September 5 (2024)

1. The 1972 Summer Olympics!

2. Nine days ago,

3. the nations of the world marched

4. into the Olympic Stadium in Munich, West Germany.

5. And you were there live for this historical moment!

6. It was a starting signal

7. for a peaceful post-war Germany...

8. to share itself with the world

9. and an Olympics full of sporting sensations.

10. Now that more than half

11. of the competition days are over,

12. we at ABC Sports,

13. show you how these pictures make their way

14. from here in Munich to your home overseas.

15. The games of '72 are the first in history

16. to be broadcast live via satellite across the world.

17. An unprecedented technical apparatus

18. was set up by the German organizers,

19. and ABC Sports has live cameras everywhere.

20. We even placed one on the Olympic Tower,

21. which gives us a nice aerial overview

22. of the entire Olympic Village.

23. Hey look, that's us!

24. From here, we send everything to the bird,

25. as we call this technical marvel orbiting Earth,

26. allowing us to bring the Games to you

27. live and in color.

28. But daytime for you means night shift for us.

29. And we're operating around the clock here in Munich

30. to ensure you don't miss a single moment of the action.

31. Stay tuned for many more highlights

32. in the final days of these glorious Olympics.

33. That's a good start for Mark Spitz.

34. Okay, now cam two in position.

35. Cam two.

36. Cam six.

37. Now Spitz takes the lead.

38. Cam one.

39. Underwater cams.

40. Look at that style. Those powerful moves.

41. Cut to 1. Spitz leaves the German swimmer

42. far behind.Now 2.

43. He is about to write Olympic history here

44. by winning his seventh gold medal.Cam one, tighten in.

45. And he did it! Spitz wins!

46. Yes!

47. Get ready for Spitz's close-up.

48. No, go to the German first.

49. Sure?

50. Cam two, change of plans. Give me the German swimmer.

51. Werner Lampe is devastated.

52. He even shaved his hair for this.

53. Cam two, pan to Spitz. But nothing stops history.

54. Spitz climbs out of the pool and runs towards his parents.

55. I can't believe it! Solid gold.

56. Tighter. All right, six, run over there.

57. Back him up, Charley.

58. Put six in preview.

59. That's it, hold it. Now take six.

60. Finland was well represented

61. at these Olympic Games.

62. They were somewhat favorites

63. but they were not expected to do as well as they did...

64. as you will see...

65. Hello? Good morning, Mr. Mason,

66. this is your wakeup call. Thanks, I'm already awake.

67. Virén immediately got up and began to run again.

68. Turned out to be a key moment. Because at the end of the race,

69. who was it? It was Virén, the man who fell,

70. not only racing to victory,

71. but setting a new world record for the event.

72. Lasse Virén, the policeman from Finland.

73. Would you please prep all captions

74. for, uh, swimming and basketball?

75. Hey, Geoff? Hmm?

76. Thank you. Sure.

77. You were supposed to be here before the show ends.

78. Hey, I'm a minute and 30 seconds early.

79. Right. Oh, in New York, I'm five hours early.

80. That's funny, because if you screw this up,

81. I'm the one in trouble with Roone.

82. So we need to go over the schedule.

83. Day starts with volleyball, 09:30,

84. Group D, covered by C Unit,

85. while B preps for the soccer pre-match at 10:30.

86. All right, all right. You got it.

87. What? Are you going on a date?

88. Just got off one. Your wife says hello.

89. Jim McKay speaking to you...

90. AC is broken. Ooh.

91. and this concludes our daily report here

92. at the 20th Summer Olympics.

93. It's now 4:00 a.m. here in Munich...

94. and soon the competition will begin again.

95. Jim, set up the Spitz presser.

96. Mark Spitz, the American athlete

97. who set an all-time Olympic record

98. by winning seven gold medals, will be interviewed tomorrow,

99. only here, on ABC Sp—

100. Come on, not again!

101. Jacques, what's going on? Is it our feed?

102. No, it's not.

103. Then why are my screens black?The feed is clean.

104. Close with the stinger.

105. All right. Roll tape five.

106. The Summer Olympics. Up close and personal.

107. The ABC way.

108. And we're clear.

109. All right. Okay, it's back to you, New York.

110. Great job, everyone.

111. B-Unit's turn tomorrow.

112. Enjoy your day off.

113. Good night, Jim. See you on Thursday.

114. Good luck on your day, Mase.

115. Thanks, Don, enjoy the Alps.I will!

116. Uh, Roone, excuse me,

117. I'd like to do a handover with Geoff here, who I...

118. Did you check out Jennings' Dachau piece?

119. Not yet, no.

120. Would you watch it and see if it's any good?

121. I do have some concerns

122. about cutting from sports to the Holocaust.

123. Spitz is Jewish, right?

124. Since when am I ABC's expert on Judaism?

125. He is. Spitz, he's Jewish. What time's the presser?

126. 4:00 p.m. There's your lead-in.

127. So, you wanna ask a Jew

128. about the Holocaust on live television?

129. Yeah.

130. Ask him what it's like to win a gold

131. in Hitler's backyard. Do you guys wanna follow me?

132. Talk me through the day.

133. The day starts with volleyball.

134. It should be a pretty good match.

135. No US team. Uh, then it's soccer,

136. intermediate round. Who?

137. GDR versus Mexico.

138. Morocco versus Denmark. Burma versus Malaysia.

139. There's boxing.

140. The Great White Hope, he's in quarters with Teófilo.

141. The Cuban? Yeah. He's pretty good.

142. He knocked down Denderys in 30 seconds. First round.

143. So, we lose, and the whole thing's over in 30 seconds?

144. Doesn't matter. It's America versus Cuba.

145. You sure you want to bring in the politics?

146. It's not about politics, it's about emotions.

147. How about "Cold War Heats Up Again,

148. Cuba Launches Missile at America's Hope"?

149. It's too long, but good direction.

150. Has he ever done live coverage before?

151. Yeah, I di—He's done golf tournaments.

152. And, uh, minor league baseball.

153. I'll be back for the boxing.

154. No calls until ten. I promised my daughters.

155. MARVIN: All right, good.

156. So, you prep that tease while I contemplate the demise

157. of my fellow Jews. Oh, jeez...

158. Looks like I'm spending another night here. Whoo-hoo.

159. No calls before ten. I promised myself.

160. You fixed that? Yeah, on it.

161. Only about nine miles lie between the Serene Games center

162. and Germany's darkest chapter in history.

163. Unimaginable atrocities

164. were committed at the Dachau concentration camp.

165. And yet, 27 years after the war,

166. it has become a place of remembrance.

167. Of reconciliation.

168. Thanks to the Olympic spirit.

169. A spirit that makes images possible

170. that seemed impossible before.

171. That's exactly what the Olympics are all about, you know.

172. Um, like our fencing coach Andrei says,

173. we're here and we can talk to Germans, um,

174. chat with athletes from Lebanon or Egypt.

175. This is what we've been dreaming about,

176. you know, it's not just sports.

177. You're German, right?

178. Uh, excuse me?You're the new translator, yes?

179. Uh, can you do me a favor? What...

180. What... what is...

181. What is Hans saying here?

182. He is saying that the Games are an opportunity

183. to welcome the world to a new Germany,

184. to move on from the past.

185. Yeah, sure.

186. I mean, it's what we all hope for.

187. What else can we do but move on, try to be better?

188. Are your parents still around?

189. Yes.

190. Let me guess. They didn't know either, right?

191. Well, I'm not them.

192. No.

193. No, you're not. I'm sorry.

194. I'm Marvin Bader.I know. Head of Operations.

195. Hmm. Yeah, I'm Marianne Gebhardt. Nice to meet you.

196. You too. Um, welcome to ABC.

197. I need to swap all cables.

198. Then do it.

199. Grumpy has no spares.

200. At least, not for a Frenchman.

201. Hermann, we really don't have any cables?

202. Hey! I'm talking to you. We need cables.

203. Your boss fills out paper. Gives it to my boss.

204. Then you get cable.

205. Hey you.

206. Has the old man already taken his nap?

207. Uh, I don't know. He just left.

208. Any way I can help?

209. Do you know what the Games cost us Germans?

210. Two billion Marks.

211. And then the Americans come along

212. and complain the whole time.

