart and tense thriller that recounts the coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympic tragedy by the American ABC Sports news team who were suddenly faced with this internationally important news event happening in fast time right before their eyes. The film captures the speed at which the events unfolded and the decisions made in the team to get the story covered including negotiating the satellite time allocated and the sudden realisation that the terrorists maybe watching the live broadcast they are sending out including the police preparations to raid the rooms where Black September terrorists were holding members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage. It cleverly utilises real footage with recreated scenes to great effect. The film deals with issues of national animosities, misogyny and the moral dilemmas faced by the journalists over what to show on TV. Historically it's a really interesting docudrama and a reminder of this horrific terrorist crime that shocked the world. The cast are exceptional including Peter Sarsgaard, Ben Chaplin and especially John Magaro as the ABC studio manager and Leonie Benesch who plays a fictitious German assistant who faces the antipathy of colleagues over the German guilt of the Holocaust. One of the best films about journalism for awhile.

Reedundant - September 5 review by AER

If you already remember events from the time or have seen the documentary One Day In September or even Steven Spielberg's melodramatic Munich, you already know what happened here. The only thing different is the angle. September 5th is told from the POV of the TV sports coverage room of ABC. And even though they were near the front line as the tragedy unfolded, this film was largely redundant. Choosing to take a distant line of sight I felt this telling and depiction of the Black September hostage situation at the Munich Olympics in 1972 was pretty much redundant and only occasionally vital. Well-played by the committed cast however.

Terror, Television, and Trevor McDonald - September 5 review by griggs

September 5 is not the film I expected. Given the reviews I’d read beforehand, I was expecting this to be pro-Israel propaganda, with many critics pointing to the timing of its release and references to the Holocaust as a means of bias. Yet, I found the film strangely lacking in terms of the actual conflict in the Middle East, not that I expected any comment on today’s conflicts, but contextualisation of the events of the time. Instead, it takes a different approach, examining how the 1972 Munich Olympic terrorist attack, where 11 Israeli hostages were killed by the Palestinian Black September group, along with five of the attackers and one West German police officer, became the first major crisis broadcast live on television, highlighting how even the most sombre coverage inevitably turns into a form of entertainment.

The production design was excellent, enabling the most gripping aspects of the film, the chaotic scramble behind the scenes: networks bickering over satellite access, sports and news departments clashing over who should cover the events. Whilst real footage of the news broadcasts are used, actual archival footage of the events is used sparingly, keeping it out of reach. Seeing a fleeting glimpse of a young Trevor McDonald was also a treat.

John Magaro shines as an ABC producer trying to wrangle order from the madness. At the same time, Leonie Benesch is superb as a German translator navigating uncomfortable questions about her country's past - when it is suggested to her that all Germans were willing executioners. A reputation and image that by holding the Olympic Games, West Germany was trying to lose.

September 5 doesn’t dig deep into politics; if there are parallels to be drawn with current events, it leaves them to you. And that is how the film succeeds in being a succinct media procedural, offering a compelling look at the news machine scrambling to cover history in real time. The film captures the tension of live broadcasting, where technical hurdles and corporate egos clash with the gravity of unfolding tragedy. Strong performances from the cast keep things engaging as you are immersed in the control room chaos. It may not be the film I expected, but as a window into the birth of 24-hour news culture, it’s undeniably interesting.