Product: One Day in September [VHS] (2006)
Rating: 5.0
The 1972 Munich Olympics
One Day in September, 2000 filmIt starts with an interview of a widow. Next that of a Palestinian revolutionary (who is still in hiding). We see men training for combat. The Olympics were held in Munich in 1972. Security was kept lax. The Palestinians planned to attack on September 5. The East Germans allowed some Palestinians into the Olympic Village to scout the location. The Palestinians attacked and captured Israeli Olympians and offered to trade them for the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. There was no deal. This event attracted international attention on television, radio, and newspapers. The German police tried to get information about the terrorists while delivering food, but failed. Solving this problem was left to the Germans. The Olympic Games were suspended.The deadline for a decision drew near. One athlete had been killed. German Border Guards were chosen for a surprise attack with machine guns on the Palestinians, but the order never came. This news was broadcast on television and the Palestinians were warned. They changed their demand for a jet plane that would take them and their Israeli prisoners to a friendly Arab country. The Germans planned to prevent this from happening. A Boeing 727 would be used as a decoy so snipers could shoot the terrorists at the airport in the open. But the Germans underestimated the number of terrorists. The lights went on and the shooting began. The snipers failed to shoot them all. The wrong men were shot! Armored cars were late in arriving. The first reports said all hostages were saved! This was soon corrected with the tragic results: none of the eleven hostages survived the attack. There was official mourning. Then the Games continued. The five dead Palestinians were sent to Libya. The three surviving terrorists were freed in exchange for a hijacked airliner. This was a conspiracy between the German government and the Palestinians.The German government formed an anti-terrorist unit. Israeli assassinated two of the surviving terrorists and some bystanders. The lone survivor survived attacks and lives in hiding somewhere in Africa with his wife and children.