September 5 is a taut, anxious little thriller about the 1972 incident when the ABC Sports crew was covering the Olympics in Germany. At 95 minutes, in a small setting and clearly much smaller budget, September 5 manages to wrap us in a chilling situation, vastly better than the boring "Munich" tried to, at twice the run-time and budget. The details of 1972 are very realistic in this film. Besides the hairstyles and wardrobe, the technical equipment, the look inside a television control room, communication devices like telephones and 2-way radios, puts us right there at that time before advanced electronics. At one point a technician unscrews a phone receiver and wires it into a walkie-talkie with Peter Jennings's voice in it, reporting from out in the field. The archival footage of Jim McKay and audio of Jennings is mixed into the film very effectively as if they are all there together, not just thrown in there for effect. Because of the lack of technology and communication devices then, it feels like we are locked in that little studio with them. When directors and producers there are forced to make split-second choices, we are gripping our seats anticipating their decisions, which will change the methods of live TV news coverage. The writing, directing, casting, and mostly the set design is outstanding. Peter Sarsgaard again gives a powerful performance with his usual understated style. I never felt a fragment of this tension when I saw Munich in 2006. By comparison, that film was unfocused and convoluted, not engaged with the predicament the hostages and reporters. (in my opinion, of course.)

See other user reviews