One Day in September

Directed by Kevin MacDonald

Starring: Documentary, Narrated by Michael Douglas
MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Review by Shawn Drury

With the release of Steven Spielberg’s Munich another film about the very same subject is worth
consideration. The Olympic Games have been, are, and always will be a political event more than anything
else. Dating back to the Olympics held in Nazi Germany in 1936, through the display of Black Power by
American sprinters at Mexico City in 1968 and on to the respective boycotts by the United States in 1980
and by the then-Soviet Union in 1984. The aforementioned, while memorable, are examples of political
protest and use of the massive public forum that is the Summer Olympics to essentially make a point.

However, at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, West Germany, non-violent protest
was superceded by the most abrupt and tragic act of violence to ever visit an international sporting event. In
1972, any lingering notion of the Olympics as a display of sport, and sport only was put to rest forever. In
the early-morning hours of September 5, 1972, the compound housing the Israeli Olympic team was
overrun by eight Palestinian terrorists. Eleven hostages were taken and the terrorists immediately
demanded that 200 Palestinians be released from Israeli jails in exchange for the release of the athletes.
Israel's Prime Minister Golda Meir refused to cave-in to any demands. Television viewers witnessed armed,
hooded gunmen outside the living quarters of defenseless, apolitical athletes. A horrifying spectacle
narrated by the subdued voice of ABC Sports announcer Jim Mckay. Within twenty-four hours the athletes
and terrorists—from the self-anointed Black September movement—were en route to a nearby airport,
presumably to fly them out of West Germany. Upon arrival at the airport, a rescue team engaged the
terrorists and the resulting shootout left all of the Israeli athletes, five of the eight terrorists and one
policeman dead.

Director Kevin MacDonald and producer Arthur Cohn in the Academy Award winning-
documentary, One Day in September, capture these events. Cohn previously produced Barbara Koppel's
Academy Award-Winning documentary American Dream about a bitter strike at a Hormel meat-packing
plant. One Day in September uses a combination of interviews, archival and never-before-seen footage to
revisit the tragedy. The filmmakers spent over two years conducting research and their findings are
troubling to say the least. For those who watched the events as they happened, this film can only confirm
your worst fears and for those too young to remember the 1972 Summer Olympics the film is a case-study
in the rise of modern terrorism. Strong evidence suggests that East German authorities—Communists—
allowed the terrorists to enter the Olympic Village, which was under heavy security. Further, it is believed
that the East Germans also helped the Black September movement obtain surveillance equipment to
monitor the comings and going not only of the Israelis but also of the rescue efforts being made on behalf
of the hostages once they were taken. Then there were the officials of the Olympics, led by the
controversial Avery Brundage. The officials determined that the situation could best be resolved away from
the Olympic Village and they determined the best place for negotiations to take place—and ultimately the
rescue attempt—was the airport. So, the athletes and their captors were taken by helicopter to the airport.
On the surface, this might not seem to have been a bad decision. However, the decision, according to the
filmmakers, was not made in the best interest of the hostages. One Day in September implies it was made
so the games could continue as if the crisis were but a minor incident, like inclement weather. The games
did in fact resume the next day.

While the East Germans may or may not have been complicit in the taking of the hostages, the
response of the West German authorities was inept at best. The film suggests that West German
sharpshooters were ordered to occupy and then overrun the airplane before takeoff. But, no West German
police officers were willing to risk hiding on the plane. In addition, the authorities placed only five snipers
(without the benefit of communication) at the airport to launch the rescue mission, assuming there were less
than eight terrorists. They proved to be grotesquely undermanned and all of the snipers were killed while a
tank (ordered too late) waded through traffic on a road that had not been cleared of journalists. The
shootout at the airport left three survivors, all of whom were terrorists. Two of the terrorists were hunted
down by the Mossad and killed. This is the subject of Spielberg’s film. The only survivor is Jamil Al
Gashey, who is in hiding in Africa. Al Gashey agreed to appear in the film under the provision that his
facial features not be revealed. And so it is Al Gashey who provides the most riveting testimony—as a
witness and a willing participant in a massacre. One Day in September is a remarkable historical document
and a sad commentary on the absence of sport at what is clearly defined to be an athletic competition.