Victoire à Entebbé

If one is a history buff and enjoys reading about and viewing films made about historic events then they will read and view everything they can find on the subject. This film is an account of the Israeli commando rescue of Jewish hostages who were hi-jacked in July of 1976 and flown to Idi Amins Uganda. While this film which boasted an all star cast is clearly inferior to the one which came out a year later and starred Peter Finch and Charles Bronson it still makes for good viewing. It also makes one wonder with the talented cast had more time and perhaps more money been spent on making this version it might have been the best of the lot.

This is one of 3 American/Jewish productions based on the notorious happening . Passable though a little boring dramatization based on a true story about a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces . An Air France flight is hijacked by the PFLP and German terrorists (Helmut Berger , Bibi Besch) the plane has about 100 Jewish passengers. This is the true as well as exciting story of a daring Israeli commando assault on the Entebbe Airport in Uganda to free hostages of a terrorist hijacking . The plane is grounded in Uganda but Israelis would not negotiate . Crew and passengers were kidnapped by dictator Idia Amin (this version Julius Harris plays Ugandan dictator Idi Amin) . The Jewish passengers were separated and held hostage in demand to release many terrorists held in Israeli prisons . The movie then shows how less than 500 soldiers (led by Colonel Yonatan 'Yonni' Netanyahu : Richard Dreyfuss ,he was the older brother of Benjamin Netanyahu, the future Israeli prime minister) actually flew so far and rescued the passengers in one of the most successful Military operations in history. The implacable operation is executed by expert Israeli commandos , they carry out the rescue of passengers held hostage by terrorist at Uganda's Entebbe Airport in 1976 . The world watched , The world waited , and then the world cheered . The film is based on the true facts and follows the events since the flight's takeoff and until the hostages' return to Israel.

A compelling but slow-moving actioner all the more gripping because true . It is packed with thrills , drama , suspense and nice interpretations . The commander of the Israeli paratroopers, Lt Col Yonatan Netanyahu was the only member of the platoon to die during the actual raid when he was struck in the back by a sniper's bullet. All main star cast gives passable acting as well as support cast , such as : Helen Hayes , Elizabeth Taylor , Theodore Bikel , Anthony Hopkins , Linda Blair , Christian Marquand , Jessica Walter , Harris Yulin and Bibi Besch . Brief appearance by two great actors Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster as Shimon Peres . This is sixth of seven films that Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster made together . Special mention to actor Julius W Harris , he is awesome though overacting , he plays Ugandan President Idi Amin . Actor Godfrey Cambridge was selected to the play the role of General Idi Amin Dada, but died on the set from a heart attack early in the filming , then Julius took over the part , in the other production, "Raid on Entebbe (1977)," Yaphet Kotto plays Idi Amin. Both these actors played the Villains in the James Bond film "Live and Let Die (1973)" , Kotto the head villain and Harris his henchman . The motion picture was professionally directed by Marvin Chomsky (Holocaust)but in TV style . This is one of 3 American/Jewish productions based on the known deeds . The shows aired on American TV less than a month apart. It was in production at about the same time as Raid on Entebbe (1976) , another TV production about the same incident filmed by Irvin Kershner with Charles Bronson , Yaphet Kotto , Martin Balsam , Horst Buchholz , John Saxon , Jack Warden and Sylvia Sidney . Furthermore , Jewish production titled ¨Operation Thunderbolt¨ by Menahem Golan with Assaf Dayan , Klaus Kinski and Sybil Danning .

The picture is well based on real events , they are the followings : Operation Entebbe was a mission carried out by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (I(IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976. A week earlier, on 27 June, an Air France plane with 248 passengers was hijacked, by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the German Revolutionary Cells, and flown to Entebbe, the main airport of Uganda. The local government supported the hijackers and dictator Idi Amin personally welcomed them. The hijackers separated the Israelis and Jews from the larger group and forced them into another room. That afternoon, 47 non-Israeli hostages were released. The next day, 101 more non-Israeli hostages were allowed to leave on board an Air France aircraft. More than 100 Israeli and Jewish passengers, along with the non-Jewish pilot Captain Bacos, remained as hostages and were threatened with death .The IDF acted on intelligence provided by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad . This threat led to the planning of the rescue operation. These plans included preparation for armed resistance from Ugandan military troops.The operation took place at night. Israeli transport planes carried 100 commandos over 2,500 miles (4,000 km) to Uganda for the rescue operation. The operation, which took a week of planning, lasted 90 minutes. 102 hostages were rescued. Five Israeli commandos were wounded and one, the unit commander, Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, was killed. All the hijackers, three hostages and 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed, and thirty Soviet-built MiG-17s and MiG-21s of Uganda's air force were destroyed. Kenyan sources supported Israel, and in the aftermath of the operation Idi Amin issued orders to retaliate and slaughter several hundred Kenyans present in Uganda. Operation Entebbe, which had the military codename Operation Thunderbolt, is sometimes referred to retroactively as Operation Jonathan in memory of the unit's leader, Yonatan Netanyahu. He was the older brother of Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister of Israel. The narrator of the film states at the end of the film that it's unknown what happened to Dora Bloch -played by Sylvia Sidney-, who had been taken to the hospital. It was later learned that she was murdered in Kampala. Her remains were found outside of Kampala in 1979 and were flown to Israel for burial.

While I substantially agree with the review by John Barnes, I also believe the film has one or two positive qualities which he neglected to mention. Yes, Mr. Barnes, Victory at Entebbe is a poor quality, third-rate, and hastily-prepared film. But it is NOT worthless.

It was a 1976 attempt to portray a 1976 historical event for a 1976 television audience. That alone lends it a certain historical authenticity. So many films with much higher budgets seem far less genuine simply because they attempt to portray historical events 20, 30, 40+ years after the fact.

Although I did read the book 90 Minutes at Entebbe a number of years ago, I cannot necessarily vouch for the film's complete historical accuracy. However--with the notable exception of the unruly hostages being shot by the commandos--the film appears to be an honest attempt to accurately portray the event.

Nevertheless, due to the film's poor quality, I recommend it only for those who either already have a special interest in the Entebbe raid, or would like to learn about the Entebbe raid. The film actually has more educational than entertainment value.

The bargain-basement production values that mark this quickie shoot-em-up, filmed and released literally months after the dramatic Israeli commando raid, would be enough to consign this turkey to the dustbin of TV history. But it gets worse. The audience can play spot-the-star as Hollywood legends Liz Taylor, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Helen Hayes etc., turn in embarrassing cameos. Unintentional hilarity is the only possible response to the scene in which Linda Blair offers a box of chocolates to the flight crew and the terrorists holding them at gunpoint. Mirth gives way to anger, however, when the film depicts unruly hostages being deliberately shot down by Israeli soldiers during the rescue scene! With rescuers like these, who needs hijackers? "Raid on Entebbe," which came out a year later with Charles Bronson, is much the superior account of this operation.

This is the Soap Opera version of the Raid on Entebbe.

About half of this movie is poorly written, a real shame. I couldn't believe that this all-star cast would sign up to make a movie of this low caliber.

I have watched all 3 Entebbe movies. As others have commented, the "Raid on Entebbe" is strongly on point for the story at hand (the rescue of 101 Israelis held by terrorists).

"Operation Thunderbolt" is also on-point, and has many of the actual players playing themselves, but it is largely unfocused.

So, for the people who want to get lost in the background, "Victory" is the pick. I wish they could have taken this cast, and had them perform the Raid on Entebbe script ... it would be incredible.