September 5, 1972. The darkest day in sports history. Some 900 million sports fans tune in to watch the Olympics on TV. Instead, they see the most shocking scenes unfold… screen legend William Holden (The Devil’s Brigade, Breezy) and Shirley Knight (The Group, Juggernaut) turn this real-life catastrophic event into a mesmerizing story of suspense, anger and disbelief. The perpetrators wear tracksuits, but they are anything but athletes. Known as “Black September,” these Arab terrorists storm the Olympic village before dawn and take the Israeli team hostage. They make their demands as the minutes tick by. But from this point on, it isn’t about who takes home the gold. It’s about who comes home at all. Franco Nero (The Mercenary), Anthony Quayle (The Tamarind Seed) and Richard Basehart (The Satan Bug) co-star in this pulse-pounding TV movie from veteran director William A. Graham (Change of Habit) based on Serge Groussard’s book The Blood of Israel.
For thoughts on 21 Hours At Munich, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic here.
Video Quality
21 Hours At Munich makes its Blu-Ray debut courtesy of Kino Classics with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in two different optional aspect ratios, the 1.33:1 TV Ratio and the 1.78:1 Theatrical. While there is no specific info about this being from a new 2K scan, the image is incredibly strong and gorgeous throughout leading us to believe it was remastered at some point. This transfer maintains the natural film grain of the presentation with only minor instances of it looking a bit uneven. The picture can run a bit soft in long shots, but colors are well saturated with the bright hues of nature coming through. Skin tones are mostly natural and consistent with facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Instances of print damage such as nicks and scratches occasionally pop up, but overall clarity and detail is quite strong. The presentation is enjoyable throughout most of the runtime with image stability and delineation being admirable. Black levels hold up well with very little in the way of crush. This presentation is pretty great and should make fans very happy.
Audio Quality
This new Blu-Ray comes with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that features all of the sounds of the film quite well. The environmental effects are delineated nicely from the thrilling kinetic scenes to the quieter moments of the standoff. The track avoids most instances of age related wear and tear or distortion. The dialogue holds up wonderfully, coming through clearly without being stepped on by the music or sound effects. The score of the film holds up with a nice fidelity that rarely falters in a significant way. This and all of the other sounds are presented with great clarity and a pleasing fidelity as they come through the room. This is a track that represents the film in a solid manner. Optional English subtitles are provided on this disc.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Film Historian/Screenwriter Gary Gerani provides a very informative commentary track in which he gives a great deal of historical context for these events as well as details on the performers and production of this television film. For those who are not as familiar with the particulars of this period in time, you will find this one very valuable for enriching the overall experience.
- Trailers: The two-and-a-half minute trailer for 21 Hours At Munich is provided here. There are also trailers provided for The Devil’s Brigade, The Revengers, The Mercenary, Enter The Ninja and Juggernaut.
Final Thoughts
21 Hours At Munich is a pretty solid thriller which succeeds in quickening your pulse and keeping you glued to the screen. William Holden, Franco Nero and Shirley Knight all keep this story grounded with some great performances that make you that much more invested in the outcome. For a feature that was made so soon after the real-life events, the piece does an admirable job of capturing the basics of what went down while providing some of the typical Hollywood exaggeration. Kino Classics has released a Blu-Ray featuring a pretty terrific A/V presentation and an informative commentary track. If you have been waiting for this one to be upgraded to high definition, you should not be let down. Recommended
21 Hours At Munich is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
