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| ==Response and Reaction== | ==Response and Reaction== | ||
| The film has recieved largely positive reviews with many critics considering it among Spielberg's best films with particular praise going to ]'s performance. The film garnered a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and deemed 'certified fresh'. But there have been negative rules about Spielberg's moral equivalence between those who murdered innocent athletes and those who executed justice upon them.,. | The film has recieved largely positive reviews with many critics considering it among Spielberg's best films with particular praise going to ]'s performance. The film garnered a 77% rating on film review site Rotten Tomatoes and deemed 'certified fresh' overall, but the 'cream of the crop' critics ruled it 'rotten'. But there have been negative rules about Spielberg's moral equivalence between those who murdered innocent athletes and those who executed justice upon them.,. | ||
| ==Controversy== | ==Controversy== | ||
Revision as of 07:15, 4 January 2006
2005 film| Munich | |
|---|---|
 The first Poster for Munich | |
| Directed by | Steven Spielberg |
| Written by | Tony Kushner, Eric Roth |
| Produced by | Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel Steven Spielberg Colin Wilson |
| Starring | Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Geoffrey Rush |
| Cinematography | Janusz Kaminski |
| Edited by | Michael Kahn |
| Music by | John Williams |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures Dreamworks Pictures |
| Release dates | December 23, 2005 (US) |
| Running time | 164 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $75,000,000 (estimated) |
Munich is a 2005 film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth. The movie is set after the 1972 Munich Massacre, and follows a Mossad squad, led by "Avner" (Eric Bana), that is ordered to track down and kill the Black September terrorists thought to be responsible for the Israeli athletes' murders. The extent to which the movie represents fact is a matter of debate. Spielberg himself refers to it as "historical fiction" saying it is inspired by actual events.
Plot
The film is based on the book Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by Canadian journalist George Jonas, which in turn was based on the story of Yuval Aviv, who has claimed to have once been a Mossad agent. In the book, Aviv's story is told through a protagonist called "Avner". The Jonas book was first turned into a made-for-tv movie in 1986 called Sword of Gideon, starring Michael York and directed by Michael Anderson.
Response and Reaction
The film has recieved largely positive reviews with many critics considering it among Spielberg's best films with particular praise going to Eric Bana's performance. The film garnered a 77% rating on film review site Rotten Tomatoes and deemed 'certified fresh' overall, but the 'cream of the crop' critics ruled it 'rotten'. But there have been negative rules about Spielberg's moral equivalence between those who murdered innocent athletes and those who executed justice upon them.,.
Controversy
Journalist Yossi Melman of the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz has said that the book is "strewn with mistakes" adding that, after a lawsuit identified Aviv as Avner, "investigative reports about him revealed that he represented himself as a Mossad agent even though he had never worked in the Mossad and certainly had not participated in operations to kill those involved in the athletes' murder. Aviv, as he emerged from these investigative reports, had a special fondness for conspiracy theories, and it turned out that he was willing to hire out his services to anyone who was willing to pay, even to both sides of the same dispute."
Melman and other critics of the book and the film have said that the story's premise — that Israeli agents had second thoughts about their work — is not supported by interviews or public statements.
A retired head of Israel's Shin Bet intelligence service, Avi Dichter, likened Munich to a children's adventure story. "There is no comparison between what you see in the movie and how it works in reality," he said in an interview with Reuters .
In a Time Magazine cover story about the film on December 4, 2005, Spielberg said that the source of the film had had second thoughts about his actions. "There is something about killing people at close range that is excruciating," Spielberg said. "It's bound to try a man's soul." Of the real Avner, Spielberg says, "I don’t think he will ever find peace."
Trivia
- Ben Kingsley was cast as the role of Ephraim, but left and was replaced by Geoffrey Rush due to the film being delayed.
- The film was originally to be filmed in the summer of 2004 but was delayed because Spielberg was reportedly unhappy with the script. Other sources said that security concerns had delayed production.
- Shortly after finishing promotion on War of the Worlds, Spielberg went right into production on this film in July 2005, wrapping up in late September for a Christmas 2005 release.
- Spielberg hired Eyal Arad, a former strategist for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, to market the film.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Eric Bana | Avner |
| Daniel Craig | Steve |
| Ciarán Hinds | Carl |
| Mathieu Kassovitz | Robert |
| Hanns Zischler | Hans |
| Geoffrey Rush | Ephraim |
| Marie-Josée Croze | Jeanette |
| Michael Lonsdale | Papa |
| Ayelet July Zurer | Avner's Wife |
See also
External links
- Official site
- Munich at IMDb
- "Spielberg takes on terror", Time Magazine, 12 December 2005.
- "The Lessons of Munich", A discussion of the film from Foreign Policy Magazine
- "Spielberg's Munich Pact" , Editorial critical of the movie.
- PopMatters review (12/2005)
- A delicate balance: Showing both sides of the '72 Olympic massacre is Spielberg's big challenge - Newsday.com review