Munich (2005)

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers (WGA):

Tony Kushner (screenplay) and
Eric Roth (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

6 January 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Thriller

Tagline:

The world was watching in 1972 as 11 Israeli athletes were murdered at the Munich Olympics. This is the story of what happened next.

Plot:

Based on the true story of the Black September aftermath, about the five men chosen to eliminate the ones responsible for that fateful day.

Plot Keywords:

Mossad | Olympics | Terrorist | Palestinian | Munich Olympics

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Eric Bana	...	Avner
Daniel Craig	...	Steve
Ciarán Hinds	...	Carl
Mathieu Kassovitz	...	Robert
Hanns Zischler	...	Hans
Ayelet Zurer	...	Daphna
Geoffrey Rush	...	Ephraim
Gila Almagor	...	Avner's Mother
Michael Lonsdale	...	Papa
Mathieu Amalric	...	Louis
Moritz Bleibtreu	...	Andreas
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi	...	Sylvie
Meret Becker	...	Yvonne
Marie-Josée Croze	...	Jeanette the Dutch Assassin
Yvan Attal	...	Tony - Andreas' Friend

Also Known As:

Munich (Canada: French title) (France)
Steven Spielberg's Munich (Australia)
Untitled 1972 Munich Olympics Project (USA) (working title)
Munich (Argentina) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
München (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
München (Germany) [de]
München (Finland) [fi]
München (Denmark) [da]
München (Norway) [no]
Münih (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Minchen (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Minhen (Serbia) [sr]
Monaho (Greece) [el]
Munique (Brazil) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic violence, some sexual content, nudity and language.

Runtime:

164 min | Philippines:163 min (cut)

Country:

USA | Canada | France

Language:

English | German | French | Hebrew | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Australia:MA | Czech Republic:12 | UK:15 | Singapore:M18 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Spain:18 | Philippines:R-13 | Sweden:15 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (heavily cut) | Hungary:16 | New Zealand:R16 | South Korea:15 | Japan:PG-12 | Brazil:16 | Peru:14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Denmark:15 | South Africa:16 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | USA:R (certificate #42321) | France:U (with warning) | Australia:M (TV rating) | India:A (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Bir-Hakeim Bridge, Paris, France

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

After getting the rights to George Jonas's book "Vengeance", Steven Spielberg commissioned three scripts: one from David Webb Peoples and Janet Peoples, one from Charles Randolph, and one from Eric Roth. Roth's script was chosen and subsequently revised by Tony Kushner.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The black Mercedes W114 230.6 used by the KGB agents during the Greece assassination scene is patched together to make it more "historic." The front doors were made to look like a Series 1 model, with divided side windows, made prior August 1973. The side mirror was removed completely. The rest of the car is clearly a Series 2 (post August 1973), including the model designation 230.6 itself (it should read just "230", the two different models 230.4 and 230.6 co-existed after August 1973).

Quotes:

[first lines]
American Athlete: Hey! Oh! Shame, shame! Closing down the beer garden. 100 meter dash powered by knackwurst and lager.
American Athlete: Where are you guys from?
American Athlete: What is your event?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Spielberg on Spielberg (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Black Magic Woman

Means even more if you watched the tragedy of Munich 1972

I don't think the "perfect" movie has been made yet. I don't know that a masterpiece is necessarily perfect, so, viewers will undoubtedly find faults in this movie, some of which have already been expressed in the comment section. But masterpiece or not, I really liked this movie. It told a particular side of the story and told it well. And if you witnessed any of the tragedy of Munich in the summer of 1972, you feel a connection to the events portrayed in this movie. We, the audience, become a member of the hit squad able to empathize with the angst in becoming assassins with consciences, as collateral damage does matter. But the trouble with trying to maintain a conscience is that each notch on the belt is another slash of your humanity ripped from your soul. You squirm from living in the uncertainty of trusting people you are suspicious of in order to fulfill your mission. You nervously plan the pathway to the next target. You seethe with the frenzy of the kill. You perpetually twitch in the paranoia of becoming the hunted, "sleeping" with one eye open and a finger on the trigger. In the beginning you are swept away by your sense of duty to God and country above all else. In the end you are cynical, angry and afraid about what you have done and what you have become.

There are many other sides of this story. It is left to other movies or media to tell those versions. I won't take this one as a definitive history lesson on the subject. Instead I'll take it as a captivating tale of a struggle of life and death played on a complex stage of geopolitics.