213. I understand. You certainly have to deal

214. with people's whims all the time.

215. But you know what?

216. The whole world has its eyes on us, on our Munich.

217. And you contribute a great deal to making it happen.

218. You got this. Yeah.

219. Merci. Merci, Hermann!

220. Were those gunshots?

221. Tell the Frenchman

222. I still remember exactly what gunshots sound like.

223. ABC, Geoff Mason.

224. Hi, this is Kenneth Moore.

225. did you hear gunshots or something?

226. No, I haven't heard anything.

227. Okay. You've got my number if you hear something.

228. Yeah, we'll let you know, Mr. Moore.

229. Thank you. Thank you. Goodbye.

230. Hey.

231. Kenneth Moore just called.

232. Marathon runner? Yeah.

233. He wanted to know if we heard gunshots.

234. So, it was gunshots.

235. What?

236. Uh, we heard gunshots. In the distance.

237. Hello, Marianne Gebhardt speaking.

238. I'm calling from the studio of the ABC.

239. We heard gunshots...

240. Do you already know more?

241. I understand. Thanks.

242. Police have already received several calls

243. and are investigating the matter.

244. And? That's all they said.

245. I could walk over to Bayerischer Rundfunk

246. and see what they know.

247. They are radio. They work late.

248. You know how these work?

249. I'm on channel two.

250. Uh, hey, sorry, can I borrow your receiver?

251. Sure. And the headphones too, please.

252. Thank you, I'll bring it back. Thanks.

253. Still getting dropouts? Yep.

254. How often? Constantly.

255. Jacques, can you sort this out on your— Hey.

256. Morning. Morning.

257. Gary, did you hear gunshots? What?

258. Maybe it was just fireworks?

259. What did it sound like?Like gunfire, Geoff.

260. What's going on? Anyone there?

261. You're there, already?

262. No, I'm walking over the bridge.

263. But I can see dozens of police cars already.

264. Where? In the Village?

265. Yes. Whatever happened, it happened here.

266. I need to wake Bader.

267. Marv. Get up.

268. Wake up. There's been shots fired in the Olympic Village.

269. Shots? Yeah. Fucking shots!

270. Gunshots? Yeah.

271. I don't know. They— they say that there's a ton of police.

272. You serious? Yeah.

273. Come on!

274. Can you hear me?Yeah, go ahead.

275. The phones won't stop at the Rundfunk.

276. A friend here heard the shots were fired

277. in the Israelis' apartments.

278. Give it to me, give it. Uh...

279. This— this is Bader. What are we talking about here?

280. Anyone hurt?

281. Rumor is hostage taking.

282. Hostages? Wait, uh, who?

283. I don't know. Uh, but the BR will say something

284. on their six o'clock news.

285. Go to the control room, call Roone.

286. Roone? Yeah, just— Yeah, call him.

287. And I'll get Jennings.

288. Oh...

289. Jesus Christ!

290. Roone Arledge's room, please.Mr. Arledge doesn't want to be disturbed.

291. Trust me, he's gonna want to be woken up for this.

292. I'm sorry, sir—Just connect me now, please.

293. Hello? Roone, Geoff Mason.

294. I said not to disturb me.I understand that.

295. But... but there's a hostage situation

296. going on right now in the Olympic Village.

297. What're you talking about?

298. I'm talking about a hostage situation.

299. And it gets worse. It's in the Israeli quarters.

300. Is this confirmed? Not yet, but—

301. Geoff.

302. Wait, they're about to say something on the German radio.

303. I'm gonna put you on the speaker.

304. [MALE VOICE SPEAKING GERMAN OVER RADIO]Marianne.

305. Can you translate this?

306. Let me check my receiver.

307. There have been reports

308. of shots being fired inside the Olympic Village.

309. Reports, that have not yet been confirmed by the police,

310. say that the Israeli team

311. may have been attacked by so-called terrorists.

312. I'll be there in 20.

313. Get the crew in.

314. So, wake him up. I don't know.

315. We need as many bodies as possible.

316. Priority are camera.

317. Tell them the bus leaves in ten minutes.

318. Okay? And don't forget to bring Carter.

319. Is it confirmed?

320. Yeah. It's definitely gunshots, definitely the Israelis.

321. And this is from?

322. German radio.

323. We can't quote another station? A second source?

324. We got a wire.

325. "One, possibly two Israeli athletes killed at Olympic Village."

326. "Arab guerrillas likely took hostages."

327. Let me see that, Gary.

328. Peter, what are we dealing with here?

329. PLO. PFLP. Or...

330. worst case, Black September.

331. You know the political background.

332. You report from the inside. Okay?

333. Okay. Where are the Israelis housed?

334. Israel.

335. Connollystrasse 31.

336. They're here.

337. Well, this...

338. should give us a good angle.

339. Geoff.

340. Seems like the police will seal the Village.

341. Hurry up! Reporters here are rushing to get in now.

342. Fuck.

343. Peter, what's the situation?

344. I'm going in. But we need a cameraman.

345. MARVIN: This is the Israelis' building...

346. Where's the crew?

347. First shuttle is on its way.So, when's Jim coming in?

348. It's his day off.

349. I didn't call him. We need Jim for this.

350. All right. All Right?

351. What time do we have the bird today?

352. 3:00 p.m., 10:00 a.m. Eastern.No. We need the breakfast slot.

353. Jim McKay's room.

354. Then you need to sweet-talk CBS.

355. Hi Margaret, is Jim there?

356. He's in the pool, he's doing his morning laps.

357. Who're you talking to?His wife.

358. Give me that, would you?

359. Margaret, it's Marv.

360. Hi, Marv. Uh, would you please...

361. We're all ready to go, but still no cameramen here yet.

362. What about him? Thank you.

363. He's just an assistant.

364. Hey, what's your name?Uh, Ben.

365. Ben, you ever hold a camera before?

366. Yeah. Know how to change film?

367. Sure. Okay. There's your guy.

368. News will want to take over soon.

369. I'll talk to them.As soon as he can,

370. would be-

371. Thank you so much. I— And I hope we didn't ruin—

372. Jim's gonna anchor.

373. Okay. We need someone at the press center.

374. Well, I doubt Hans is releasing anything

375. at this point. What about you?

376. You know him. If anything happens,

377. we'd be the first to know.

378. Yeah. Let's... let's have Geoff coordinate the set-up while I'm gone.

379. Not on his first day with A-Unit.

380. Right? How about Ohlmeyer?

381. He's on a hiking trip in the Alps.

382. Maddock? Keep trying him, no answer.

383. But it's early, so...

384. I'll handle CBS and the satellite.

385. You get me something to feed the bird.

386. Okay.

387. All right.

388. So, what do we air?

389. Whatever info I get from Klein.I'm talking visual.

390. We're just gonna show Jim talking?

391. We can't do that.

392. The footage that Ben shoots

393. is gonna take 20 minutes to develop.

394. We have to have a live image.

395. Can we use that mobile unit? The guys with the backpack?

396. That's only wide-angle.

397. We need a long lens. Christ, it's happening right there!

398. Wait, we're...

399. We're here?

400. Yeah.So why don't we...

401. just wheel out one of the studio cams?

402. You can put it right here.

403. Gives us a live shot of the apartment.

404. Anything on the hostages yet?

405. Only mixed information.

406. Well, call around to get things double-checked.

407. All right? And, you have a walkie.

408. Okay? Yeah.

409. Channel four. Okay.

410. Robert? Uh, coffee, aspirin,

411. and a list of today's slots on the satellite.

412. Right away.

413. All right.

414. All right, you know what happened.

415. Let's get to work.

416. I need four men in the studio. Yeah.

417. So, you're the big boss now?

418. Come with me.

419. We're gonna take cam two outside.

420. We're gonna go live with it.

421. You... you do know how heavy those are?

422. The wiring will be tricky.I trust you'll get it.

423. Yeah.You, too, Frenchie. C'mon.

424. Yeah.

425. Hello, this is Marianne from the DOZ.

426. Could you put me through to Michael Korth?

427. There's nothing I can do.

428. CBS has had that slot booked for months.

429. Listen to me. It's a public interest story.

430. And people are gonna want to see it live.

431. And we are the only people capable of doing that.

432. I get that, Roone, but—Okay, hang on.

433. I got the schedule.

434. Listen, I understand... Aspirin?

435. We ran out of them.

436. but there's just no way I can give up

437. the afternoon slot. Never mind.

