Spielberg & Kushner's Munich '72 / Israeli vengeance film

I didn't think so... early State of the Union cocktails? ;)

Eric, I knew you had it in you.

http://mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com/2006/02/stain-on-mind_113955479003282498.html

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/wireditems/2006/03/seriouslyfuck_y.php

Really, get a load of that guy. "Ooooh, I TOOK DOWN Munich!" That's pathetic even for a showbiz blogger.

Lots of subtlties. The last exchange b/w Bana and Londsdale when the former is leaving the country house: ("You could be my son. But you're not") and its agonzing payoff later, when Papa seems to sell Avner and his gang out.

Welcome to the converts' tent, Alfred! Today's Village Voice digs in its heels: "a paragon of moral and political incoherence."

They wouldn't be me, tho.

Good attention to detail recreating 70s urban Europe I guess. That's about it. Or if making The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion look like the instruction pamphlet included with Candy Land is your thing, I guess it was pretty good at that too.

Filth. Good to know that human beings are all basically savages though, I hadn't ever thought about that before.

Spielberg's not got a tenth of the cynical chops of his idol. And yes I mean ...Capra.

John Williams's score came from an old DAT he found in his basement and then shipped USPS Media Mail. Didn't even bother with the bubble envelope.

Trying to one-up DePalma & Peckinpah (after quoting them endlessly throughout the movie; I'm amazed none of the PLOers got hung from a chopper) by delving into pornographic snuff probably not the best idea our Stevie's ever had.

The Godfather schtick was cute but also just as pointless as 85% of the other things that happen in this movie.

The final scene with the fucking and the machineguns and the slow-motion sweat droplets is one of the worst things I've seen on film in a very long time in terms of painfully, painfully hackneyed nonsense, and I've sat through at least 30 minutes of Bulletproof Monk on cable.

One last thing and I'm out: I amused myself endlessly this weekend imagining Owen Wilson cast in Daniel Craig's inexplicable part, and saying "The only blood I care about is Jewish blood!" in his easygoing texan accent.

?!

Lately I just imagine Ian McKellen playing every part:

"The only blood I care about is mutant – er, JEWISH – blood!"

Daniel Craig is absolutely terrible in this movie, btw, why is he in it? Wasn't there anyone else? Like actual Israelis maybe? Or hell, Ian McKellen or Owen Wilson, I don't care. Made me very much not look forward to the Bond film, though I never really do.

But yeah, what's the consensus? Gets better on second viewing? Not subtle, but not an unholy sin against the art of filmmaking? Everyone I talk to blows trumpets about how Spielberg "humanizes the terrorists" and my reaction is kind of, "yeah, three-dimensional characters, WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT."

i still like it, though! it's pretty tense and extremely well-made. i like daniel craig (i'm guessing it's possible that a south african jewish chap would throw his allegiance in with the israelis?)

and again the last shot of the film is nice.

The discussion well upthread about how the film is overlong and had seemingly 5 potential endings up thru the actual ending is pretty OTM, and the ending sex scene basically ruined the movie for me (I understand the "message" but I also wanna just quote s1ocki upthread: O RLY, Steven? RLY?). And everyone who claims the score to this is "subtle" is either a deaf person OR has such, such low expectations from John Williams at this point that anything seems subtle (the music in the sex scene finale, which hasn't been mentioned up to this point as far as I can tell, is absolutely the worst thing about it).

Eric Bana is surprisingly good in it, and his accent is excellent. The story itself is compelling. It has more in common with a couple of Baader-Meinhof inspired German films than it does with a lot of films referenced throughout this thread, and I guess ultimately I'd rather watch Bruno Ganz than Eric Bana. Overall kind of middling IMO, the last third of the film has a completely different pacing than the rest of it (a change for the worse), and some of the flaws become frustrating because you can see the point being made, but the execution kind of made me want to scream, "Yes, yes, we get it, v. clever, here's a pony ride."

It is, FWIW, much better than SPR or Amistad.

xpost possible but if that's what that accent is supposed to be he's going a bit Patsy Kensit isn't he.

The last third didn't seem rushed anymore. Since we'd followed these men for close to two hours (and several years) it made dramatic sense to see Bana, et al dessicated and embittered. This is signalled in the horrifying murder of the female assassin. Not that shes didn't have it coming, but the coldness with which Bana shoots her suggests that he's becoming the inhuman killer that Golda Meir claimed the Munich abductors were.

The sex scene still blows, but so few films are perfect I've learned to accept a fair amount of ridiculousness.

Like this guy?
http://www.jewishxpress.com/issue28/images/abba.jpg

I'm never going to get this out of my head.