Munich [Blu-ray] [2005] [US Import]

bit long

n/a

fantastic film one of the best movies I've seen in years, plenty of action & a great story line this will take some beating.

Spielberg's film took a lot of criticism on it's release in the USA.With the jingoistic fervour of the US right wing post-September 11th 2001,any film that dared criticise anti-terrorist operations,or showed the slightest hint of sympathy for critics of revenge attacks was bound to be attacked.Watch the film and judge for yourself.It's based on a book by an Israeli who (supposedly) participated in the death squads sent to Europe by Golda Meir after the Black September attacks on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.At first,it all seems so just and logical;kill known PLO players in Europe who were linked to the Munich operation.Then,it starts to get messy-uninvolved civillians are caught up in the attacks,members of the Israeli death squad are killed,and they finally find out that one PLO figure,Ali Hassan Salameh(killed by an Israeli car bomb in Beirut in 1979)is actually being protected by the CIA.Israel's major ally is collaborating with Israel's worst enemy.At the end,the disillusionment is clear-have the anti-terrorist operations done any more than kill a few Palestinians whom the PLO easily replaced.Is there any intrinsic moral difference between PLO attacks on Israelis and Israeli attacks on the PLO?In the end,one of the Israeli operatives seems more afraid of Israeli intelligence than of the Palestinians,the anti-terror operation has totally backfired.Given the patriotic hysteria in the USA after 11/09/01(yes,I'm European,not American,so why should I have to say"9/11"?),Spielberg was very brave to make this film.He is pro-Isreali,but the Palestinians who appear in the film are not cliches of evil terror,and he is far from blind to the brutality of anti-terror operations,even if you agree with them.If there's any message in this film,it seems to me to be that the world is very messy and complex,that things done with the best of intentions can lead to dire conclusions,and that you have to be prepared to reevaluate your ideas and admit you were mistaken when faced with the evidence of the error of your ways.Perhaps that's why the right wing flagwavers in the USA hated this film so much.Only 4 stars as it's too long,it could have done with more rigorous editing.

Interesting film with a good intellectual pedigree but I wouldn't recommend it unless politics and history really float your boat. In fact it works better as a documentary told from one side but not in a triumphalistic manner. It's nicely filmed with great period style; the cars, clothes and hotel interiors are beautiful. It also conveys the shady, sometimes deadly world inhabited by rival spy agencies and security services. When it comes to information they all seem to feed from the same trough and therein lies the security issue. The film is possibly an accurate depiction of the Israeli retaliation for the Munich Olympic massacre by Palestinian terrorists (or freedom fighters depending on your allegiance). As well as the obvious Jewish protagonists it also introduces an interesting Palestinian playboy/terrorist/hero by the name of Ali Hassan Salameh (AKA The Red Prince). His story would make an equally worthy film/documentary. I would challenge Mr Spielberg to make that - I think he could do it. So overall I enjoyed Munich, but then the subject matter is right up my strasse. If this strasse is not one to which you wish to become accustomed I would avoid it.

Having read the review by Ben Stewart stating that this DVD omits the violence that took place at the Munich Olympics in 1972 and then took the DVD off after watching it for 5 minutes, I can only advise Mr. Stewart to watch it again and stay with it for the full two and three quarter hours. Truly this is an absorbing thriller inspired by real events. It is also Steven Spielberg's finest film since "Schindler's List."To those who accuse Spielberg of displaying unfair bias, I can only assume they haven't really understood the thrust of the story. Every story must have a viewpoint and Spielberg has told this story from the viewpoint of the "hit squad" assigned tokill those responsible for the Munich massacre and the effect it has on their private lives. In this, he has succeeded magnificently.The film, intelligently scripted, expertly directed and well acted, contains some of the most suspenseful sequences ever staged. But it's not purely an action film. It manages to cover the differing aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and finds fault on both sides. It also points to the profiteering that is so much a part of the business of assasination. It shows that even the most dedicated paid killers can have conscience qualms. I have never before seen a film that deals with these issues so touchingly and so brilliantly. Quite simply, this is a masterpiece that stands up to repeated viewings. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

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