One Day in September

Watched this Academy Award documentary by chance yesterday. It was so dark, so I have to switch to Spanish Appartment for a resue afterwards. One Day in September is about the murder of Israeli athelets in Munich in 1972 Olympics. Although the film Munich from the past year makes the event popularized, not many people are aware of the 1999 documentary on the same topic. In contrast to the movie, the documentary describes the event from the perspective of the only surviving terrorist and uses a lot of footage of CBS Peter Jennis coverage of the event. Here is the introduction from Wikipedia: "The documentary begins with an advertisement by the Munich Tourism Bureau then continues with interviews with the wives of some of the murdered athletes, including Ankie Spitzer, wife of Andre Spitzer. It also features the first interview with Jamal Al-Gashey, the only surviving terrorist (the rest having been killed in the attack or later by the Mossad's Operation Wrath of God), who is in hiding in Africa. He wears a cap and sunglasses and his face is slightly blurred. There are various shots of the games getting underway, and attention is given to the lax security the Germans had at the games. The terrorists are seen preparing for the assault: Al-Gashey, a member of Black September, says he and the other members were trained in Libya before going to West Germany to begin the assault. The assault is described by Al-Gashey as well as some of the German security staff present. Footage of ABC anchor Jim McKay is interspersed, along with sound clips of Peter Jennings, to provide an as-it-happened approach. The film alleges that the rescue operation was poorly planned and executed: the snipers were not prepared, as well as being poorly positioned. The film implies that had the German government prepared better, the athletes might have been saved. Former Mossad Director Zvi Zamir was present at the airport during the final gunfight, and was interviewed for the first time about his views on the failed rescue. The film also alleges that the October 29 hijacking of a German Lufthansa jet and the subsequent release of the three Black September members being held for trial was a set-up by the German government."