Plot: What’s it about?
At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, the world was brought together to celebrate, but a darkness would soon loom over the events. A band of eleven Palestinians invaded the games and brought violence with them, taking hostage eleven of Israel’s athletes. At a time that was supposed to bring the nations closer, this act filled the games with violence and bloodshed. After holdings the athletes captive, the Palestinians then executed them, in a tragic and brutal scene. In the wake of this horrific action, Isreal’s Prime Minister Golda Meir (Lynn Cohen) calls for a retaliatory action to be taken against those who planned the attack. A secret group is soon formed, with one goal to mind, to eliminate those behind the hideous attack. At the lead is Avner (Eric Bana), one of Meir’s most trusted bodyguards, while the rest of the squad are also skilled and hand picked for the assignment. Each must agree to risk their lives and go off the books, all in the name of redemption. But even as information is gathered and lives are taken, more Palestinian attacks surface, as payback for the squad’s violence. And after some time, the squad itself is marked for execution and is hunted, even as they hunt others. Even if all the names on the list are killed, will the violence end?
I have never been a fan of Steven Spielberg’s more serious pictures, I love Indiana Jones of course, but I was never that taken by films like Always and Schindler’s List. I know, I know. I was however interested in Munich, because the story is a bold real life excursion, so the potential was immense. I think most of us have heard about the actual events that took place at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, but the story of what happened in the wake of those events, I don’t think is as well known. The movie has an incredible story to tell, but I was disinterested at times, due in part to the length of the film. I can sit through three hours film without a problem, but Munich took too much time in too many places, this could have been more streamlined and in the process, more effective, at least in my opinion. The film is most effective once the tension really cranks up, which is closer to the end, but the build is excessive and unneeded. Even so, the movie stands up well and is able to bring the circles of violence across well. I was worried Spielberg would be heavy handed in that respect, but the events themselves get that point across more than the director’s hand. I doubt I will ever want to sit down with Munich again, but it was solid and deserves a rental recommendation.
Video: How does it look?
Munich is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. As this movie runs almost three hours, I was glad to see no extras on the disc, just the film itself. After all, a movie this long needs a lot of space, so in order to have the best possible transfer, this was the correct approach. And this is a new release from Universal, so I expected good visual work and viola, here it is. This movie can get dark at times, but the black levels never drop off, so shadows look excellent and detail is high, with no exceptions. No issues with the colors either, as the hues seem bright, yet natural and remain consistent throughout. I saw no real traces of grain or print wear either, this is one great all around visual effort.
Audio: How does it sound?
I didn’t expect much from the included Dolby Digital 5.1 option here, but I was floored by how well executed the audio of the film is presented. The score is woven into the surrounds with creative means, which makes the music seem alive at times, much more than in most audio mixes, without a doubt. There is also quite a lot of subtle, but very effective presence to speak of, which adds realism and depth to the scenes. This is the kind of audio you might not notice at first, which means it has done just what it should, draw you into the picture. The dialogue is flawless in this mix also, which is good, because the accents make it tough enough to understand the chatter. This disc also includes a French language track, as well as subtitles in English, Spanish, and French, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The lone supplement on this single disc edition is an introduction by Spielberg, which I could do without. A dual disc version sports more extras however, so keep that in mind.
