Raid sur Entebbe

I must say I was pleasantly surprised when watching this, not having expected very much of it. I think I had some kind of trashy midday movie in mind, so it was nice to find 'Raid on Entebbe' was well above expectation.

Firstly, it was nice to find a film based on historic events that adhered to those events (barring minor and inconsequential details). Especially when a film is based on such a sensitive subject as terrorism, one hopes it won't be overblown and over the top. It wasn't – it was a good and even-handed depiction, neither demonizing the terrorists nor white-washing them, but simply depicting factually the actions they took. For a mainly B-list cast, the acting was strong and believable.

So this was a decent, solid movie, well put together and maintaining its entertainment value throughout.

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.

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.

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.

This movie was excellent, even for a 1977 TV movie, and I would recommend it to everyone although it is Out of Print and only available on VHS. You can still find copies of it on eBay and at old video stores. This movie is gripping from the beginning to end with a superb climax rescue scene at the end of the hostage crisis. Anyone should see this movie, particularly those who like military/action movies that are based on true events. THIS MOVIE MUST BE SEEN!