FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Munich [DVD] [2005]

Munich [DVD] [2005]
enlarge	Actors: Geoffrey Rush, Ciaran Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Michael Lonsdale Studio: Universal Pictures Video Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy Used: £0.54 as of 23/11/2009 15:02 GMT details You Save: £19.45 (97%) New (10) Used (36) from £0.54 Seller: zoverstocks Rating: 56 reviews Sales Rank: 24544 Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Dolby, Digital Sound, Surround Sound Languages: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), Arabic (Subtitled), Icelandic (Subtitled), English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 157 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5050583028880 ASIN: B000EF5SZI Theatrical Release Date: 2005 Release Date: June 12, 2006 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review IMunich/I is a film with no easy answers, and plenty of uncomfortable moments. It also finds Steven Spielberg on masterly form behind the camera, telling a relentlessly serious and unsettling story with the gravitas it absolutely requires. P Set immediately after the murder of nine Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics (an event that's brutally re-enacted), the film is supposedly a fictionalised account based on true events of what happened next. Namely, the Israelis ordering together a secret team--led by Eric Bana's Avner--to take out those they considered responsible. P Only it's not that easy. It doesn't take long for the film to start blurring the moral debate. Is what Avner and his team are doing that different from the original assassins? Can he reconcile the brutality of his actions? And what happens when the programme of retaliation doesn't go quite to plan? P By turns, IMunich/I is a brutal, gripping and important film. It's not always easy to penetrate, and it really demands some good old-fashioned concentration to fully appreciate it. Yet it's superb filmmaking, and an engrossing piece of cinema. Oscar may have snubbed it, but you'd be wise not to make the same mistake.--IJon Foster/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 56 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...12 Next » "You're ordinary, ''You're not a Sabra Charles Bronson." May 13, 2006 M. J Leonard (Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA United States) 31 out of 37 found this review helpful It's thought provoking, it's balanced and director Stephen Spielberg doesn't waste anytime getting to the heart of the issues or the action. Munich works on a number of levels as an audacious political statement, a tense thriller, and an inspiringly brutal look at two peoples forever caught up in a cycle of violence, constantly drowning in a sea of their own blood. br / br /It's a bleak vision and Spielberg carries it off beautifully, providing us with a clipped and tight back-story, where the Palestinian terrorists invade the Olympic village in Munich, killing two members of the Israeli team and taking another nine as hostages. br / br /The Israeli response is swift and fast with Prime Minister Golda Meir (Lynn Cohen) authorizing a top-secret assassination campaign which will carried out by the security agency Mossad, aimed at wiping out those who had planned the attack. It is left to the hunky Mossad agent Avner (Eric Bana) to emotionally and strategically shoulder most of the burden. br / br /The team is a seemingly innocuous and innocent mix. Daniel Craig's Steve is the group's impulsive hard-liner, a strapping Israeli itching for reprisal, often clashing with Ciaran Hinds' Carl, the cleanup man. There's a sweet-faced bomb expert named Robert (Mathieu Kassovitz), and a thoughtful muscleman (Hanns Zischler). br / br /As Avner cooks dinner, they all get to know one another, hashing out the fine details and the boarder implications for themselves and for the Jewish state. And so the methodological killing begins, yet as Munich progresses, what remains of certainty vanishes, replaced by a thousand conflicting agendas. br / br /This is a world where the rule of the law is superfluous and where allegiances are none, the only constants are mistrust, paranoia, and the need to find more names, which inevitably comes at a price. No one is ever who they are, a drunk on the corner may be CIA, or KGB or the seductress at the hotel bar might be a hit woman. br / br /Spielberg wisely avoids any soapbox speeches, but he does allow his characters to present both sides of the argument: At a safe house in Athens, Avner is confronted with a young Arab who tells him if the desperate need for a Palestinian homeland, a place they can call their own. And back in Israel, Avner's mother tells him that Israel is their land, finally they have a home and they will fight to keep it. br / br /In Munich the themes are universal - the moral imperatives of violence, and in what circumstances can one justify such senseless murder. As Avner and his colleagues continue their operation, they become psychologically immune to it all. Yes - the operation may be successfully carried out, but how long will it be before righteous anger - the anger of the Israelis - can be continued before stumbling