One Day in September (1999)

This recounting of the worst 24 hours in the history of the Olympics makes it clear how naïve much of the world was in 1972 when it came to dealing with the brand of ruthless terrorism that has haunted Americans since their own September tragedy 29 years later. Much of the blame for the Olympics disaster, the film makes clear, should fall on German officials. Happy to host an Olympiad, the first in their country since the infamous 1936 Berlin Games, they discouraged tight security at the Olympic Village, allowing the terrorists to walk in unchallenged with a group of athletes returning from a night of carousing. At the air force base where the hostages were to be rescued, a disorganized assault led to their deaths, and the government subsequently dealt away the three terrorists it did manage to capture in a hijacking hostage swap. The film is an exciting blend of pertinent TV news coverage and contemporary interviews, all of which add a sense of perspective; none more so than the one with the lone surviving terrorist, whose two companions have been assassinated by Israeli intelligence commandos. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide