The horrific events of the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany, will be revisited in the upcoming historical drama ‘September 5’ through the eyes of the ABC Sports team. Peter Sarsgaard plays Roone Arledge, the former president of ABC Sports, in the film, which was directed by Tim Fehlbaum, a Swiss filmmaker who has won numerous awards. Before the year ends, it will be available in theatres nationwide, but with a restricted release.
The trailer begins with images from a variety of 1972 Summer Olympics athletic activities, but as news of a terrorist attack in the Olympic Village surfaces, endangering the lives of the Israeli Olympic team, the tone drastically changes.
The ABC Sports crew initially views this as a fantastic chance to report on the rescue operations, but they quickly learn that the hostages’ lives could be in even greater danger if the terrorists are watching the broadcast.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
‘September 5’ has an excellent review score of 92 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, having debuted at the Venice International Film Festival in August 2024. After ‘Tides and Hell’, this is Fehlbaum’s fourth significant endeavour. After the contentious 1936 Berlin Olympics, which were condemned for spreading Nazi propaganda, West Germany hosted the Summer Olympics for the second time in 1972, 17 years before the collapse of the Berlin Wall. ‘September 5’ is set against the backdrop of the Munich Massacre, which clouded what was supposed to be a “cheerful game” during the second week.
Eight members of the terrorist organization Black September entered the Olympic Village using stolen keys and disguised themselves as athletes around 4:30 a.m. on 5th September 1972, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Image Courtesy: Variety
According to NPR, a West German police officer, five hostage-takers, and eleven members of Israel’s Olympic team were killed. The Olympics were eternally altered by this catastrophe, which resulted in a unique ceremony during the 2016 Summer Olympics and a moment of remembrance for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan.
On 29th November ‘September 5’ will be released in select cinemas, and on 13th December it will be accessible across the country.
–Farheen Ali