438. Okay.

439. This is what we're gonna do. We're gonna swap.

440. So, you're gonna take the three o'clock slot,

441. and we're gonna take the noon time.

442. You really think it will be done by then?

443. Yeah. The Germans are gonna have this taken care of in no time.

444. So, we have a deal?Fine.

445. Excellent. ABC owes CBS one.

446. Geoff, are you there?

447. Talk to me, Marv.

448. I'm at the press center.

449. Hans Klein got word from the Olympic Committee,

450. the Games must go on.

451. Do they really think people

452. are gonna care about sports today?

453. Good news is two Israelis escaped

454. during the attack and— Hold on a sec.

455. They just confirmed the injured coach died.

456. Moshe Weinberg.

457. Shot twice in the head, once in the gut.

458. Terrorists demanded Israel release

459. over 200 Palestinian prisoners by noon.

460. If not, they kill one hostage every hour.

461. Jesus Christ.

462. Are they negotiating?I don't know.

463. So, should I pass this along to Roone?

464. Geoff, you have to be the center of everything now.

465. Not just the control room. All communication, everything.

466. Geoff?

467. Yeah, I got it. All communication, everything.

468. ABC headquarters called. They want News to take over.

469. Tell them we'll be in touch.

470. On the left...

471. What the hell are you guys doing?

472. Trying to get a live shot of the apartment.

473. Get the viewers right into the action. Who are the hostages?

474. Uh...

475. Uh, Bader just... He confirmed that one of them died. Uh—

476. Moshe Weinberg. I read the wire. Right.

477. But who's inside that apartment?

478. We don't know yet.

479. Then we find out.

480. Who are they?

481. What's their background? Do they have a family?

482. There's no point in aiming this thing at the building

483. if the viewer doesn't know the people inside.

484. Okay. Roone.

485. Headquarters on the line again.

486. I can't hold them back any longer.

487. Right. Don't fuck it up, Mason. Okay.

488. I got the bird, live at noon. All right.

489. Marv, do we have any more information

490. on who the hostages are? No. Marianne is on it.

491. Yes, I'm on it. Where are you?

492. Editing room.

493. Okay, I'm coming to you. Great.

494. Get this sucker outside.

495. You mentioned ten hostages in apartment one?

496. So there are five weightlifters left.

497. What do you got?

498. Thanks, Michael. I owe you one.

499. I need to confirm this first.

500. Mister Bader, do you read me?

501. Marianne, what've you got?

502. My source at the BR told me

503. there are ten hostages. Five coaches and five athletes.

504. Okay. Lines up with my info.

505. Also, we've been told

506. the Palestinians attacked apartments one and three.

507. After cross-referencing that

508. with the housing plans and who slept where,

509. I think- Hey, Geoff.

510. Yeah. I think we found a good spot.

511. Coming.

512. Get that to me in the control room as soon as you're done.

513. So, I'd say the five athletes being held

514. are Romano, Slavin, Friedman, Berger, and Halfin.

515. Wait. Berger? David Berger?

516. Yes. Why?

517. You guys think you'll get it up there?

518. Yes, almost done.

519. Okay.

520. Geoff, we have Jennings on the phone.

521. Coming.

522. Jennings, it's Geoff Mason.

523. You're running things?

524. Yeah. So, where are you?

525. I'm on a balcony in the Italian compound.

526. It's a good spot. JJ.

527. I've got a direct view of 31. And I'm not alone up here.

528. The other balconies are full of reporters and photographers,

529. all of us waiting for something to happen.

530. So, what, nothing's going on?

531. No. Police are just milling around.

532. Doesn't seem like they've even started negotiating yet.

533. There's an eerie silence.

534. Geoff.You can actually hear the cameras clicking.

535. They're too small.

536. Get those to Judy. Three times bigger. All right.

537. And there's a report Mr. Bader watched earlier

538. that has an interview with one of the hostages.

539. David Berger, a former American.

540. There's movement at the apartment.

541. The door on the second-floor balcony

542. is opening.

543. Someone's peering out.

544. Jennings, what's happening? Someone's on the balcony.

545. Wearing some kind of a mask.

546. Now he's going back in.

547. Ben down there caught it all on 16 mil.

548. I wish you could get this shot, Mason. Yeah, I'll send a runner.

549. No chance.

550. Police sealed off the entire area.

551. Only athletes can get past.

552. All right, now.

553. Good luck. Thanks.

554. Nice, man.

555. So, we have loaded mags, sandwiches, walkies, long lens,

556. cigarettes for Jennings.

557. So, what if they search me?

558. Don't worry. From now on, you are officially an athlete.

559. A man's stepping out of the apartment now.

560. White suit, white hat, face painted black.

561. Must be the leader of the group.

562. He's waving at the cameras.

563. Geoff. A policewoman's walking up now.

564. All by herself. Unarmed.

565. Looks like she's handling the negotiations. Good.

566. Pin these up on there.

567. He seems to have a grenade in his hand.

568. God.

569. Jennings, how close are you?

570. A hundred, 130 feet.

571. Maybe you should get away from there.

572. Kill radius is only 16 feet.

573. I've been in the Middle East.

574. All right, but be careful.

575. Gary's on his way.

576. Do we have someone on the Tower yet?

577. Channel 6.

578. Tower cam, read. Copy.

579. Can you give me an image?

580. Show me the entrance to the Village.

581. Push in on that.

582. There. Hah! Go, Gary!

583. Yes! He's in.

584. Yeah. He made it.

585. Hey, people. Get BR on the radio.

586. The police chief's making

587. his first official statement right now.

588. Marianne.

589. The perpetrators demand

590. that 200 persons be released...

591. who are in Israeli hands.

592. If these 200 persons are not released,

593. they will shoot one hostage every hour starting at noon.

594. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

595. Can't you tell us something we don't know?

596. Someone's asking the chief of police

597. if he thinks it was a mistake

598. that the Olympic Village had no armed police.

599. Of course it was!

600. I guess they didn't want the world to be reminded

601. of the last time armed Germans patrolled fences.

602. So, Germany's makeover is more important than people's safety?

603. C'mon. This isn't our business. That is our business.

604. And in less than an hour, we go live.

605. We're not giving this story to News.

606. But why? Well, because we're in Munich.

607. We're a 100 yards... away from where it's happening.

608. Roone, just leave it. We're not giving it to anyone.

609. Yeah, Sports is keeping this. Roone, this is just not your field.

610. It's just that News... That's it.

611. Now it looks like the negotiations are happening.

612. German politicians

613. and the leader in the white suit are talking.

614. Whatever they're discussing,

615. honestly, I can't imagine the Prime Minister Golda Meir

616. and the Knesset will respond in any way to blackmail.

617. It's so ironic.

618. I've been the Middle East expert in Beirut for five years,

619. and yet, I have never gotten this close

620. to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Hang on one second, Peter.

621. Can we get his voice live when we go on air?

622. I'll give it a shot.

623. Jennings, this is Bader.

624. Any idea how many Palestinians are inside?

625. We've seen a lot of heads popping out of windows.

626. These men are definitely professionals.

627. I suspect they're deliberately trying

628. to create confusion.

629. There's a second commando on the balcony now,

630. brandishing his submachine gun like a threat.

631. Fucking Arabs. Hey, watch it.

632. My mother is from Algeria.

633. I'm not talking about your mother.

634. Hey. Come on. Just the bad Arabs?

635. Whatever conception you have of Arabia or Arabs,

636. you need to understand how sensitive this situation is.

637. This is no longer the Olympics.

638. Thank you, Peter, for, uh, clarifying.

639. It does bring up a good question.

640. What should we call them on the air?

641. In News, we would refer to them as commando guerrillas.

642. Commando? That sounds like we're in Vietnam or something.

643. What was it they called them on German radio?

644. "Terrorists."What was that?

645. They used "terrorists."

646. Okay. Let's... let's go with that.

647. That's a charged term.

648. Terrorism is the organized and systematic use

649. of violence against civilians to affect a political goal.

