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| Munich (Widescreen Edition) |
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List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $12.75
You Save: $17.23 (57%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $8.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 98 reviews)
Sales Rank: 35
Category: DVD
Director: Steven Spielberg
Publisher: Universal Studios
Studio: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Label: Universal Studios
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 164 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 025192182327
EAN: 0025192182327
ASIN: B000F1IQN2
Release Date: May 9, 2006
Theatrical Release Date: January 6, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
At its core, Munich is a straightforward thriller. Based on the book Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas, its built on a relatively stock movie premise, the revenge plot: innocent people are killed, the bad guys got away with it, and someone has to make them pay. But director Steven Spielberg uses that as a starting point to delve into complex ethical questions about the cyclic nature of revenge and the moral price of violence. The movie starts with a rush. The opening portrays the kidnapping and murder of Israeli athletes by PLO terrorists at the 1972 Olympics with scenes as heart-stopping and terrifying as the best of any horror movie. After the tragic incident is over and several of the terrorists have gone free, the Israeli government of Golda Meir recruits Avner (Eric Bana) to lead a team of paid-off-the-book agents to hunt down those responsible throughout Europe, and eliminate them one-by-one (in reality, there were several teams). Its physically and emotionally messy work, and conflicts between Avner and his teams handler, Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), over information Avner doesnt want to provide only make things harder. Soon the work starts to take its toll on Avner, and the deeper moral questions of right and wrong come into play, especially as it becomes clear that Avner is being hunted in return, and that his familys safety may be in jeopardy.
By all rights, Munich should be an unqualified success--it has gripping subject matter relevant to current events; it was co-written by one of Americas greatest living playwrights (Tony Kushner, Angels in America) and an accomplished screenwriter (Eric Roth); it stars an appealing and likeable actor in Eric Bana; and it was helmed by Steven Spielberg, of all people. While it certainly is a great movie, it falls just short of the immense heights such talent should propel it to. This is due more to some questionable plot devices than anything else (such as the contrived use of a family of French informants to locate the terrorists). But while certain aspects ring hollow, the movie as a whole is a profound accomplishment, despite being only "inspired by true events," and not factually based on them. From the ferocious beginning to the unforgettable closing shot, Munich works on a visceral level while making a poignant plea for peace, and issuing an unmistakable warning about the destructive cycle of terror and revenge. As one of the characters intones, "There is no peace at the end of this." --Daniel Vancini
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Customer Reviews: Read 93 more reviews...
Spielberg's MUNICH takes you back... July 6, 2006
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I remember this timeline faintly as a wee lad. So for that reason, along with the fact that most of Steven Spielberg's films are good, I decided to see this film.
Other than SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, one of my all-time favorite war films, MUNICH didn't seem like the typical Spielberg film. No WAR OF THE WORLDS nor dinos here. But an assembly of assassins that one won't soon forget. Set in the early 70's, MUNICH takes one back to when terrorists first started making their appearance on American TV's.
Highly political, with intrigues and mysteries of various dark organizations, MUNICH takes you through a labyrinth of dark corridors throughout Europe and stains each one with blood.
With a rich ensemble cast, MUNICH is tightly well written, although some may be somewhat lost in the various long histories of the several peoples involved. But the main character, the leader of the assassins, played by The HULK's and TROY's Eric Bana, does a great acting performance here.
There is a lot going on in this film. Lots of action and intrigue. But most of all, it makes one look at the heart, perhaps the very root of the problems at several warring factions. If you have nearly 3 hours to kill, then this film is for you.
It is an important film.
"We are supposed to be righteous." July 6, 2006
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
For starters, the makers of MUNICH assume viewers will possess a certain knowledge base about the tragedy of the 1972 Olympics. For younger viewers, the documentary ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER is a great way to get up to speed.
As for this movie, it's based on the book VENGEANCE, by George Jonas. That volume's verisimilitude has been questioned in some quarters. Given its subject, that's unsurprising. However, an NPR interview with a Mossad veteran kept sticking in my mind while watching MUNICH. The agent chuckled merrily at the notion of Israeli agents paying large sums of money for information, as opposed to just doing the intelligence gathering themselves.
