The
1976 Israeli operation to free a plane load of hostages being
held captive by terrorists at Entebbe Airport in Uganda is arguably
the most famous (successful) hostage rescue ever, and was a natural
for the movie treatment – and indeed, movies were made with
what today might seem like rather indecent haste. Raid
on Entebbe was actually the second US TV movie based
on the story (Victory at Entebbe preceded it)
and both films were made within months of the event – this
film aired on January 9th 1977 (it would play theatrically in
the UK), even though the rescue only took place in June 1976;
Victory at Entebbe aired in December ’76.
A third film, Operation Thunderbolt was made
in Israel in 1977.
Given the rush job, Raid on Entebbe is a surprisingly impressive
film. Directed by Irving Kershner and with a big name / familiar
face cast – Peter Finch, Charles Bronson, James Woods, Martin
Balsam, John Saxon, Yaphet Kotto, Eddie Constantine – this
140 minute movie doesn’t feel like the hurried
cash-in in must have been.
The film doesn’t waste any time – the Air France hijacking
takes place within the first five minutes, and the opening half
of the film concentrates on the passengers and the terrorists,
as they fly first to Libya and then on to Uganda, where the notoriously
psychotic ‘President for Life’ Idi Amin (a show-stopping
performance from Yaphet Kotto) uses the event for his own purpose,
colluding with the terrorists while show boating for the world’s
media and pretending to be a diplomat. Meanwhile, the Israeli
government argue about whether or not to negotiate while preparing
the commando raid that eventually freed most of the hostages.
Any
film based on a true story like this is going to struggle for
tension – after all, we know what happens at the end –
so it’s to Kerschner’s credit that he managed to make
this so dramatically involving. The initial hijacking and the
climatic commando raid are impressively tense and spectacular,
and in the great Seventies tradition, the film avoids being too
flashy, instead taking a realistic and deliberate route –
imagine this made a decade later in the era of Schwarzenegger
or Chuck Norris! Of course, given how quickly this went into production,
there’s plenty of dramatic license, and a few disaster-movie
moments of bathos – but on the whole, this is impressively
gripping stuff with solid performances from the leads –
even Bronson, not known for his dramatic range. And production
wise, other than the giveaway fades to black for ad breaks, this
doesn’t feel much like a TV production.
If you are the sort of person who just can’t stomach the
thought of a film that shows the Israeli military in a positive
light, then this isn’t for you. But more open-minded, less
politically fixated viewers will find this well worth a look.
The
1976 Israeli operation to free a plane load of hostages being
held captive by terrorists at Entebbe Airport in Uganda is arguably
the most famous (successful) hostage rescue ever, and was a natural
for the movie treatment – and indeed, movies were made with
what today might seem like rather indecent haste. Raid
on Entebbe was actually the second US TV movie based
on the story (Victory at Entebbe preceded it)
and both films were made within months of the event – this
film aired on January 9th 1977 (it would play theatrically in
the UK), even though the rescue only took place in June 1976;
Victory at Entebbe aired in December ’76.
A third film, Operation Thunderbolt was made
in Israel in 1977.
Any
film based on a true story like this is going to struggle for
tension – after all, we know what happens at the end –
so it’s to Kerschner’s credit that he managed to make
this so dramatically involving. The initial hijacking and the
climatic commando raid are impressively tense and spectacular,
and in the great Seventies tradition, the film avoids being too
flashy, instead taking a realistic and deliberate route –
imagine this made a decade later in the era of Schwarzenegger
or Chuck Norris! Of course, given how quickly this went into production,
there’s plenty of dramatic license, and a few disaster-movie
moments of bathos – but on the whole, this is impressively
gripping stuff with solid performances from the leads –
even Bronson, not known for his dramatic range. And production
wise, other than the giveaway fades to black for ad breaks, this
doesn’t feel much like a TV production. 
