One Day in September

A documentary about the hostage crisis at the 1972 Munich Olympics. On the morning of 5 September an armed group enters the Olympic Village and takes members of the Israeli team hostage. Their demand is the release of some prisoners held in Israel. The film follows the day hour by hour. The Games continue for a while; races go on a few hundred metres from the room where the hostages are held. German officials make a rescue plan and it is carried out at a military airfield. The most argued-about part is the section showing how unprepared they were: the number of marksmen, the lack of communication and an abandoned plan to storm the plane. What sets the production apart is one interview. The only surviving attacker, Jamal Al Gashey, appears on camera. Michael Douglas narrates. Ankie Spitzer, the widow of one of the murdered athletes, is the film's most important witness. Kevin Macdonald directed. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Its editing was criticised; some writers said the fast cutting and the use of music were too showy for the subject. An important source for anyone interested in recent history documentaries and the history of the Olympics. Before you watch, know this: the film contains real footage of the events and hard scenes.