650. Isn't that pretty much what's happening here?

651. Nobody knows yet what is happening here.

652. So we have to be very careful about everything we say on air.

653. No offense guys, but you're Sports.

654. You're in way over your head. News should take over.

655. Peter, just call us back in a couple of minutes.

656. He might be right.

657. Okay, look, I know this isn't a responsibility

658. that everyone wants.

659. But does it make more sense

660. to have a talking head from News take over

661. from halfway across the fucking world?

662. Our job is to tell the stories of these individuals,

663. whose lives are at stake, 100 yards away.

664. And our job is really straightforward.

665. We put the camera in the right place,

666. and we follow the story as it unfolds in real time.

667. News can tell us what it all meant

668. after it's over. And I'm sure they're gonna try.

669. But this is our story.

670. And we're keeping it.

671. All right, you heard the boss. We have 45 minutes left.

672. Do we have an opener yet?

673. It's a 50 and a 250. All right.

674. Four fresh rolls, 50 daylight. Okay.

675. Ready? Ready.

676. That's our opener.

677. Cam two, that's good, but I need the balcony

678. to be at the very center of the shot, Charley.

679. You got it, Kubrick.

680. Tower cam, get nice and close on that roof.

681. You gotta push in.

682. Yeah, keep going in.

683. There you go. Okay.

684. Talk me through.

685. Yeah. So, we have Jim on cam one.

686. Cam two has a live shot of the balcony.

687. Tower cam has an aerial view

688. of the entire Olympic Village and can zoom in.

689. We got 16 millimeter footage

690. on tape machines three through six.

691. And we can now hear Jennings live on the air.

692. We also have an overview of the hostages.

693. Plus an interview with one of them. David Berger.

694. It's ready for playback.

695. Good work.

696. Five minutes, everyone!

697. Five minutes, take your positions.

698. Tower cam, I want you to start

699. with an establishing pan over the spectators.

700. And then push in.

701. I want a gut-punch close-up of that terrorist.

702. Uh, Geoff, can you... can you turn it down a notch?

703. It's not track and field.

704. It's— They threatened to kill people.

705. Is the noon deadline confirmed?

706. Uh, yeah.

707. What do I tell the cameras?

708. What do you mean?

709. I mean, can we show someone being shot on live television?

710. We can't control what happens.

711. No, wait, wait, wait.

712. We're the only station going live with this.

713. Which means everyone will be watching us,

714. including the hostages' families.

715. Okay, okay. Hallway.

716. All right, everyone, stay on your headsets.

717. You don't want anybody

718. to see their kid executed on live television. Of course not, Marv—

719. So, I... I don't know about the Israelis,

720. but David Berger's folks are in Ohio.

721. So I'm pretty sure they'll watch.

722. Well, someone should tell them not to watch it.

723. But we have a bigger responsibility here.

724. What about the sponsors?

725. The sponsors are not gonna be concerned.

726. All they care about are viewers. Guys. We have two minutes.

727. Okay.

728. So, uh, is that what we're trying to achieve here?

729. Ratings? No. We're just...

730. We're following the story

731. wherever it takes us. All right.

732. Then let me ask you this, let me ask you this.

733. Black September,

734. they know that the whole world is watching, right?

735. That's why they chose the Olympics.

736. If, I'm saying if, they shoot someone

737. on live television...

738. Right, whose story is that?

739. Is it ours, or is it theirs?

740. How about this? If things get tense,

741. we only leave the 16 millimeter running.

742. That gives us plenty of time to decide

743. whether we air it or not.

744. Yeah, that's it.

745. Hmm?

746. That's it. Yeah. That's it. Thank you, Geoff.

747. Thirty seconds to open.

748. And here we go.

749. Jim ready yet?

750. We're last looks.

751. Comm check, one, two. All set.

752. Cam one, tight on Jim. CAMERAMAN 1: Right down on me.

753. Two on preview. Tower cam, stay wide on building 31.

754. Got it. Gladys, opening title on five.

755. Clear the frame, please. Fifteen seconds.

756. Title one ready for insert.

757. Okay, people. And...

758. ten, nine,

759. eight, seven... Roll two.

760. six, five... If things do get tense,

761. go to the onlookers,

762. we'll cut to reaction shots, right?

763. two, one. We're on.

764. Roll two. Opening title on five.

765. Ready one. Take one.

766. Jim, you're on.

767. Good morning, I'm Jim McKay

768. speaking to you live

769. at this moment from ABC headquarters,

770. just outside the Olympic Village in Munich,

771. West Germany.Cam two on preview.

772. The peace of what had been called

773. the "Serene Olympics"... Dissolve to two.

774. was shattered just before dawn this morning

775. about five o'clock... Ready three.

776. when terrorists

777. armed with submachine guns... Dissolve to three.

778. faces blackened,

779. climbed the fence... Ready one.

780. went to the headquarters

781. of the Israeli team... Dissolve to one.

782. and immediately killed one man,

783. Moshe Weinberg, a coach.

784. Two shots in the head, one in the stomach.

785. They've been holding 14 others hostage since then,

786. and the latest report is that one more

787. has been killed. Ready two. Take two.

788. Peter Jennings is inside the Village.

789. Let's go to Peter now.

790. Jim, I'm directly across

791. from the Israeli building.

792. It will be a famous number before long.

793. Thirty-one. It is on Connollystrasse.

794. The reports here vary dramatically

795. as to what is going on.

796. Peter, do we already know

797. who is responsible for the attack?

798. There is a great deal of speculation

799. one could indulge in,

800. which would be risky, but if I were to guess,

801. I would most likely narrow in

802. on a group called Black September.

803. That, however, is pure speculation. Back to one.

804. Something that is not speculation

805. is that one of the hostages

806. is David Berger, 26 years old, a former United States citizen,

807. we are told by the Israelis. Moved there about two years ago.

808. He's in the light heavyweight class. Roll tape one.

809. After receiving a law degree

810. from Columbia University... ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Five, four...

811. Berger failed to qualify for the U.S. team... three,

812. two, one, ready to go.To fulfill his dream of the Olympics,

813. he emigrated to Israel. Two days ago,

814. he was interviewed by Peter Jennings

815. for an ABC color piece. Hit it.

816. That's what the Olympics are all about, you know.

817. We're here, we can talk to Germans, uh,

818. chat with athletes from Lebanon or Egypt.

819. This is what we've been dreaming about.

820. You know. It's not just sports.

821. Back to one. Clean.

822. I'm gonna get back to Hans Klein and wait for the latest.

823. Bird, caption on my cue.

824. And now. Ladies and gentlemen,

825. these dreams have been shattered

826. by this terrible, terrible attack.

827. The terrorists have demanded the release of some 200

828. Arab guerrilla prisoners in Israel

829. in exchange for the lives of Israeli athletes.

830. And they had set a deadline of noon,

831. saying that they were going to kill

832. all of their hostages at that time.

833. That deadline obviously has passed,

834. so nobody knows what is gonna happen now.

835. Same as last time.Got it.

836. I can't believe she's the negotiator.

837. She doesn't strike me as the hard-boiled type.

838. Well, if the terrorists underestimate her like you do,

839. she probably has a chance to get information.

840. Just look.

841. She's asking him for a cigarette.

842. No, no, no. She's earning his trust.

843. I just wish I could hear what she's saying.

844. The Olympics, at this moment, are still continuing.

845. It's a very strange atmosphere.

846. As I said, we're only about 500 yards from this building here.

847. Roll tape four.

848. Within 200 yards from where that building is,

849. there is a kind of a man-made pond,

850. not a formal swimming pool,

851. but a very lovely pond, with a little dock,

852. where the athletes lie out and take sun.

853. And that's what they're doing right now.

854. They're out there sunning themselves, they're swimming,

855. talking about technique

856. with athletes of other countries.

857. And yet, this grim, terrible thing

858. is taking place inside the Village.

859. Three hundred yards closer,

860. well, take a look at this right now,

861. this is a live picture.

862. Action in boxing going on, a crowded arena.

863. Here at the Boxhalle in, uh... in... in Munich,

864. Volley... volleyball is also taking place, incidentally.

865. Duane Bobick... I'll make sure we still have the bird.

866. who was scheduled to fight at just...

