21 Hours at Munich Blu-ray - Franco Nero / William Holden

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Twenty-One Hours at Munich")

Directed by William A. Graham
USA 1976

September 5, 1972. The darkest day in sports history. Some 900 million sports fans tune in to watch the Olympics on TV. Instead, they see the most shocking scenes unfold... screen legend William Holden (The Devil’s Brigade, Breezy) and Shirley Knight (The Group, Juggernaut) turn this real-life catastrophic event into a mesmerizing story of suspense, anger and disbelief. The perpetrators wear tracksuits, but they are anything but athletes. Known as “Black September,” these Arab terrorists storm the Olympic village before dawn and take the Israeli team hostage. They make their demands as the minutes tick by. But from this point on, it isn’t about who takes home the gold. It’s about who comes home at all. Franco Nero (The Mercenary), Anthony Quayle (The Tamarind Seed) and Richard Basehart (The Satan Bug) co-star in this pulse-pounding TV movie from veteran director William A. Graham (Change of Habit) based on Serge Groussard’s book The Blood of Israel.

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A dramatization of the incident in 1972 when Arab terrorists broke into the Olympic compound in Munich and murdered eleven Israeli athletes.

Posters

TV Broadcast Premiere: November 7th, 1976

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Review: Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: A German Blu-ray came out in 2019:
Distribution	Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:41:00.054
Video	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 44,961,923,409 bytes 1.33:1: 20,928,976,896 bytes 1.78:1: 21,711,458,304 bytes Video Bitrate: 23.84 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate 1.33:1 Blu-ray:
Bitrate 1.78:1 Blu-ray:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1967 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1967 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Kino 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 44,961,923,409 bytes 1.33:1: 20,928,976,896 bytes 1.78:1: 21,711,458,304 bytes Video Bitrate: 23.84 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Screenwriter Gary Gerani • Includes both the 1.33:1 TV Ratio and the 1.78:1 Theatrical One • Theatrical Trailer (2:35) Blu-ray Release Date: December 7th, 2021 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 9 / 9

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (December 2021): Kino have transferred William A. Graham's 21 Hours at Munich to Blu-ray. It is a "made for TV Movie" that was also shown theatrically in other countries so it was shot in both 1.33:1 and 1.78:1 aspect ratios. Both of the 1080P presentations share the dual-layered Blu-ray. It's the same film, no cuts. The image is modest with an uptick in the 1.33:1 but nothing significant. The production had some decent dollars behind it and the video is fairly consistent with actual footage from the 72' Olympic games. There is occasional depth. There is also some grain texture but can often look a bit noisy. It is a modest HD presentation but I don't know what it originally looked like on Television or in the theater.

NOTE: We have added 48 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language for both ARs. 21 Hours at Munich has few aggressive moments, guns and an explosion, that come through with a modicum of depth. There is a score credited to Laurence Rosenthal (The House That Would Not Die, The Miracle Worker, Requiem for a Heavyweight, Becket, 1977's The Island of Dr Moreau, the TV Series Coronet Blue) plus the use of Osse Shalom by Nurit Hirsch. The dialogue is a bit scattered but suffices the viewing. Kino offer optional English subtitles, for both aspect ratios, on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by film historian / screenwriter Gary Gerani. It is offered on both 1.33:1 and 1.78:1 presentations. He talks about the documentary-style of the film, many of the performers, Filmways studio and the actual history behind the 'Munich massacre'. He's done solid research and imparts some interesting facts. There is also a trailer for 21 Hours at Munich.

William A. Graham's 21 Hours at Munich seems like a good historical representation and has quite a cast with favorite Franco Nero, William Holden, Shirley Knight, Anthony Quayle and, briefly Richard Basehart. It has opening narration by ABC's Wide World of Sports' Jim McKay adding to its authentic feel as he reported at the 72 Summer Olympics. It's an important recreation from a historical standpoint. I was keen to see it and the Kino Blu-ray has the option of the dual-ratios and revealing commentary. Certainly worth a spin to revisit this tragedy, and its political overtones, with five of the eight 'Black September' members killed during a failed attempt to rescue the hostages, all of whom were killed. Recommended!