So when MUNICH starts with the dreaded "Based on real events" tagline, I was already wondering if Spielberg just wanted both free artistic license and a certain credibility. But before I get in too deep here, let me hasten to say that this movie is quite well made and worth watching. Look elsewhere for plot details; for my part, I found the movie very interesting and pertinent.
SPOILER ALERT: Tony Kushner's screenplay adaptation explores the issues of conscience and doubt for our assassins, but particularly reprehensible was his intercutting of our protagonist making love to his wife with shots of Israeli athletes being slaughtered in Munich. That seemed gratuitous and sicko-sexual to this viewer.
A probing but inconclusive film July 6, 2006
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Steven Spielberg once again makes a thrilling and capable film. He is the ultimate master of timing and suspense; he never forgets the audience's need for a good story.
I regret, though, that I watched his introduction to the film (one of the options on the DVD) before viewing the film itself. He is bending over backwards to explain that this is not a political movie (i.e., no message here that could be construed as anti-Israel, anti-war). But really, I'm sorry, that's disingenuous, for this is obviously an anti-war movie. You only need to focus on the final frame, an endlessly long shot of the World Trade Center in New York, to appreciate this fact fully. Clearly, Spielberg has had a stomach full of violence in the name of peace and has made a protest film, the message of which is that killing breeds only more of the same and degrades the humanity of those recruited in its cause, however idealistic and decent they start out.
I think I would have admired the film more if I hadn't watched its director retract its obvious message beforehand. That he felt the need to do so simply underscores how tormented and fraught the current political situation has become.
Munich is also obviously a double-entendre, since it is both the birthplace of Hitler and the site of the terrorist attacks on the Israeli Olympic athletes. How much longer will the human race need to endure such evil cycles of violence? This is the sad question this dark and powerful film asks. Unfortunately, its maker has neither answers nor the courage of his own convictions.
MUNICH July 4, 2006
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
IT WAS A VERY GOOD MOVIE IF YOU LISTENED CLOSE AND GOT THROUGH THEIR ACCENTS. THE MOVIE TERRORIZES TERRORISTS AND THAT MADE FOR SOME GOOD ACTION AND DRAMA.
THNX,
BILL CUNNINGHAM
 a captivating thrill ride July 2, 2006
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Can you be a killer and still hold on to your humanity? What happens to a kind, compassionate person who suddenly finds himself assigned to assassinate 11 men in any way possible? What happens when you start to see the residual effects of your work, when your victims' cohorts start to kill innocent civilians in retaliation for something that you've done? What will that do to you?
These are questions that are beautifully examined by the people who made Munich. They've created a character in Avner who demands our sympathy because he cannot become so hardened that he loses his compassion, but who is able to kill men because his "bosses" have told him that they deserve to be killed; he requires no evidence at all of their guilt, just his commanders' word. Eric Bana does a brilliant job of expressing the turmoil that such a man must face in the course of "doing his job."
Bana is surrounded by a great cast of supporting actors and a script that creates an unstoppable intensity. While there are a couple of weaker scenes that are more distracting than anything else, such as the entire episode with the Dutch woman and the visit to Louis' "papa," they don't detract enough to affect the flow of this film.
What makes Avner unique among the agents that we usually see in such movies is that he's neither willing nor able to stay completely focused on the task at hand. His family and his home remain just as important to him as the men he is stalking. While the horrific murders at the Munich Olympic games provide a cause justifiable enough for Avner to give up his identity and leave his family while he hunts for the people who supposedly masterminded the attack, he's unable to stay away from his wife when she gives birth to their daughter. Spielberg and crew have given us a human being whose job it is to kill others, not some sort of machine who's able to kill without a thought about the repercussions of his actions.
I would like to see this film go under a different title. Again, the happenings in Munich provide the catalyst for the story, but the movie itself is the story of one individual who struggles to maintain his humanity while he commits one of the most inhuman acts of all--the murder of another human being--over and over. Watching his struggle with his actions and their results is an extremely moving experience. Be prepared for a lot of brutal violence, but also look for the struggles that men go through when called to commit that violence and make it a way of life.
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