867. What's he talking about? Don't we still have three?

868. He swapped slots.

869. The Arab nations that are here

870. are Algeria, Saudi Arabia...

871. Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon...

872. Guys! Sudan, Syria...

873. Sorry, boss.

874. Tunisia, Morocco. They're all here.

875. No word from them as yet.

876. Uh, no indication if there will be any statement...

877. Can we get a cup of coffee, please?

878. Great.

879. You just sent away the one person who could understand this.

880. Something's happening here in Connollystrasse.

881. It seems like they're bringing in food now.

882. If you ask me, these are policemen

883. dressed as cooks.

884. Tower, keep tracking them.

885. My half-blind grandmother could tell these cooks are cops.

886. Roone, again. NBC has that satellite at three.

887. What's your suggestion?

888. Change it, that's my fucking suggestion.

889. They can't have the slot.

890. You guys will think of something.

891. I gotta keep going.

892. Looks like they're proving

893. the food isn't poisoned.

894. Now the cooks seem eager to carry in the food,

895. but the leader takes it from them...

896. goes in alone.

897. Whatever the Germans tried to achieve here, it failed.

898. The long-range forecast said today

899. that high radiation level—

900. To Smith's illegal regime—

901. Peter Jennings is still in the Italian team's...

902. Yeah?I'm watching Channel 11, Israeli TV.

903. Um, who is that? Give me Channel 11.

904. but it is not yet clear

905. how they can handle this hostage situation...

906. I think that's Tuv... Tuvia Sokolsky.

907. He is one of the Israelis who escaped.

908. Why don't we have him?

909. Larry, run over to their lot, grab that guy,

910. bring him here.I'm on it.

911. And tell JJ we're hungry.

912. And not German food, please.

913. All units

914. around the Olympic Village, keep your position.

915. Do you have any news from the negotiations?

916. The leader has postponed the ultimatum to 5 p.m.

917. What's all that mean? New ultimatum is 5:00 p.m.

918. And we're moving in now on the windows,

919. behind which at this moment

920. nine terrified living human beings

921. are being held prisoner.

922. The demands have been many— There is someone right now.

923. Uh, certainly has to be one of the guerrillas. JJ: Geoff.

924. One of them is believed to be a woman.

925. And this has happened time and time and time again.

926. The door opening, the head coming out

927. to see what is going on.

928. Chuck, play that back in slo-mo, will you?

929. We see the moment again here in slow motion.

930. It's been such

931. a terribly tantalizing symbol... Hmm?

932. of this situation. Okay.

933. Master Control wants a block of five. Now.

934. What's going on inside that head?

935. Jim, commercial break in ten seconds.

936. We're gonna take a very short station break

937. at this point. And hopefully, when we get back,

938. we have at least some answers for you. Drop to commercial.

939. And we're clear.

940. The Kodak XL Movie Camera.

941. Back in three.

942. This is the camera and film that lets you take movies

943. without movie lights... Let's see what's on the competition.

944. Still the only ones providing live coverage.

945. Yeah, seems like it.

946. The situation in the Olympic Village

947. remains unclear.

948. Meanwhile, the pressure on the Olympic Committee

949. to halt the Games is mounting.

950. We asked athletes what they think.

951. My heart is very heavy today.

952. As an athlete and as an Arab,

953. I would like to express my solidarity

954. with my Israeli colleagues.

955. And I pray that everything ends well.

956. Excuse me, may I ask you if you heard anything...

957. Hey, this is Gary. ... this morning in the Village?

958. Uh, no.

959. REPORTER: What is your discipline?

960. Weightlifting.

961. REPORTER: Any comment on the current situation?

962. No, I gotta go.

963. Guys? Guys. He's here.

964. Thirty seconds.

965. Okay, for me.

966. Master Control, we are ready for take over.

967. Hey Jim, it's Roone.

968. So, this is about as close as you're gonna get

969. to the hostages. Make it count.

970. And five, four, three, two, one.

971. Take one.

972. We're coming to you live from ABC headquarters

973. in Munich, West Germany. I'm sitting right now

974. with a man who has just come into the studio.

975. His name is Tuvia Sokolsky.

976. He is on the extreme left here.

977. The gentleman in the middle is Nasim Javidi,

978. translator for the Israeli team.

979. Mr. Sokolsky does not speak English.

980. He is the coach of the weightlifters...

981. and came out of that room today. Roone.

982. Would you ask him just to tell us, briefly... They wanna talk to you.

983. what happened today.

984. Yeah. Roone.

985. We need our slot back immediately!

986. I tried to negotiate for you.

987. "At about 4:30 this morning,

988. I heard— I was fast asleep, when I woke up and...

989. Geoff. Geoff!

990. Tell Jim we're about to lose the satellite.

991. What? We're in the middle of the interview.

992. In a couple of seconds, all anyone is gonna see

993. is a black screen.

994. You have to tell him to say something.

995. Jim? Jim, CBS is taking the satellite.

996. Look, we can keep recording, but wrap the segment up.

997. I'm sorry, we've run out of time.

998. We'd like to continue the interview on tape.

999. And we'll have it later.

1000. We're losing the satellite right now.

1001. The Arab guerillas are still in the Israeli quarters.

1002. One man is dead, Mr. Javidi tells me,

1003. another man is now definitely dead,

1004. but we don't know his identity as yet.

1005. The tense battle goes on, the deadline, five o'clock,

1006. that's in an hour and 45 minutes.

1007. Jim McKay, as the Olympics continue

1008. in Munich, West Germany.

1009. Dissolve to five.

1010. Goddamn it.

1011. Five minutes?

1012. We're in the middle of something. What are we doing?

1013. What's going on? CBS insisted on the slot.

1014. They said they're keeping it, unless we share the feed.

1015. Why can't we share?

1016. When do we get it back? Well...

1017. What? When do we get it back?

1018. I don't know.

1019. Um, we could give it to CBS,

1020. but we could show our logo in the stream.

1021. What do you mean?

1022. Well, just put "ABC" up there.

1023. Um, and just leave it there constantly in the top corner.

1024. What transmission are you talking?

1025. Well, it'll be output only.

1026. So you just put a permanent superimpose on it.

1027. Yeah. Do that. Yeah?

1028. Mm-hmm. Okay.

1029. Someone put on CBS.

1030. Logo ready on four.

1031. Back on the bird.

1032. Tell Jim to start the interview where we left off.

1033. Take up the interview.

1034. Five, four, three,

1035. two, one.

1036. Take one.

1037. GEOFF: Fly logo in.

1038. You own the story now.

1039. Well, he... he...

1040. he hasn't got any real practical suggestions.

1041. He feels that one should not give in.

1042. But— And he leaves the whole affair to—

1043. in the hands of the security people,

1044. the professionals.

1045. On the other hand, he yearns for the moment

1046. that his friends and all his colleagues,

1047. these athletes whom he had known for so many years,

1048. family men, will be out safely.

1049. I can see the emotion that he's feeling.

1050. It's very high in this room.

1051. I can't tell you how much I appreciate Mr. Sokolsky

1052. taking the time to tell the story to us.

1053. Thank you, too.

1054. Thank you.

1055. They're suspending the Games.

1056. The competition has been suspended.

1057. Spectators are leaving the stadium

1058. towards Connollystrasse.

1059. Gate 6, confirmed. The situation is getting out of hand.

1060. The important thing right now is that the Games

1061. of the 20th Olympiad

1062. have now been officially suspended.

1063. And as you can see from this footage

1064. that has just reached us,

1065. the situation outside the apartment

1066. is becoming increasingly confusing.

1067. To all units, to all units.

1068. Green light for Operation Sunshine.

1069. Uh, the police just gave green light for some action.

1070. Olympic police force to the surrounding buildings.

1071. Clear area of all press. Damn it.

1072. Police are clearing

1073. all press out of the Village. What?

1074. The police are clearing all press out of the Village.

1075. Where did you hear that?I've been listening

1076. to the police scanner next door.

