Yahoo Lifestyle 'September 5' Fact v. Fiction: What the Movie About the 1972 Munich Massacre Got Right
The newsroom thriller September 5 tells the story of the ABC sports broadcasting team covering the terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. In the midst of a hostage situation involving the militant group Black September and Israeli athletes, the journalists, sent to cover athletic events, are forced to report the events on live TV in a daring act of news coverage.
September 5, which was directed and co-written by Swiss filmmaker Tim Fehlbaum, stars Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro and others as the ABC journalists and production team working out of a studio just a few yards away from the Olympic village. As the events that would become known as the "Munich massacre" unfold, the film depicts the game-time decisions made by the journalists. The events live on in history and changed the news journalism landscape forever. But what did the movie get right and which details did they change for Hollywood? Here are the details behind the tragic true story that inspired September 5:
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Is the September 5 movie based on a true story?
Yes. September 5 is based on the true story behind the Munich massacre from the perspective of the ABC sports broadcasting network team. It focuses on the camera crews, reporters and producers who went above and beyond to capture the Israeli hostage situation in real time and broadcast it live on TV.
Per the Paramount Pictures synopsis, "September 5 unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today. Set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, the film follows an American Sports broadcasting team that quickly adapted from sports reporting to live coverage of the Israeli athletes taken hostage. Through this lens, 'September 5' provides a fresh perspective on the live broadcast seen globally by an estimated one billion people at the time.”
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What happened during the 1972 Munich massacre?
On September 5, 1972, during the Munich Summer Olympics, members of a Palestinian terrorist group named Black September infiltrated the Olympic village and took 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage. The group demanded the release of Palestinians and non-Arab prisoners held in Israel, and for each hour their demands weren't met, they threatened to kill off one of the hostages. Two of the victims were killed during the initial attack.
The events shocked the world, and those who were covering the Olympics for ABC Sports were tasked with covering the events as the crisis unfolded in real time. Their coverage was seen by millions of people, including Black September members who watched the ABC footage of themselves from a hotel TV.
The Munich police tried twice to rescue the hostages. The second attempt involved moving the Black September members and Israeli hostages to the Munich-Riem Airport where police attempted to ambush the terrorists and save the hostages. The German officers were given sniper roles, but had not been trained in the weaponry they were assigned. In the bungled rescue mission, the entire Israeli team, five of the terrorists and one German police officer were all killed.
Did the terrorists actually see their own broadcast on television?
Yes. The first attempt at recovering the hostages failed due to nearly everyone tuning into ABC's live coverage of the event.
Per Britannica, "While negotiations were ongoing, a planned rescue attempt had to be called off when it was realized that the actions of West German police were being broadcast live to nearly 1 billion people around the world and to the many televisions throughout the Olympic Village."
How many people watched the coverage?
About 900 million people watched the attack unfold on television.
Did Gary Slaughter actually disguise himself as an athlete?
According to author Travis Vogan, he did. In the book ABC Sports: The Rise and Fall of Network Sports Television, Vogan reveals how the network team allegedly got access into the Olympic Village for the camera crew. "Temporary ABC employee Gary Slaughter was shuttling supplies into and out of the Village while posing as a member of the US track team," Vogan writes.
The film recreates that incident, with Slaughter (Daniel Adeosun) duct taping film canisters to his stomach, and donning a tracksuit and a faux badge.
Not in September 5 is ABC allegedly creating a fake ice cream truck. Vogan writes, "Several of the network’s technicians sneaked in a remote truck by purchasing the signage from an ice cream van and pasting it over the vehicle’s company logos."
Did the ABC team misreport that the hostages had lived?
Yes. Late on September 5 with little information coming out of the airport, news sources did report the German rescue mission as a success. It wasn't until hours later on September 6 that official word came that all the hostages had been killed.
Were there any survivors of the attack?
No. Sadly, all 11 hostages that were taken were murdered during a failed rescue attempt.
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Was Geoffrey Mason, played by John Magaro, a real person?
Yes Geoffrey Mason is real and still kicking today. In 1972, he was a 30-year-old coordinating producer at the Summer Olympics who took matters into his own hands during the Munich massacre. Mason helmed the ABC control room during the live coverage of the events. Per the Victory Foundation, "Geoffrey Mason is one of sports television’s most accomplished and honored production executives. A 26-time Emmy Award winner, he has more than 50 years of domestic and international broadcast experience."
Was the German translator Marianne Gebhardt a real person?
In September 5, the ABC Sports team is aided by German translator Marianne Gebhardt, played by The Teachers' Lounge's Leonie Benesch. While her character is integral to the film, Gebhardt is largely a work of fiction. Despite there being translators present at the time, Gebhardt is not based on one person. In discussing the reason for the creation of the character with IndieWire, Benesch said, “First, you need a woman in there somewhere, but also there had to be a representative of Germany at the time.”
What happened to ABC Sports Broadcasting team after the 1972 Olympics?
Following the events of the day, Mason's superior Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) went on to become President of ABC News from 1977-1998. He's also the creator of ongoing programs vital to the ABC News brand, including Nightline and 20/20. Arledge died in 2002.
Mason continued to work in sports television and held numerous roles on sports-affiliated networks, including ESPN. He was very integral to the launch of the NFL Network as well during the early 2000s.
Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin) continued to serve as VP of Olympic Operations for ABC up to 1992. Bader died in 2012.
Peter Jennings (Benjamin Walker) would go on to become the sole anchor of ABC World News Tonight a decade after his work reporting from the Olympic village. He served as the anchor from 1983 until his death in 2005.
