Munich

Theatrical Release Date: 2005 12 23 (USA)

UPC: 025192921124

Studio: MCA Home Video

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Graphic Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Profanity, Sexual Situations]

Summary: Much as Steven Spielberg followed 1993's special-effects blockbuster Jurassic Park with a far more downbeat and personal project later the same year, Schindler's List, in 2005 after tearing up the box office with War of the Worlds the director closed out the year with a powerful and thoughtful drama about the human costs of international terrorism. The 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, were supposed to be a peaceful gathering of outstanding athletes from around the world, but on September 5, the games took a sinister turn when eight masked Palestinian terrorists invaded the Olympic village, killing two Israeli athletes and abducting nine others. The kidnappers demanded safe passage out of Germany in addition to the release of Arab prisoners in Israeli and German prisons, but when they arrived at the Munich airport they were met by German police and military forces, and in the melee that followed, all nine hostages were killed. In the wake of the killings, the Israeli government gave Mossad, the nation's intelligence agency, a special assignment -- to track down and eliminate the Palestinians responsible for the death of the Israeli athletes. A young and idealistic Mossad agent (Eric Bana) is assigned to the four-man unit created to wipe out the Olympic terrorists, but while he believes in serving his country, as their bloody work goes on he begins to buckle under the weight of his work and wonders if he can morally justify his nation's acts of revenge. Munich also stars Geoffrey Rush, Daniel Craig, Mathieu Kassovitz, and Ciar?n Hinds. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Director – null Best Screenplay – null Best Screenplay – null Best Picture – American Film Institute Best Director – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Picture – Kansas City Film Critics Association Best Director – Kansas City Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay – Kansas City Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay – Kansas City Film Critics Association Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Supporting Actor (Runner-up) – National Society of Film Critics Best Screenplay (Runner-up) – National Society of Film Critics Best Screenplay (Runner-up) – National Society of Film Critics Best Picture – Online Film Critics Association Best Director – Online Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay – Online Film Critics Association Best Adapted Screenplay – Online Film Critics Association Best Editing – Online Film Critics Association Best Score – Online Film Critics Association Best Edited Feature - Drama – American Cinema Editors Guild Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Munich

Format: DVD

Release Date: 05/09/2006

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 164 Minutes

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Perry Seibert

Munich differs from all of Steven Spielberg's previous historical epics because, for the first time, the director is using the past to comment on the present. One of Spielberg's peerless talents is the ability to create tension-filled sequences. Munich's structure, following the exploits of a group of Israeli agents hunting down the terrorists responsible for the murder of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, allows Spielberg to put this talent on display throughout the movie. Each of these sequences is varied so that the film avoids becoming visually repetitive even though it clocks in at close to three hours. Though the film works strictly as a thriller, the excellent script traces the gradual emotional and psychological changes that occur to Avner (Eric Bana), the man leading the group. While he never questions the importance of what he does, or really the moral authority to do it, the film does not flinch from the consequences of living in a constant state of alertness fueled by paranoia and fear. The film acknowledges both the visceral thrill and the interior decay that results from vengeance -- a word that once served as the film's working title. Munich does not carry the weight of history that, say, Schindler's List does partly because Munich exists not in a black-and-white world of good and bad actions, but instead reveals a world full of grays. Munich, although about historical events, is very much about what America asks of itself during the war on terrorism. The screenplay is savvy enough to make these themes universal so that the film will not lose its power over time, but setting the film's final sequence with the World Trade Center in the background should tip audiences to the fact that Spielberg has created a very personal reaction to current events. Taken with the same year's politically pointed remake of War of the Worlds, Munich reveals Spielberg to be, at 60, a director committed to making important films that address the tenor of the times. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Guy Zo-Aretz  Actor 
Kathleen Kennedy  Producer 
Eric Roth  Screenwriter 
Steven Spielberg  Director 
Steven Spielberg  Producer 
John Williams  Composer (Music Score) 
Colin Wilson  Producer 
Barry Mendel  Producer 
Tony Kushner  Screenwriter 
Eric Bana  Actor 
Daniel Craig  Actor 
Ciarán Hinds  Actor 
Mathieu Kassovitz  Actor 
Hanns Zischler  Actor 
Ayelet Zurer  Actor 
Geoffrey Rush  Actor 
Michel Lonsdale  Actor 
Mathieu Amalric  Actor 
Lynn Cohen  Actor 
Marie-Josée Croze  Actor 
Makram Khoury  Actor 
Yigal Naor  Actor 
Omar Metwally  Actor 
Moritz Bleibtreu  Actor 
Mostafa Djadjam  Actor 
Gila Almagor  Actor 
Moshe Ivgy  Actor 
Yvan Attal  Actor 
Hiam Abbass  Actor 
Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi  Actor 
Meret Becker  Actor 
Brian Goodman  Actor 
Hicham Nazzal  Actor 

Country: USA