1077. Jennings.

1078. Jennings, you need to hide. What?

1079. The police are clearing all the buildings.

1080. German police! Open up!

1081. Guys, check the Tower cam.

1082. Get back to the police scanner.

1083. Jennings?

1084. All good, they moved on.

1085. Okay, great.

1086. It looks like the police are about to make a move.

1087. Can you get back to the balcony?

1088. Yes, give us a minute. Preview cam three.

1089. Jim, check your preview.

1090. We are told that there are men with guns,

1091. beginning to train those guns... Take Tower cam.

1092. on the rooms where the two heads were sticking out

1093. a moment ago, the Arab guerillas lookouts.

1094. Tower cam, push in.

1095. Now, I don't...

1096. Now, I'm not sure these men have guns or... or cameras.

1097. That's a gun, all right. That's a gun, yeah.

1098. One man with binoculars, another with a gun.

1099. Peter... Peter Jennings is in the Village.

1100. Peter, can you see this going on?

1101. They're walking cautiously on the roof.

1102. Hopefully, not being heard in the rooms below.

1103. This is happening now,

1104. if you can possibly believe that.

1105. At the Games of the 20th Olympiad.

1106. Within a few hundred yards,

1107. some athletes are still training on the running track.

1108. Volleyball competition is going on.

1109. Look at this, this is right now.

1110. Volleyball competition going on in the Olympic Games.

1111. As we said, the Games have been interrupted,

1112. but only at the conclusion of competition that was going on

1113. when the announcement was made.

1114. Now, back to the—

1115. Now, back to the...

1116. real world, I guess you'd call it at this point.

1117. Although this seems like the unreal one.

1118. Go bird, caption.

1119. They don't seem prepared at all.

1120. Yeah. They don't.

1121. We are removing the bars.

1122. These cops have no idea what they're doing.

1123. No wonder they lost the war.

1124. What a shame that most people see this in black and white.

1125. Not in America. Every bus driver has a color TV nowadays.

1126. And the athletes here.

1127. Germans put a color TV in every apartment.

1128. So, are they seeing what we're seeing?

1129. What are you talking about?

1130. Are the terrorists seeing this?

1131. They're not receiving ABC here.

1132. Yes, they are.

1133. Inside the Olympic Village...

1134. every athlete can access any international station.

1135. Cam two, pan a bit down.

1136. Push in.

1137. That's a TV.

1138. I have a clear view of the window.

1139. There's a light flickering. Could be from a television.

1140. Is the power not off?

1141. Negative. A unit is on its way to ABC.

1142. Uh, did... did they just say ABC?

1143. The control room?

1144. Police!

1145. Stop broadcasting!

1146. What's going on?

1147. Off! Cameras off! What?

1148. Hey! Are you fucking nuts?

1149. You do not point a gun at my crew!

1150. Jesus Christ! All live cams off!

1151. Three, Charley, that's you too, turn the Tower cam off.

1152. Happy?

1153. Hey! Hey, hey. What's going on here?

1154. They just took us off the air.

1155. Who's in charge? This guy?

1156. You in charge? Yeah? You speak English?

1157. Get the fuck out of my studio! Out!

1158. Out!

1159. Abort.

1160. Isar 11, abort operation.

1161. All units back to base.

1162. The police are climbing down from the roof now.

1163. They seem to be calling off the attack.

1164. Looks like this was yet another failed attempt

1165. to get the situation under control.

1166. Was that our fault?

1167. Let's just go— We'll take a commercial, okay?

1168. Commercial break, five minutes. Get on that.

1169. Here we go.

1170. Master Control...

1171. Bader, can we talk?

1172. Then they should've cut the electricity

1173. to the apartment.

1174. It's not up to us to double-check on them.

1175. That— Marv, it's not okay if we made it worse.

1176. You know that.

1177. We don't even know why they called it off.

1178. The Germans seem generally pretty overwhelmed.

1179. They are.

1180. I'm listening to the police radio.

1181. It's local cops doing things

1182. they have never done before.

1183. The German Army gave them sniper rifles

1184. and had to instruct them on how to use them.

1185. Why doesn't the German Army just do it itself?

1186. They're not allowed to operate here.

1187. German constitution. That's ridiculous.

1188. The rumor is Israel offered to send a special unit

1189. to help them out. And that Germany refused it.

1190. They are just making one mistake after another.

1191. And trying to act

1192. like they've got it all under control.

1193. Let's keep going.

1194. Marianne, I want you with me, in the control room.

1195. Bring the radio. Okay.

1196. Ladies and gentlemen... The Germans are back to negotiating.

1197. This time, Interior Minister Genscher is joining them.

1198. The leader only seems willing to talk to Gensch—

1199. Wait.

1200. Wait, put me live! Put me live!

1201. Jim, Peter has some breaking info. We're going to him.

1202. I just got word something is happening at Connollystrasse.

1203. Peter, you have news?

1204. Thanks, Jim. Yes. Moments ago, a window opened.

1205. And, for the first time, now we're seeing some of the hostages.

1206. No, we're not.

1207. We might as well be listening to the fucking radio.

1208. Cam two, Tower, either of you have an angle on this?

1209. Clear shot, Mase.

1210. Clear as crystal.

1211. and also how many terrorists are visible.

1212. We've seen two hostages so far.

1213. They were led to the window one after the other.

1214. One guerrilla with an AK-47 behind them.

1215. This is ridiculous.

1216. It's a terrible sight.

1217. Now, that sounds very dramatic, Peter.

1218. Ladies and gentlemen...

1219. JIM: Um...

1220. We're sorry that we can't show you a live image... Yeah?

1221. Geoff, turn the cameras back on.

1222. You got it, Roone.

1223. All right, we're back in business.

1224. All cams back on.

1225. Cam two, back on. Cam three, back on.

1226. Anyone know who that is?

1227. The fencing coach.

1228. Andrei Spitzer.

1229. Twenty-seven years old.

1230. Gladys, I'm gonna need you to make a caption.

1231. Andrei Spitzer.

1232. Caption ready.

1233. Insert Spitzer graphic.

1234. It looks like Spitzer wants to tell

1235. Genscher something.

1236. Now he's dragged away from the window,

1237. and the curtains are closed again.

1238. Genscher is talking to the leader.

1239. He seems furious.

1240. What is she saying?

1241. Um, Genscher offered to swap himself

1242. with the Israeli hostages,

1243. but the terrorists refused the offer. Um...

1244. Genscher insists on going inside to see how the hostages are.

1245. The leader's taking Genscher

1246. and another official into the apartment now.

1247. Someone asked, um, if they already know

1248. the destination for the flight.

1249. What flight?

1250. Flight?

1251. There's talk of flying them out of the country.

1252. Well, where could they fly them to?

1253. What airport?

1254. Everyone shut up, please! Shut up!

1255. They're giving orders.

1256. The... the policewoman...

1257. "Tell... tell the leader that it takes time

1258. to prepare the plane."

1259. They mentioned two helicopters to fly the hostages

1260. and the terrorists to the airport.

1261. What airport? Uh, they didn't say.

1262. They're coming back out.

1263. Genscher seems shocked.

1264. God only knows what horrors he saw in there.

1265. Uh, Cairo— They... they said Cairo as their destination.

1266. Okay, listen up. We need to find out

1267. where in the Village these choppers can land,

1268. and what airport they're gonna go to for transfer!

1269. Sun is beginning to sink behind the buildings. Great, great.

1270. Thanks. There's some way from darkness here.

1271. Sorry. But I can't help but think what a difficult task

1272. this would be if the commandos got out in the Olympic Village

1273. after dark.You got it?

1274. Yeah.

1275. Riem's the obvious choice, but probably not,

1276. there's too much air traffic.

1277. Augsburg? It's too far away.

1278. nations around the world...

1279. They just mentioned a flight time

1280. of five to seven minutes with the helicopters.

1281. What was the name of that little airport

1282. in the middle of nowhere,

1283. where we picked up the equipment that time?

