Stars: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Geoffrey Rush, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Ciaran Hinds, Marie-Josee Croze, Gila Almagor, Ayelet Zurer, Hiam Abbass, Ziad Adwan, Sharon Alexander, Mosko Alkalai, Mathieu Amalric, Guy Amir, Arthur Chazal, Richard Brake, Lili Bordan, Ossie Beck, Yvan Attal

Director: Steven Spielberg

Summary: A thought-provoking surprise from famed director Steven Spielberg, MUNICH explores the after effects of the brutal terrorist attacks on the Israeli athletic team at that German city's 1972 Olympic games.

A thought-provoking surprise from famed director Steven Spielberg, MUNICH explores the after effects of the brutal terrorist attacks on the Israeli athletic team at that German city's 1972 Olympic Games. Loosely adapted from the book VENGEANCE by Hungarian George Jonas, the script was largely written by the provocative, award-winning playwright Tony Kushner (ANGELS IN AMERICA), who lends an incisive intelligence to the dialogue. The film begins with the violent sequence of the terrorists carrying out their attacks on the Israelis; a bloody and gruesome sequence that is deftly and beautifully handled by Spielberg and his brilliant cinematographer, Januzs Kaminski. Back in Israel, we meet the handsome and charming Avner, deeply in love with his beautiful, pregnant wife. Domestic bliss is short-lived however; immediately following these Black September attacks, Avner (THE HULK's Eric Bana), the son of an Israeli hero, is summoned by his country's famed secret service agency, the Mossad, to carry out violent retaliations against those Palestinian terrorists allegedly behind the Munich massacre. Commanded from afar by prickly government agent Ephraim (the inimitable Geoffrey Rush), Avner and his team of handpicked men pugnacious South African Steve (Daniel Craig), goofy ex-toy maker Robert (French actor Matthieu Kassovitz), morally conflicted Carl (Ciaran Hinds), and terse professional Hans (Hanns Zischler) must deal with some shady, nefarious international figures as they track down their Palestinian prey. Their mission takes them everywhere, from the villas of Rome to a seedy hotel in Cyprus, and with each successful kill, Avner's iron will begins to dissolve, and guilt and doubt begin to take hold of his conscience. Strong performances (particularly by the magnetic Eric Bana), gripping action, moral complexity, and a political urgency make the film not only consistently entertaining, but enormously important. Kushner and Spielberg work together to make it clear that the past informs the present, and the lingering final shot should leave viewers with much to think about.

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Reviewed by: davybozal24-7
Posted on June 7, 2006 9:39 PM

A gripping thriller based on the events of Munich 1972 , when an extremist Palestinian group known as Black September killed 11
members of the Israeli Olympic team . Steven Spielberg's film dramatises the Israeli Intelligence service's retribution , as officer
Avner ( Eric Bana ) tracks down and assassinates the perpertrators.
This movie has panache in bucketloads and is extremely disturbing
in its brutal and often misinterprated conclusion . An outstanding
cast also stars Daniel Craig , Geoffrey Rush , Hanns Zischler ,
Ciaran Hinds and Matthieu Kassovitz . The sets look realistically
seedy and the plot is thick and fast . Brilliantly executed actionfest .

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Munich is a film with no easy answers, and plenty of uncomfortable moments. It also finds Steven Spielberg on masterly form behind the camera, telling a relentlessly serious and unsettling story with the gravitas it absolutely requires.

Set immediately after the murder of nine Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics (an event that’s brutally re-enacted), the film is supposedly a fictionalised account based on true events of what happened next. Namely, the Israelis ordering together a secret team--led by Eric Bana’s Avner--to take out those they considered responsible.

Only it’s not that easy. It doesn’t take long for the film to start blurring the moral debate. Is what Avner and his team are doing that different from the original assassins? Can he reconcile the brutality of his actions? And what happens when the programme of retaliation doesn’t go quite to plan?

By turns, Munich is a brutal, gripping and important film. It’s not always easy to penetrate, and it really demands some good old-fashioned concentration to fully appreciate it. Yet it’s superb filmmaking, and an engrossing piece of cinema. Oscar may have snubbed it, but you’d be wise not to make the same mistake.--Jon Foster

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Introduction From Director Steven Spielberg, Munich The Team The Mission
Subtitles:	Arabic, Icelandic
Year:	2005
Release Date:	June 12, 2006
Runtime:	157 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	83028 8
Keywords:	Munich, General, Drama, Historical
Genre:	Drama