Munich (Widescreen Edition)
by Steven Spielberg
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DVD details
Actor: Ciar?n Hinds, Daniel Craig, Eric Bana, Marie-Jos?e Croze, Mathieu KassovitzDirector: Steven Spielberg
Brand: BANA,ERIC
Producer: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Barry Mendel
Producer: Colin Wilson
Producer: Kathleen Kennedy
Writer: Eric Roth
Writer: George Jonas
Writer: Tony Kushner
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 164 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-05-09
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of Munich (Widescreen Edition)
DVD Review: Gripping but depressing
Summary: 4 Stars
I hadn't previously investigated Munich and its aftermath, so I can't judge the accuracy of this movie. But that doesn't matter, for three reasons: (a) perhaps no one outside the world of espionage knows what really happened, (b) the movie is self-described as only "inspired by" real events, and (c) what matters is the broader message, not the details.
And that broader message is quite obvious, indeed commonplace, if you can rise above a strongly partisan viewpoint. The message is that when two distinct and clannish groups desperately want the same piece of land as their home, and neither group can eliminate the other, conflict and violence will tend to be perpetuated, resulting in a lose-lose outcome. At the same time, there's some hope of compromise and peace if each group comes to recognize the faults in its own ideology and actions, appreciates that the other side isn't entirely wrong, and recognizes a shared humanity. So there are two tensions operating in parallel: (a) between the two groups, and (b) within each group, between making concessions in order to compromise versus continuing to fight (at whatever mutual cost) until the other group has been utterly defeated. At a more specific level, a related message is that assassinations and terrorism may keep pressure on the other side, but they ultimately only contribute to perpetuating the conflict rather than resolving it.
The movie depicts all of this quite clearly, and thereby does a service in helping us better understand the problem. At nearly 3 hours, it's quite long, but it kept my attention, so I didn't mind. As some reviewers have noted (ignore the extremists), it isn't a perfect movie (hence my 4-star rating), but I still recommend it to people who want to better understand why these types of conflicts are so difficult to resolve.
Finally, here's my proposed solution to the problem. Forget about the current Palestinian territories and instead give the northmost third of Israel to the Palestinians. Provide the Palestinians with quality infrastructure, fully cover their relocation costs, and provide them with plenty of seed money, all of this paid for by Israel and international aid. Help the Palestinians establish a credible democratic government with adequate military backing. Last but not least, place Jerusalem under UN control, with everyone having guaranteed safe access to it, including a dedicated highway from the new Palestine to Jerusalem. That's all it takes: allow each group to continue to exist, physically seperate the two groups, allow each group to have quality land within the current territory, and throw some money at the problem where needed. Can we please implement this solution soon, so that everyone can move on to other issues?
DVD Review: america's critic
Summary: 1 Stars
story was confusing i felt lost the entire time not much action -- this was a waste i dont reccomend this 1.DVD Review: Just Saw the Film a second Time
Summary: 4 Stars
It is a well done film and has many aspects of the story that create great suspense, intrigue, and self questioning. My issues with the film are few but important. For instance, I am disappointed by the way in which the director creates a tie in at the end between Avner making love to his wife in Brooklyn, and the final bloody shoot out between the PLO hostage terrorists and the German police interjected in between the humping and slobbering. Eric Bana's character feels guilty and his catharsis from guilt comes from the semi violent act of making love to his wife??? Quite ridiculous and far fetched in my opinion, and clearly the only quick and easy way out of the film for the director which is running long 164 minutes, and lacking a clean, happy and realistic ending. With notable exceptions, Spielberg often leans toward unrealistic happy endings. However since he is dealing with a real story, perhaps a real ending could have been more important for the sense of reality that the film attempts to capture. In the end, his own government disappoints him when he questions the policy of going after the terrorists in the same terrorist manner that they have experienced.
