I guess many would have confuse this movie with what actually happen back then during the 1972 Munich Olympics games hostage crisis but this movie is goes into the details of what went into the newsroom of ABC Sports. If I had to describe it this was a 70s sweaty, claustrophobic, chain smoking newsroom experience where ABC Sports producers were probably trying to byte more than they could at attempting to properly cover what was more of a journalistic specific situation rather than keep covering what was going on at the Olympics, not because this happen during a Sports event meant they shouldn't pass it to a department with more experience into this type of topics. The entire movie screams moral ambiguity that I know for many will be end up in a weird taste of a movie, instead of a feature of it would be a bug.
It was the 70s and tech was very very limited but from my perspective is so beautiful how this men and woman had this craftsmanship of someone getting the news out, either at interviewing the police radio or harnessing a phone to a studio mic.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28082769/
- Platform: AppleTV+
The movie begins with ABC Sports producer Geoffrey Mason; played by John Magaro, preparing for another day of Olympic coverage, its early and feels like a draggy day, until gunshots crackle over walkie talkies but nobody is sure if it was gunshots, I mean this is a never ever saw situation before so who would imagine. Inside minutes the crew knows that they are sitting on the biggest news story of the decade and this is when Roone Arledge; played by Peter Sarsgaard, the network’s slick executive, wants the story under Sports’ control, not handed over to News. Close to 17 hour adrenaline rush of making decisions, smuggling cameras into restricted zones, translating German police radio and debating whether or not to air unverified reports.
Source It was not only the lives of the hostages what was at risk, but the ethics of live broadcasting life or death to 900 million viewers, its like watching a game at a stadium with all eyes on you and then in the very center of the field someone points a gun to a hostage in close contact. Not only what to show or not in live broadcast but also how and what to say? are they militants? guerillas? terrorist? the hole debate comes up within the crew that makes the movie even funny because they have no idea what they getting into.
To make things even worst, at their effort to cover the entire story, ABC Sports was transmitting life to the apartment where the hostage were, meaning the terrorist were also watching and this is why the first rescue attempt failed, this situations falls into one of those epic fail trending videos. Remember that time when ABC Sports basically told the terrorist they were going to be taken by surprise??. This entire drama cause the German Police to take the studio by force for a brief moment, this get way much worst when they lie about the hostages been rescued and everyone safe, I say lie because this was not confirm by anyone on the ground during the movie. Remember this is a movie "based" on real live events, although there is a lot that is going to be modified for entertaining purposes.
The movie does a great job with the 70s vibes, takes you to a tour of what was film making back in the day, from loading film canisters, how to frame a shot of a balcony, how limited cameras were, by the end of the movie you feel like film making was the profession that actually invented DIY stuff with every trick they come up during the movie.
Source John Magaro sells the hell out of Geoffrey’s guilt, slumping against a wall like he’s been punched, he was the one basically at the wheel of the ship, its obvious he would feel he gave false hope to the many families around the world, he is the MVP here. He’s Geoffrey, sweating through his collared shirt like a man who is recently become aware that he is in way over his head, all nervous energy and full of moral conflicts. His performance is raw, like the way he barks orders of his team as his hands tremble, making you feel every ounce of his panic. Meanwhile, Peter Sarsgaard is Roone Arledge in full swagger of the corporate shark who is at once visionary and opportunist. It’s a masterclass in “the world is on fire but I'm cool” type of meme, as he casually lights a cigarette mid argument with ABC higher ups on the line and he about to broadcast what could end up in a massacre but its all about the rating and the amount of pair of eyeballs he can get the attention.
I really enjoy this movie as it serve as a tribute to the uselessness of the crew’s efforts, its the perfect representation of an Epic Fail meme transform into a movie. Sadly I think it is not the case of how it was announce during their marketing campaign and this might misguide certain part of the audience. The other side of it is that the movie kind of punts on its own themes, it avoids critiquing the system it try to describe so meticulously by refusing to show the aftermath the network, it would have been more interesting of what happens or what others think about the ABC Sports coverage, if back then people also though it was a disaster?. By no means I'm trying to pretend journalism is a black and white job although "don't trust, verify", that's where things got messy.
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