The Bottom Line
Pros
- Movie contains some sequences of heart-pounding excitement
- Film raises thought-provoking issues
- DVD bonus materials enhance understanding of movie
Cons
- Movie gives viewer no one to root for and offers no big payoff
- Interpretation of film left up to viewer (could be a pro)
- Some people are troubled by political controversy surrounding movie
Description
- Two-disc DVD set containing film Munich (2005), a political thriller about counterterrorism
- Directed by Steven Spielberg, movie was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture
- DVD features four-and-a-half-minute intro by Spielberg
- DVD set contains six featurettes that together comprise a making-of documentary of about 75 minutes
- MPAA rating: R for strong graphic violence, some sexual content, nudity and language
- Feature film run time: 2 hours 44 minutes
- DVD release date: May 9, 2006
Guide Review - Munich Two-Disc Collector's Edition DVD
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Munich is a bleak, noirish drama that was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture. Inspired by real events, the film is about a five-man squad sent out by Israel when 11 members of its 1972 Olympic team were murdered in the German city that gives the film its title. Led by Avner (Eric Bana), the squad is tasked by the Israeli government with tracking down and assassinating Palestinians in Europe.
To my mind, Munich is a daring film because it takes on difficult issues and provides no easy answers. Unlike most Hollywood movies that make it painfully obvious what the filmmaker wants the audience to think and feel, I was impressed by how Munich has an almost European art-house sensibility: Spielberg leaves the interpretation up to viewers, who must examine their own beliefs and emotions. I got a deeper appreciation of the movie when I watched Spielberg on the DVD talking about his intentions in making the film in his introduction.
The Munich Collector's Edition DVD set provides six featurettes with a total run time of an hour and a quarter. These contain information about how the film came to be made, actual events that occurred during the 1972 Munich kidnapping and massacre, production design and costuming, location shooting in Malta and Budapest, the actors from many countries that were cast in the movie's 155 speaking parts, and post-production.