One other issue has to do with the story itself. It seems pretty unbelievable that after the French informants have put them in a safe house in Greece with the Palestinian terrorists - and somehow surviving, that Avner and his associates continue to trust the informants despite being set-up by them.
Overall an important film about story that has received a lot of press but one which has put little scrutiny on the German government and people for the lousy handling of the Munich massacre that reads almost like a "how not to handle a hostage crisis". When considering the history of Germany and the jewish people, how can one not point the finger at the German government and police for their ineptitude in creating a shoot out in which no hostages were left alive. Then a few weeks later how quickly the spineless German government chose to extricate themselves from the mess they created in the first pace thru their poor security at the Munich games by deciding to hand over the 3 remaining captured terrorists to the Libyans in exchange for 12 Germans whose plane was hijacked in the middle east.
DVD Review: Quite a Story!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a spy thriller in essence. Based on the book Vengeance, an Israeli Body Guard to Golda Meir is engaged to assassinate conspirators in the kidnapping and murder of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The main character uses many different aliases and travels throughout Europe to kill his targets. It's an intriguing story and one that was never discredited as the truth. I found the movie quite interesting but also confusing. It is difficult to completely understand what is going on but I suspect that the main character and the other Israeli agents also felt that way. The story is ambiguous in whether the mission helped Israel or harmed the country's long term peace goals. It also highlights the intractable problem these two groups - israelis and Palestinians have with each other. A very good movie to watch and learn from which can be entertaining at times, but very confusing and without a real ending - like real life. DVD Review: "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."-Mahatma Gandhi
Summary: 5 Stars
No matter how justified the intentions, no matter how a group of people was hurt or victimized, the inescapable truth remains that revenge doesn't correct a wrong.
The human message in this movie, the great acting, the conversations between enemies make it one of the best movies by Steven Speilberg.
Description of Munich (Widescreen Edition)
Mossad agents are recruited to find and kill the Palestinian terrorists responsible for the kidnapping and murder of a group of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972.Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 22-AUG-2006
Media Type: DVD
At its core, Munich is a straightforward thriller. Based on the book Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas, it's built on a relatively stock movie premise, the revenge plot: innocent people are killed, the bad guys got away with it, and someone has to make them pay. But director Steven Spielberg uses that as a starting point to delve into complex ethical questions about the cyclic nature of revenge and the moral price of violence. The movie starts with a rush. The opening portrays the kidnapping and murder of Israeli athletes by PLO terrorists at the 1972 Olympics with scenes as heart-stopping and terrifying as the best of any horror movie. After the tragic incident is over and several of the terrorists have gone free, the Israeli government of Golda Meir recruits Avner (Eric Bana) to lead a team of paid-off-the-book agents to hunt down those responsible throughout Europe, and eliminate them one-by-one (in reality, there were several teams). It's physically and emotionally messy work, and conflicts between Avner and his team's handler, Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), over information Avner doesn't want to provide only make things harder. Soon the work starts to take its toll on Avner, and the deeper moral questions of right and wrong come into play, especially as it becomes clear that Avner is being hunted in return, and that his family's safety may be in jeopardy.
By all rights, Munich should be an unqualified success--it has gripping subject matter relevant to current events; it was co-written by one of America's greatest living playwrights (Tony Kushner, Angels in America) and an accomplished screenwriter (Eric Roth); it stars an appealing and likeable actor in Eric Bana; and it was helmed by Steven Spielberg, of all people. While it certainly is a great movie, it falls just short of the immense heights such talent should propel it to. This is due more to some questionable plot devices than anything else (such as the contrived use of a family of French informants to locate the terrorists). But while certain aspects ring hollow, the movie as a whole is a profound accomplishment, despite being only "inspired by true events," and not factually based on them. From the ferocious beginning to the unforgettable closing shot, Munich works on a visceral level while making a poignant plea for peace, and issuing an unmistakable warning about the destructive cycle of terror and revenge. As one of the characters intones, "There is no peace at the end of this." --Daniel Vancini
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