The documentary begins with an advertisement by the Munich Tourism Bureau with a beautiful young girl inviting the world to visit the city for the Olympics, then shows interviews with the wives of some of the murdered athletes, including Ankie Spitzer, widow of fencing coach Andre Spitzer. The film also features the first known filmed interview with Jamal Al-Gashey, a surviving terrorist. Al-Gashey, who is in hiding in Africa, wears a cap and sunglasses and his face is slightly blurred.
There are various shots of the Games getting under way, and attention is given to the lax security the Germans had at the Games. The terrorists are seen preparing for the assault; Al-Gashey claims that he and the other members were trained in Libya before going to West Germany to begin the assault.
The assault is described by Al-Gashey as well as by some of the German security staff present. Footage of ABC anchor Jim McKay is interspersed, along with sound clips of Peter Jennings, to give an impression of events unfolding as they happened. General Ulrich Wegener, founder of the German counter-terrorist unit GSG 9, was also interviewed during the film, and was roundly criticized for his seemingly flippant attitude about the subject matter.
The film offers evidence supporting the allegation that the rescue operation was poorly planned and executed; for instance, the German police aboard the getaway aeroplane voted to abandon their mission without consulting the central command, while the snipers were not prepared and were poorly positioned. The film implies that had the German government prepared better, the athletes might have been saved. Former Mossad Director Zvi Zamir, who was present at the airport during the final gunfight, is interviewed about his views on the failed rescue (he had previously been interviewed on this subject in an NBC profile of the Munich massacre broadcast during the Barcelona Olympics). At the end of the section, graphic photographs of the dead Israelis and Palestinians are shown in a photo-montage set to the Deep Purple song "Child in Time".
The film also alleges that the 29 October hijacking of a Lufthansa jet and the subsequent release of the three surviving Black September members in exchange for the hostages was a set-up by the German government, who did not want their failings to be made obvious in the trial.
Receptionedit
After the film's release, film critic Roger Ebert recommended the film, stating that it "grips the attention and is exciting and involving. I recommend it on that basis--and also because of the new information it contains." He also stated that "Macdonald brings remarkable research to the film" and "he relentlessly builds up a case against the way the Germans and the International Olympic Committee handled the crisis." However, Ebert criticized the style of the film, and the film's "tasteless conclusion", which included a montage of action shots and photos of victims' corpses with a rock music score.[3]
Concerns about screenings for Academy Awardsedit
Roger Ebert continued his criticisms after the film received an Academy Award,[4] claiming that the producer, Arthur Cohn, intentionally subverts the Academy's documentary and foreign film by-laws – which dictate that only members who have seen all nominated films may vote – by limiting screenings of his films to a small group of invited people; "by limiting those who have seen his, Cohn shrinks the voting pool and improves his odds."[3]
Joe Berlinger, director of the documentaries Brother's Keeper and Paradise Lost, joined Ebert in criticizing Arthur Cohn's method of screening his films, but stressed that the problem is the Academy by-laws: "Until there is a documentary branch of the Academy that treats docs like any other film in any other category, nothing will change, despite the recent band-aid attempt to improve the situation."[5]
^. Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
Companion bookedit
Reeve, Simon (New York, 2001), One Day in September: the full story of the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre and the Israeli operation 'Wrath of God' ISBN1-55970-547-7
september, mike, brady, song, song, 1999, documentary, film, directed, kevin, macdonald, examining, september, 1972, murder, israeli, athletes, 1972, summer, olympics, munich, germany, michael, douglas, provides, sparse, narration, throughout, film, cinema, po. For the Mike Brady song see One Day in September song One Day in September is a 1999 documentary film directed by Kevin Macdonald examining the 5 September 1972 murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich Germany Michael Douglas provides the sparse narration throughout the film One Day in SeptemberCinema posterDirected byKevin MacdonaldProduced byJohn BattsekArthur CohnNarrated byMichael DouglasCinematographyNeve CunninghamAlwin H KuchlerEdited byJustine WrightMusic byAlex HeffesProductioncompaniesBBC FilmsPassion PicturesDistributed byRedbus Film DistributionRelease dates22 October 1999 1999 10 22 US 19 May 2000 2000 05 19 UK 1 Running time94 minutesCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishThe