A Plot Synopsis, Film Clips, Photos and Behind-The-Scenes Footage from Paramount Pictures’ ‘September 5’
Film Recap Written by Michael Lee
*All Media used in this article is courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures
The movie ‘September 5’, directed by Tim Fehlbaum, was released by Paramount Pictures on January 17, 2025. The film tells the story of pivotal moments from the 1972 Munich Olympics, where ABC Sports transitioned from sports reporting to covering the hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes. This article features the official trailer, a detailed recap, exclusive film stills, and behind-the-scenes footage from the movie.
Official Trailer: ‘September 5’ (2024)
Plot Synopsis
The film showcases what an ABC Sports TV control room was like during the Munich massacre when eight gunmen from Black September, a Palestinian militant group, infiltrated the Olympic village, killing two members of the Israeli athletic team while taking nine others hostage on September 5th, 1972. Black September organized this coup to free over 200 Palestinian prisoners. We also learn that Black September has taken hostage an Olympian, David Berger, an American/Israeli weightlifter.
‘September 5’ Film Clip: “This is Our Story” • Video Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
We first meet network executive Roone Arledge, who oversees the ABC Sports network team. He is the one who decides that they will be the main source of coverage during the crisis, though ABC demanded he transfer the story to the office’s main division. He is the one that directly chooses to keep the story within the sports division instead of handing it over to the news division for remote reporting. The crisis lasts for seventeen hours and ABC Sports covers the entirety of it.
‘September 5’ Film Featurette: “Crafts” • Video Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
There’s also ABC News producer Geoffrey Mason. Mason is ambitious and fresh-fashed, and his one true mission is proving himself to Arledge, who happens to be his boss. Mason is the one who has to make decisions that could result in life or death for people on either side of the lens, while balancing the demands of his on-site supervisor with those of the executives and rivals back home. He calls most of the shots during the live reporting.
‘September 5’ Film Directing Featurette • Video Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Then there’s Marvin Bader, the head of operation at ABC Sports, along with Marianne Gebhardt, a junior crewmember who can understand both German and Hebrew. She assists the crew in translating both for Black September and the Germans in Munich. Bader, is a Jewish man, one who’s family life has been torn apart by the Holocaust and the events happen to be taking place in Germany, which is exceptionally difficult to wrap his head around properly. Additionally, ABC anchor Jim McKay appears through archival footage from Wide World of Sports.
‘September 5’ Film Ensemble Featurette • Video Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
The reporter live at the event is Peter Jennings, who also happens to be ABC's foreign correspondent from the Middle East. He is on the ground in Munich at the Olympic Village and reports back to Masso, Bader, and McKay via phone calls.
‘September 5’ Film Featurette: “Live On Air” • Video Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
The ABC Sports team, relatively unequipped to reboot on such a large-scale political event, are certainly out of their element and that is clear to the entirety of them as to those who are watching live. They wish to make a name for themselves as real journalists, hoping to prove their talents lie far beyond the world of sports and sports reporting. Arledge is the one who assumed responsibility for this momentous event, leaving it out of the hands of capable reporters and instead in his sports newsroom.
Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), Hank Hanson (Corey Johnson), Jacques Lesgardes (Zinedine Soualem),Geoff Mason (John Magaro), Carter (Marcus Rutherford)Gladys Deist (Georgina Rich), Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), Marianne Gebhard (Leonie Benesch) star in Paramount Pictures’ “SEPTEMBER 5” • Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures
The majority of the film is back and forth reporting; editors, technicians, reporters all inhabit a small, breathless control room, each attempting to grasp the situation at hand, attempting not only to stay diligent but to stay aware of what’s happening in a small and grand scale simultaneously. There’s a million voices to be heard, coming from everywhere from phone calls to radios to TV monitors and crowds all vying to say and communicate something important, all united in attempting to frame this story accurately and dutifully.
Paramount Pictures’ “SEPTEMBER 5," the film that unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today, set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics • Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures
The pressure of each moment is more terrifying and heavy than the last, as this is such a large-scale event with real, tangible consequences and it is all unfolding in real time. There is tangible violence happening live on camera, and each person has a duty to report the news, no matter the circumstances, though the events are horrifying. Arledge, Mason, and Bader are all leading the charge, but Jennings is the navigator, the one who’s grit and determination is really holding the team together.
L-r, Geoff Mason (John Magaro), Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin) and Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard star in Paramount Pictures’ “SEPTEMBER 5 • Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures
Mason is the one who struggles the most, attempting to figure how to tell this story without giving Black September a platform, as without a stage, they are nothing. There’s a moment when the ABC Sports team attempts to figure out if terrorist is even the proper term to use or not. Time is ticking and the most important thing is saving the hostages.
Jacques Lesgardes (Zinedine Soualem),Marianne Gebhard (Leonie Benesch),Geoff Mason (John Magaro),Carter (Marcus Rutherford) star in Paramount Pictures’ “SEPTEMBER 5” • Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures
Later, around midnight on September 5th, German officials incorrectly announced a successful police operation at a nearby air base where hostages and kidnappers had been transported to board a plane for Cairo. However, news agencies, including Reuters, later had to issue a correction. The hostages and terrorists were killed in a shootout with German police at the airfield.
