Raid sur Entebbe

This is an excellent made for TV movie which will cause even non-Jewish viewers to feel pride. The Isreali government assisted in the production of a similar movie, "Operation Thunderbolt" which is very accurate historically and should also be seen for comparison. That movie used actual Isreali soldiers and several survivors of the incident. "Raid on Entebbe" is a much smoother and more enjoyable production. The cast worked very well together. This was Peter Finch's last movie. Charles Bronson is at his best. An interesting blooper is that Yoni Netanyahu was a Lt. Colonel, but is shown in the uniform of a full Colonel. Don't let that ruin the movie for you, though, it should be in every historical and military collection.

Compared to its other US competitor, "Victory at Entebbe"(1976) this film displays higher production values and more attention to detail than "Victory" does. For instance, the Air France uniforms are much more realistic in this picture, whereas in the other production the costume designers resorted to just using U.S. Navy and Coast Guard shoulder boards. Also Idi Amin (Yaphet Kotto) gets a much better costume, much more realistic than the ridiculous getup Julius Harris had to wear in "Victory at Entebbe".I think the secret is that in doing this picture, and the definitive Israeli Golan-Globus work, "Operation Thunderbolt"(Mivtza Yonatan)(1977); the film makers were given much more time to prepare their production than ABC gave David L. Wolper in doing "Victory at Entebbe", which was shot on videotape like a soap opera, later transferred to film. It is an excellent lesson for film students that time spent on a project avails much. For this picture and "Thunderbolt" are much better films, even though in some respects "Victory at Entebbe" had more "big names" than "Raid" or "Thunderbolt". It seems all to be in the execution.

A film that is historically accurate, Raid on Entebbe is engrossing and exciting to watch. The actual raid on Entebbe was itself a very daring rescue, and it translates extremely well to film. Even though you know the outcome in advance, you will find yourself wanting to stay with the film until the end. The actors are all excellent, and the sets extremely realistic. Yaphet Kotto gives a great performance as Idi Amin, portraying the Ugandan president as mix of grandstander, egomaniac, and thinly disguised madman; the movie is worth watching for Kotto's performance alone. While made almost 25 years ago, Raid on Entebbe remains an exciting film that has aged well and is still very enjoyable to watch.

I first saw this movie as a kid, but didn't remember it until I rented it a few weeks ago. This is a very gripping film, one that manages to get across the enormous amount of stress the Israeli government faced as they decided how to deal with a precarious situation. This mission took a tremendous amount of courage, which is reflected in the film. The scene where the commandos are singing on the plane conveyed the solidarity and stalwartness of the Israeli people as they rushed to the rescue of their own people.

Considering that this movie was made in 1977, surrounding events that happened not to long ago from then, I would certainly place it in a higher position than it currently is. With regards to authenticity, the Israeli and Mossad PR department seems to given full cooperation when it came to all the details surrounding the event because absolutely nothing seemed out of place in the sets. Every piece of equipment, uniform and aircraft were surprisingly authentic. All this would have been useless without a proper cast and the same is most certainly delivered. There isn't a lot of action until the climax but even the slower sequences will keep you gripped until that arrives. This movie is very detailed, realistic and authentic and would be classified as a must watch in my book.