One of three movies that were rushed out in the wake of the 1976 terrorist hijacking, this television film is considered by many who saw it at the time to be the best of the bunch. It's certainly a well-made film, with plenty of authenticity and some very good turns from an excellent ensemble cast. Yet I couldn't help wishing that this film had a little more 'oomph', a little more excitement to propel it along. It's a very dry film that's filled with talky dialogue throughout and the last-reel gung ho antics come too little, too late for my liking. While this may well be because the film is based on a real-life incident and therefore things have to be portrayed as they really happened, in comparison to the recent edge-of-your-seat UNITED 93 you can really see the difference.
Most of the fun comes from playing 'spot the cast member' as there are many heavyweights popping up in various roles. Peter Finch, Robert Loggia, Jack Warden, and Eddie Constantine are all fairly interchangeable in desk-bound official turns, and it's left to the on-the-ground guys to give the best acting jobs. Charles Bronson and John Saxon lend some brief, decent military toughness to the proceedings while Horst Buchholz is very convincing as the sweaty, nervous terrorist leader. Watch out for an early turn from James Woods who is very good as an Israeli soldier, and little old lady Sylvia Sidney playing to type as a sweet little old dame.
For my part, the film had two excellent and very different performances which made things worth watching. The first comes from Martin Balsam, playing a hostage; this guy can do no wrong, and he's very understated here, and great with it. Using just his eyes for the most part he conveys a ton of emotion and shows up the other actors around him. Finally there's Yaphet Kotto in his scene-stealing turn as Ugandan President and all-round cannibal Idi Amin; this is a great role for any actor and Kotto is superb at conveying the psychopath's mood and mannerisms. While the film is a little dark in terms of lighting and the sets sometimes don't convince, the level of technical detail is good and the story is always interesting. It may not be a classic but it is a decent little hostage thriller and worth seeking out for fans of the genre or the actors involved.
Most of the fun comes from playing 'spot the cast member' as there are many heavyweights popping up in various roles. Peter Finch, Robert Loggia, Jack Warden, and Eddie Constantine are all fairly interchangeable in desk-bound official turns, and it's left to the on-the-ground guys to give the best acting jobs. Charles Bronson and John Saxon lend some brief, decent military toughness to the proceedings while Horst Buchholz is very convincing as the sweaty, nervous terrorist leader. Watch out for an early turn from James Woods who is very good as an Israeli soldier, and little old lady Sylvia Sidney playing to type as a sweet little old dame.
For my part, the film had two excellent and very different performances which made things worth watching. The first comes from Martin Balsam, playing a hostage; this guy can do no wrong, and he's very understated here, and great with it. Using just his eyes for the most part he conveys a ton of emotion and shows up the other actors around him. Finally there's Yaphet Kotto in his scene-stealing turn as Ugandan President and all-round cannibal Idi Amin; this is a great role for any actor and Kotto is superb at conveying the psychopath's mood and mannerisms. While the film is a little dark in terms of lighting and the sets sometimes don't convince, the level of technical detail is good and the story is always interesting. It may not be a classic but it is a decent little hostage thriller and worth seeking out for fans of the genre or the actors involved.