1284. Um, it was something...

1285. Feld... Furst—Furstenfeldbruck.

1286. Furstenfeldbruck.

1287. Yeah. That was it. That's a military airport.

1288. Furstenfeldbruck.

1289. That'd make sense. No one is out there.

1290. Hmm. Guys.

1291. Do you hear that?

1292. What's going on?

1293. Do we have eyes on these choppers?

1294. Come on, show me something.

1295. Tower? Do you have eyes on the choppers?

1296. Negative. Guys, I'm blind here. Come on.

1297. Gentlemen, can you read me?

1298. Yeah, Howard, we got you loud and clear.

1299. I see them! Two choppers.

1300. Approaching from southeast.

1301. Howard, where exactly are you? Are you inside the Village?

1302. Yes. I'm at Gate 6.

1303. They let me in after the boxing match.

1304. Ran into Gary here. I'm taking over his channel.

1305. Uh, they're talking about a bus now.

1306. A bus escorting them to the helicopters.

1307. Howard, are the police clearing out the area?

1308. No, it's packed.

1309. There are people with cameras everywhere.

1310. It's like Elvis has landed.

1311. They'll use the, um...

1312. parking level below the apartments, um...

1313. There's the next staircase. Building 12.

1314. Howard, look behind you. Do you see a staircase?

1315. Uh, yeah.

1316. Okay, go down it and look for a bus.

1317. Got it.

1318. The light in the hallway's on.

1319. Looks like they're leaving the apartment

1320. using the inner staircase.

1321. I'm in the parking area,

1322. and it's a complete madhouse down there.

1323. Police and press are everywhere.

1324. There's men with cameras next to men with guns.

1325. Put him on the air. There's no connector.

1326. Patch this mic through to the air.

1327. Get him on the air.

1328. Uh, yeah.You got it?

1329. Yeah, yeah.

1330. Uh, Jim, Pete. I'm just looping Howard in here.

1331. Good? Go!

1332. Howard, we're putting you live on the air with Jim and Peter.

1333. Word is they're flying out

1334. both the hostages and the terrorists.

1335. Let's hear Peter Jennings on this.

1336. Thank you, Jim. My colleagues and I

1337. are scrambling to put the pieces together.

1338. But Howard Cosell is currently on location.

1339. Howard, this is Peter.

1340. Do you have something to report from there?

1341. Howard, go ahead.

1342. I certainly do, Peter. I'm in the parking garage.

1343. Terrorists and hostages are arriving,

1344. their hands tied together.

1345. The police are here in almost platoon-like numbers.

1346. We're building up to what I think

1347. will be quite the climax.

1348. Okay, the bus just came in!

1349. They're bringing the hostages to the bus.

1350. The terrorists have submachine guns.

1351. Pushing the young athletes onto the bus.

1352. According to unconfirmed reports,

1353. Cairo was named as the flight destination.

1354. There are helicopters waiting to bring the hostages,

1355. um, and the terrorists to a military airport

1356. for the changeover. Take three.

1357. Geoff, this is Tower, I have eyes on the bus.

1358. Jim, I just ran onto the bridge. I can see them.

1359. One Arab is getting out.

1360. Flashes from the cameras are hitting him

1361. from every direction.

1362. He almost looks like a rock star walking on stage.

1363. Now I can see the Israelis.

1364. I hear something.

1365. People shouting from the windows and balconies,

1366. but I don't know what it is.

1367. Shalom! Shalom!

1368. It's "shalom," the Hebrew word for peace.

1369. The propellers are turning

1370. and the chopper is lifting off.

1371. These Israeli athletes are leaving the Olympic Village,

1372. not as free and proud competitors of their country,

1373. but as victims of a brutal act of terror.

1374. The first helicopter now proceeding out

1375. over the main Olympic stadium,

1376. flying around this tremendously high Olympic Tower.

1377. Flying to what seems like the last chapter

1378. of a nerve-racking day.

1379. Stretch the show with sports

1380. until we have news from the airport.

1381. Sports? Yeah.

1382. Jim will smooth over the transitions.

1383. Screw it, I want to see it, too.

1384. Sorry. Jacques, get right back here.

1385. Two minutes!

1386. Carter, grab a 16 mm. Get footage from the airport.

1387. You're gonna go with him. Take my car.

1388. You're the only one who speaks German.

1389. Okay.

1390. Where is it parked? Back lot.

1391. Blue BMW. Okay.

1392. Are they gonna really fly them out?

1393. I don't know.

1394. So then, how does this end? In a shootout?

1395. You'll need sound.

1396. Hank.

1397. The 10,000 meter run

1398. was nearing the halfway mark

1399. and out in front was Dave Bedford of England,

1400. followed by little Miruts Yifter of Ethiopia,

1401. and Mariano Haro of Spain. [AUDIENCE CHEERING OVER MONITOR]

1402. Back of the pack, Lasse Virén,

1403. in the dark jersey... Hey guys,

1404. I don't think there's anything left to do here.

1405. So, how about I just come back to the studio,

1406. provide some analysis? That's a great idea, Jennings.

1407. Get back here as soon as you can.

1408. Charley, might as well roll cam two back into the studio.

1409. Uh, Geoff? Geoff, you gonna wanna see this.

1410. I think it's David Berger's father.

1411. Have you gotten any help

1412. from any of the governments or any of the agencies?

1413. No.

1414. All the information we have

1415. has come from the news on television.

1416. I just hope they get the situation under control...

1417. and we hear from our son soon.

1418. Is there anything you wanna say

1419. to your son right now?

1420. Marianne, you read me? I just want him to come home.

1421. Forget it, they are too far away.

1422. Marv, you got anything? Hold on just a second.

1423. Supposedly all hell has broken loose at the airport.

1424. There's shooting.

1425. Oh, God.

1426. Carter?

1427. It's crazy out there. Massive traffic jams,

1428. hundreds of people blocking the road.

1429. The police couldn't even get through with their tanks.

1430. Tanks? Yeah.

1431. You see those lights?

1432. That's the airport.

1433. Everyone just left their cars behind and walked there.

1434. How did you get back here?

1435. Marianne convinced some guy to lend us his moped.

1436. There they are!

1437. This is great stuff, Carter. We gotta get more of this.

1438. Okay.

1439. This is useless there.

1440. I saw some pay phones.

1441. We'll call as soon as there's any news.

1442. Can you hear the shots?

1443. How many more clips in the package?

1444. Uh, two. About ten seconds.

1445. Okay.

1446. Ready one. Take one.

1447. With me now is Peter Jennings,

1448. who reported the whole day for us

1449. directly out of the Village.

1450. Standby two. Take two. Peter, what conclusions

1451. do you draw from these recordings?

1452. Clearly, the German authorities

1453. want to end it here and now, Jim.

1454. But now, they have to improvise.

1455. PETER: And so far,

1456. they haven't proven themselves to be very good at that.

1457. There's no further reports... Hello?

1458. Marianne's on the phone.

1459. But the head of the Olympic... Patch it through.

1460. GEOFF: Yeah?

1461. Can the footage be used?

1462. Yeah, yeah, we're watching it right now.

1463. We have it on the air. Why?

1464. Listen, there's a rumor going around here

1465. that the hostages are free.

1466. What?

1467. The hostages are free.

1468. That's amazing news! That's— Hold on.

1469. Everybody! Listen to this!

1470. Marianne, say what you just said to me.

1471. For the last hour, we've been hearing gunshots.

1472. A few minutes ago, the shooting suddenly stopped.

1473. Then a man from Hans Klein's office

1474. came up from the airport

1475. and said the hostages are all free.

1476. Is this confirmed?I don't know, Geoff.

1477. People here are celebrating.

1478. Everyone is-

1479. Damn it! Find your own damn phone booth!

1480. Hello?

1481. Check the Germans. ZDF. Now.

1482. I don't know what they're saying, but they sound damn happy.

1483. Turn that up. Right there.I have to go.

1484. No, no, no. Stay on the line. Everyone wants this phone.

1485. I need you to translate something. Okay? Translate this.

1486. Fritz Hattig is on site

1487. at Fuürstenfeldbruck airport.

1488. And he has just confirmed, and I quote,

1489. "During a quick but intense shootout,

1490. it seems all hostages managed to escape."

1491. He says it, too. They're all free.

1492. ZDF is saying that they're all free.

1493. Then have Jim announce it.

1494. Yeah, I'm gonna check with Marv, okay?

1495. Hold on.

1496. Marv?

1497. Yeah. We're watching it.

1498. Is... is it confirmed? Not yet.

1499. I see Klein's press staff on the phone.

1500. It seems that they have serious doubts.

1501. Don't air it yet. Wait for the confirmation.

1502. Marv says that it's not confirmed yet.

1503. Then we have Jim use the phrase,

1504. "as we're hearing.

