September 5 (2024) opens Friday

This is the story of the people of ABC Sports who stepped up to bring the world the story of the terrorist attack on the 1972 Olympics. It is only the story of what happened during the short time before the attack happened until it ended.

Let me repeat that- this is only the story of how the men and women of ABC Sports covered the terrorist kidnapping. We largely only see what the people in the control room see, nothing else. We also are only focused on those hours. I mention this again because if you are looking for the lives of Roone Arledge or Peter Jennings or  Geoffrey Mason you'll have to look else where. Indeed the film doesn't even tell us anything related to them in the two end slides. 

I am saying that because I suspect that some people are going to want to know things that are outside of the events on screen. I am also saying it because there was a moment when I briefly broke with the film. I wanted to know more. I thought I needed to see or know more. I was wrong. Shortly after breaking with the film I suddenly reconnected with the film when I realized that the film, in it's simplicity, was infinitely more complex than it seems.

What this film is a look at how we get our news. It's a film that looks at how the decisions of what we see are made. It's a film that makes you wonder about the news and about the people who report. We watch the men as they wrestle with what are they going to do if they start to kill people... and in a shattering moment they are forced to ponder if they are helping or hurting when they discover that the terrorists can see their reports.

This film rocked me to the core. I was on the edge of my seat, shifting my position every few minutes. I say that as an expression about how great this film is- I knew what happened and how, having read the accounts, seen documentaries, and yet I watched and had no clue as to what was happening. I wanted to see how it all played out. Any film that can make you forget what happened, especially if it was something that you watch happen live on TV (which I did, because I am that old) is a great film.

Not to mince words SEPTEMBER 5 is one of the best films of 2024. This is one of the most entertaining films of the year. It's also, despite seeming simple, one of the most thoughtful films.

Highly recommended.