Product: One Day in September [VHS] (2006)
Rating: 5.0
"The Myth of German Efficiency."
This is the story Steven Spielberg wouldn't be able to tell as it's based in truth. The Munich Massacre is described via the reflections of those who survived and remember the fallen. Here, technically, the film is flawless and Michael Douglas is a strong narrator. One of the wives of a slaughtered fencer ironically noted, "This was what he always dreamed of," with the world coming together around the idea of sport, peace, and understanding. What he got was evil and West German government incompetence, but the world will always remember these games due to the way in which evil overtook them. Important political lessons are available from the event such as the futility of negotiating with terrorists and the foolishness of thinking that the show can go on while people are exterminated. How much of this event was the fault of the Germanys is not often considered, but the terrorists were given a tour of the village by the East Germans beforehand, and the Federal Republic did not have any armed police at the site or an assault squad available. If you ask me, they should have let the Israelis bring their own team in to take care of the situation.