Accuracies And Inaccuracies In The Film Munich

The movie Munich is a critically acclaimed film that follows Mossad agent Avner Kaufman, as he assassinates every member of the Black September group that took eleven Israeli athletes hostage during the 1972 Olympics. The movie was so popular because of its mixture of historical accuracy and added drama to make the movie a thriller. This paper will go into detail about the accuracies and inaccuracies of the film Munich. This paper will show one example of how “based on true events” doesn't necessarily mean everything in the movie is accurate. Munich is an on screen adaptation of the aftermath of the 1972 Summer Olympic massacre. Eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were taken hostage by members of a Palestinian terrorist group named Black September. (Arnold “Attack on Israeli Olympians is Starting Point in ‘Munich’) All eleven of the athletes were killed and the movie
In the movie Munich, three inaccuracies stand out: Avner Kaufman’s moral doubt, Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir’s demeanor, and the depiction that one group did all of the assassinations. In the movie, Avner shows quite a bit of uncertainty and moral doubt. Avner says several times during the movie “All the blood comes back to us” (Rothstein “Seeing Terrorism as Drama With Sequels and Prequels”). However, in the book Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team, which the movie is based off, Avner shows no uncertainty or guilt of his actions. Golda Meir is shown as not really knowing the whole situation. However, in real life she has a completely different demeanor. (Halevy “Spielberg’s facts and fiction”) Lastly, the book Striking Back: The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and Israel’s Deadly Response questions the validity of Avner’s assassination team. The book believes that there were several assassin groups out to kill the Black September