film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 72nd Academy Awards on 26 March 2000 2 Contents 1 Summary 2 Reception 3 Concerns about screenings for Academy Awards 4 See also 5 Notes 6 Companion book 7 External linksSummary editThe documentary begins with an advertisement by the Munich Tourism Bureau with a beautiful young girl inviting the world to visit the city for the Olympics then shows interviews with the wives of some of the murdered athletes including Ankie Spitzer widow of fencing coach Andre Spitzer The film also features the first known filmed interview with Jamal Al Gashey a surviving terrorist Al Gashey who is in hiding in Africa wears a cap and sunglasses and his face is slightly blurred There are various shots of the Games getting under way and attention is given to the lax security the Germans had at the Games The terrorists are seen preparing for the assault Al Gashey claims that he and the other members were trained in Libya before going to West Germany to begin the assault The assault is described by Al Gashey as well as by some of the German security staff present Footage of ABC anchor Jim McKay is interspersed along with sound clips of Peter Jennings to give an impression of events unfolding as they happened General Ulrich Wegener founder of the German counter terrorist unit GSG 9 was also interviewed during the film and was roundly criticized for his seemingly flippant attitude about the subject matter The film offers evidence supporting the allegation that the rescue operation was poorly planned and executed for instance the German police aboard the getaway aeroplane voted to abandon their mission without consulting the central command while the snipers were not prepared and were poorly positioned The film implies that had the German government prepared better the athletes might have been saved Former Mossad Director Zvi Zamir who was present at the airport during the final gunfight is interviewed about his views on the failed rescue he had previously been interviewed on this subject in an NBC profile of the Munich massacre broadcast during the Barcelona Olympics At the end of the section graphic photographs of the dead Israelis and Palestinians are shown in a photo montage set to the Deep Purple song Child in Time The film also alleges that the 29 October hijacking of a Lufthansa jet and the subsequent release of the three surviving Black September members in exchange for the hostages was a set up by the German government who did not want their failings to be made obvious in the trial Reception editAfter the film s release film critic Roger Ebert recommended the film stating that it grips the attention and is exciting and involving I recommend it on that basis and also because of the new information it contains He also stated that Macdonald brings remarkable research to the film and he relentlessly builds up a case against the way the Germans and the International Olympic Committee handled the crisis However Ebert criticized the style of the film and the film s tasteless conclusion which included a montage of action shots and photos of victims corpses with a rock music score 3 Concerns about screenings for Academy Awards editRoger Ebert continued his criticisms after the film received an Academy Award 4 claiming that the producer Arthur Cohn intentionally subverts the Academy s documentary and foreign film by laws which dictate that only members who have seen all nominated films may vote by limiting screenings of his films to a small group of invited people by limiting those who have seen his Cohn shrinks the voting pool and improves his odds 3 Joe Berlinger director of the documentaries Brother s Keeper and Paradise Lost joined Ebert in criticizing Arthur Cohn s method of screening his films but stressed that the problem is the Academy by laws Until there is a documentary branch of the Academy that treats docs like any other film in any other category nothing will change despite the recent band aid attempt to improve the situation 5 See also editMunich 72 and Beyond Munich 2005 Notes edit BBFC UK release date Retrieved 2012 09 15 Documentary Winners 2000 Oscars a b Ebert Roger 9 March 2001 One Day In September Reviews rogerebert com Retrieved 11 January 2023 2000 Oscars org Answer Man Chicago Sun Times Chicago Sun Times Archived from the original on 6 June 2011 Retrieved 1 October 2008 Companion book editReeve Simon New York 2001 One Day in September the full story of the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre and the Israeli operation Wrath of God ISBN 1 55970 547 7External links editOne Day in September Archived 7 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine at Passion Pictures One Day in September at the British Film Institute better source needed One Day in September at the British Board of Film Classification One Day in September at IMDb One Day in September at Rotten Tomatoes nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title One Day in September amp oldid 1180480417, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
