La espada de Gideon

Re the summary of this movie... It is a few years since I saw it, but I do not recall any of the "anti-war" or "anti Israel" sentiment suggested in the summary. Of course one takes movies like this with a pinch of salt from a historical point of view, but the message I got from it was distinctly "Don't Mess With Israel(is)".

With the upcoming release of Steven Spielberg's film Munich, I think it would be a good idea for many people interested in this subject to go out and find this gem (and little known) film to watch first.

There are a few films out there that I never tire of watching -- this is one of them. This is an intelligent film that doesn't gloss over the inner conflicts that each of the Mossad agents must struggle with while performing a "righteous act" for their country to avenge the murders of their fellow Israelis (the 11 athletes).

Moreover, the incorporation of a very well played Golda Meir and her reverberating quotes really bumps this movie up a notch in my view. The makers of this film could have easily sidestepped the decision makers roles, leaving it as a viewer assumption, but fortunately they did not.

This is not a campy "Delta Force" revenge movie from a Chuck Norris/Steven Segal genre of films. The Sword of Gideon challenges us to ponder the real and complex problems of ethics, righteousness, honor, and duty. I'll be interested in seeing how much of this movie Spielberg leverages in "Munich."

When Psycho was redone, the same camera angles, etc. were utilized as in the original Hitchcock version. Having just seen Munich, The Sword of Gideon inspired a big deja vu. Twenty years later and the great Spielberg could not find a way to improve on Gideon. Gideon's emotion was no less and support from people like Rod Steiger and Colleen Dewhurst is hard to top. The Gideon sets were replicated in the Munich version as well. Interestingly, both movies ran about the same exact amount of time. Bauer's Avner was intense and emotional. If one of these films is to be seen, I'd call it a six of one and half a dozen of the other.

Details accounts of the Israeli goverment seeking out and destroying the terrorists of 1972 Olympics. This movie is in the same vein as The Assignment and Clear and Present Danger. It also explores the emotional component of the assassins and their families. It got spies, action , sex, love, happiness, sadness and it is based on true accounts. What else could you ask for?! Steven Bauer's portrayal as an Israeli is very true to form and impressive. You really do feel his emotional roller coaster and his internal conflict about his role as justice maker or simple revenge. Although the movie begins with a primer of the terrorist attacks at the 1972 Olympics, I recommend seeing One Day in September, directed by Kevin MacDonald and narrated by Michael Douglas, to give yourself a better understanding of the motivation behind this docu-drama. This is a very timely movie considering the upcoming Olympics and the war on terror.

With the events of 9/11 and the middle east suicide bombings,this is still a topical movie.There seem to be 2 versions of this movie,strive for the longer one.Its a HBO film that I saw on a different cable station and then bought the film on EBAY.The film on e-bay was a unedited still in its original box for 86 minutes but with a few scenes cut out.Maybe there was a European vs US issue?At any rate the scenes cut out hightened as point of view in favor of Isreal which I share.This film is propaganda to be sure,but isn't all film? In a powerful scene that was shortened to cut out this statement,Golda Mair the Isreal Premire is explaining to the new Mossad recruit why their cause is rightous.This paraphrase was cut from the short version where she says,"The killed our children while the world played games" Its a haunting film.