September 5: Blu-Ray Review
Arriving on Blu-ray this week is director Tim Fehlbaum’s high-tension historical drama, September 5, which stars Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin and Leonie Benesch. The film has been nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the upcoming Academy Awards and was also nominated for Best Motion Picture (Drama) at the Golden Globes.
September 5 takes place during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany and is primarily set in the studio, where ABC Sports is broadcasting their Olympic coverage. Shortly after Jewish-American competitive swimmer Mark Spitz won the gold over a German competitor, president of ABC Sports Roone Arledge (Sarsgaard) orders the broadcast to focus on the German swimmer who lost, which would make things more emotional than political. Later that night, gunshots are heard in the studio, coming from the Olympic Village, where all the competitors are staying.
While head of operations Marvin Bader (Chaplin) and control room head Geoffrey Mason (Magaro), can’t understand the German language on the police broadcasts, they task translator Marianne Gebhardt (Benesch) to translate. What they soon discover is that the militant group known as Black September has invaded the Olympic housing and taken the Israeli athletes and their coach hostage. They are demanding that hundreds of Palestinian prisoners be released, or they will begin executing the hostages. With ABC’s sports team being the only ones on the ground, Arledge, demands that his crew be the ones that cover the story, even though they have little-to-no experience covering the news.
Running at a brisk 94-minutes, September 5 moved along quite swiftly and at times feels like we are watching a real-life event unfold before our eyes. That’s how great a job Fehlbaum and co-writers Moritz Binder and Alex David do as re-creating this real-life event. As I was born in September of 1973, the Munich Olympic tragedy took place one year before my lifetime began, so I was honestly not as familiar with everything that took place.
This is a powerful piece of filmmaking, based on a powerful moment in history. Great performances all around, most notably from Ben Chaplin, who is front and center. I highly recommend checking out September 5.
Bonus Content:
- Remaking Broadcast History — Join actors Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, and more as they share the challenges of portraying the real people tasked with reporting on the world’s first televised hostage crisis.
- A Meticulous Undertaking — See how an empty space was transformed into a stunning replica of the iconic 1972 broadcast studio where the ABC Sports team witnessed the unfolding tragedy.
- On The Global Stage — The 1972 Munich Olympics marked a turning point in history, where the line between journalism and complicity blurred. Delve into the ethical and journalistic dilemmas faced by the team as they weighed reporting the news and potentially fueling further violence.
- Screen Actors Guild Q&A – Discussion with writer, producer, and director Tim Fehlbaum, actors Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, and Leonie Benesch, and casting director Nancy Foy.
- Producers Guild of America Q&A — A conversation with writer, producer, and director Tim Fehlbaum, p.g.a., producer Sean Penn, Philipp Trauer, p.g.a., Thomas Wöbke, p.g.a., and John Ira Palmer, p.g.a.
By: Marc Ferman