into bloody-mindedness? The irony is that in demonizing these Palestinian terrorists, they are themselves acquiring similar gruesome aspects. br / br /It's all about the cycle of violence, a common problem that has plagued the Middle East for generations and will probably continue to do so. Munich deftly shows that everyone has their reasons for hating the other side - whether it is religious intolerance, or the fight over land rights - everyone ultimately thinks they're right, but such a stalemate can never be broken by killing people whatever side of the fence you are on. Mike Leonard May 06. br / Dark and Disturbing November 14, 2006 Paisley Paige (London) 13 out of 15 found this review helpful Strong performances by the entire cast and I think casting Eric Bana as the main character was pure genius. Just looking at the external character without even looking on the inside it is sad to watch something so beautiful become so distorted and ugly. A dark, disturbing story about a time that I was to young to remember. I never want to see this film again as I found it so harrowing. War is an ugly business but when fuelled by revenge it destroys so many lives that you begin to question whether it is worth it; using religion to support your behaviour is sad and disturbing, which I feel is the lesson here: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth will only leave this us eyeless and toothless. I would ask everyone to see this film because despite its dark historical story it is very applicable to the times we live in today. Quite simply, a masterpiece August 22, 2006 Serious collector (U.K.) 16 out of 19 found this review helpful Having read the review by Ben Stewart stating that this DVD omits the violence that took place at the Munich Olympics in 1972 and then took the DVD off after watching it for 5 minutes, I can only advise Mr. Stewart to watch it again and stay with it for the full two and three quarter hours. Truly this is an absorbing thriller inspired by real events. It is also Steven Spielberg's finest film since "Schindler's List." br / br /To those who accuse Spielberg of displaying unfair bias, I can only assume they haven't really understood the thrust of the story. Every story must have a viewpoint and Spielberg has told this story from the viewpoint of the "hit squad" assigned to br /kill those responsible for the Munich massacre and the effect it has on their private lives. In this, he has succeeded magnificently. br / br /The film, intelligently scripted, expertly directed and well acted, contains some of the most suspenseful sequences ever staged. But it's not purely an action film. It manages to cover the differing aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and finds fault on both sides. It also points to the profiteering that is so much a part of the business of assasination. It shows that even the most dedicated paid killers can have conscience qualms. I have never before seen a film that deals with these issues so touchingly and so brilliantly. Quite simply, this is a masterpiece that stands up to repeated viewings. I cannot recommend it highly enough. br / br / Excellent movie September 18, 2006 Charles Wolf (Italia) 12 out of 14 found this review helpful This is a complete movie, and a very good one too! br /It has action scenes and a truly thrilling plot. Good filming and acting. It's based on truth but it shows aspects that are not confirmed by anybody but are actualy possible and that nobody is denying, so... br /It does criticise the Israel foreign affair politics but it also gives the viewer reasons to justify and understand certain actions. br / br /Over all is a very brilliant film, you'll find yourself completely absorbed from the begining till the end and it will leave you with some questions and doubts to discuss with whomever you watched the film with. br / br / Another eye-opener from Spielberg. July 28, 2007 Hugh Garske (Maidenhead, UK) 11 out of 13 found this review helpful The movie follows a group of assassins hired by Israel as they bungle their way through the murder of those potentially involved with the slaughter of the Israeli athletes. As a result they ignite retaliatory attacks and also become much sought-after targets themselves. br / br /This is an eye-opening insight into the world of international terrorism and espionage and shows us that there is actually a shred of human element to these acts of barbarity. br / br /One of the most appealing things about this movie is that Spielberg isn't blatantly taking sides (although virtually all character development is retricted to Israeli-based characters...who are central to the story), he's just reporting the known facts as per the book that the story is based on, and as a result we are presented with both the Israeli and Arab sides of the argument for the conflict. br / br /Eric Bana seems to have difficulty with the accent on occasion, but apart from that provides a sterling role as does the rest of the cast in particular Daniel Craig who interestingly seems to shine in roles where he is required to dispose of people. Showing reviews 1-5 of 56 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...12 Next »

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