1505. Look, Marv, we... we're gonna go with it.

1506. Uh, but we're gonna use the phrase "as we're hearing."

1507. Where's Roone? Let me talk to him.

1508. Geoff, don't air it. We need two confirmed sources.

1509. Marv, we have to go now.

1510. If we air it, then everybody else will.

1511. So what? We let CBS or NBC take the scoop?

1512. This isn't a competition.

1513. Wait for confirmation.

1514. Geoff? Do you read-

1515. Jim.

1516. We... we're getting good news.

1517. It sounds like all the hostages are free.

1518. But we need to use the phrase "as we are hearing," okay?

1519. And...

1520. As we are hearing now,

1521. it appears that the Germans were able to free all hostages,

1522. but we don't know just yet what exactly happened there.

1523. Everybody's reporting it now.

1524. They're all just following our lead.

1525. Then it's good we got it out there first.

1526. Yeah, you know, Klein can't even find

1527. the guy at the fence who broke this.

1528. We're talking worldwide news

1529. based on the word of one mysterious man,

1530. no one has been able to confirm. Oh, come on.

1531. Roone wanted me to get it out there.No, no, no.

1532. Geoff, Geoff, no. You pulled the trigger.

1533. Not Roone! It's on ZDF, Marvin!

1534. That's German state television.

1535. And this is ABC!

1536. And I vouched for you, Geoff! I vouched for you.

1537. We never said it was a fact. We used "as we are hearing."

1538. Yeah, that's a fucking technicality, Geoff.

1539. Geoff?

1540. Geoff! Here.

1541. It's official. They're free.

1542. Let me see that!

1543. Marv... Yeah. Forg... forg... forget it.

1544. It's Starger.

1545. Cheers!

1546. Cheers! Good work, everyone.

1547. Cheers! Good job, everyone. Cheers.

1548. Really good.

1549. We're not done yet, though.

1550. We need access to the cops on the airfield.

1551. I'm talking interviews, behind the scenes,

1552. anything like that.

1553. And maybe we can even talk to the hostages.

1554. What?

1555. He said that we've made broadcast history.

1556. Probably more people have seen this

1557. than watch Armstrong land on the moon.

1558. So, you're gonna get a big bonus.

1559. I need a fucking drink.

1560. You?Yeah. Oh, yeah.

1561. Mason on deck? Yeah.

1562. That kid's good. Right?

1563. Yeah.

1564. Lehayim.

1565. Now in our studio

1566. is Chancellor Brandt's press secretary, Conrad Ahlers.

1567. It's an honor... Ahlers is here.

1568. When was it agreed, do you know,

1569. to allow the guerrillas to go

1570. from the building to the helicopters?

1571. Well, just two hours ago.

1572. But of course, that was part of the game.

1573. We never meant to let them go free out of this country.

1574. I'm very glad that as far as we can see now,

1575. this police action was successful.

1576. "As far as we can see"? Of course,

1577. it's an unfortunate... What is that?

1578. interruption of the Olympic Games,

1579. but, I mean, if all that comes out

1580. as we hope it will come out.

1581. "As we hope"? I think it will be forgotten

1582. after a few weeks.

1583. And if the reports, as we hear them, are true,

1584. the Games will continue probably by tomorrow.

1585. Well, I'm quite sure,

1586. and you must understand that for us Germans,

1587. it was a tragic situation

1588. that all this happened to Jewish people.

1589. You know, after all our past,

1590. of course it was our main...

1591. our main idea to get these Israelis free,

1592. otherwise, you know...

1593. some of the old memories might have come back.

1594. That doesn't sound right. Hmm?

1595. I think the people of the world are well aware

1596. that those volunteers... Can I use your phone?

1597. who were trying to free the Israelis today were Germans.

1598. Yes, I hope that they don't forget.

1599. That they won't forget it.

1600. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary.

1601. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. Thank you very much.

1602. And we're clear.

1603. Any word from the airport police?

1604. Can't get through. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Same here.

1605. Been on hold for 20 minutes.How about the hostages?

1606. Don't you think we should give them a break?

1607. Maybe.

1608. Guys, what about the bus drivers,

1609. helicopter pilots? Come on, we gotta get creative here,

1610. we have a story to tell.

1611. Let me talk to Hans.

1612. Please understand, we can't confirm anything yet.

1613. What do you mean?

1614. Conrad Ahlers just announced it on live television.

1615. In our studio.

1616. The office is not corroborating with others.

1617. Shooting is still going on.

1618. What'd you just say?

1619. There's still shooting going on at the airport.

1620. There's still shooting at the airport! What?

1621. We were wrong. There's still shooting at the airport. Who's shooting?

1622. Jim has to go on air and say something.

1623. I know it wasn't true!

1624. 'Cause I got a fucking TV set too!

1625. Just tell me what happened!

1626. Jim, Peter. Listen, this is gonna be tough.

1627. Hans, I'm asking you. I'm asking you as a friend.

1628. Please just tell me what happened.

1629. The latest word we get from the airport

1630. is that, quote, "All of Hell has broken loose out there,"

1631. that there's still shooting going on,

1632. that there's a report of a burning helicopter,

1633. but all seems to be confusion. Nothing is nailed down.

1634. We have no idea what's happened to the hostages.

1635. But one of the men, by the way, who was a hostage,

1636. as far as we know, is still alive. Roone.

1637. David Berger,

1638. who went to Columbia University. Geoff.

1639. Uh, he was the only American-born member... Hallway. Please.

1640. of the Israeli team that was being held captive.

1641. Uh, he was a weightlifter,

1642. moved to Israel just about two years ago.

1643. Well, we'll keep you up to date...

1644. Stay with it.

1645. What happened?

1646. All... all of them.

1647. What if this is just a rumor?

1648. We don't— What did they say?

1649. They said that there were gunshots.

1650. Did they—Klein heard it

1651. from three separate sources.

1652. It's over.

1653. It's bullshit.

1654. We still have a team out there. They haven't even called us yet.

1655. We... we have to do some—

1656. We'll send another team out there.

1657. I'll go with them this time.

1658. And we have to get this right.

1659. This is our chance to get it right, Roone.

1660. Come on. Geoff.

1661. Marianne is on the phone.

1662. Yeah. Marianne?

1663. Okay, thank you.

1664. Cam one, close on Jim. Only Jim.

1665. Jim?

1666. so many, um, other people. All the hostages are dead.

1667. It's over.

1668. Ready one.

1669. Take one.

1670. I've just gotten the final word.

1671. When I was a kid, my father used to say,

1672. "Our greatest hopes and our worst fears

1673. are seldom realized."

1674. Our worst fears have been realized tonight.

1675. They've now said that there were 11 hostages.

1676. Two were killed in their rooms...

1677. this morn— yesterday morning.

1678. Nine were killed at the airport tonight.

1679. They're all gone.

1680. But it's all over.

1681. The Israeli Olympic team is destroyed.

1682. Much of it.

1683. But what will happen to the Games

1684. of the 20th Olympiad?

1685. None of us know what will happen to...

1686. the course of world history.

1687. We don't know.

1688. Hey. You all right?

1689. Uh...

1690. Mm. No, um...

1691. Innocent people died in Germany. Again.

1692. And we failed. Germany failed.

1693. Marianne, I'm sorry I sent you out there.

1694. I can only imagine the things you saw.

1695. Uh, I saw nothing.

1696. I... I was there with hundreds of people,

1697. we stared into the night.

1698. We were waiting for something to happen,

1699. because we wanted to take a picture of it.

1700. Uh, Geoff? Roone would like a word.

1701. See you tomorrow.

1702. Yeah.

1703. Hmm.

1704. Mm-hmm.

1705. Hang on one second.

1706. There's gonna be a commemoration at the stadium tomorrow

1707. at 10:00 a.m.

1708. I got us the bird.

1709. Jim and Jennings are gonna anchor

1710. and I want you to be in charge.

1711. I know it might not feel like it,

1712. but you did a hell of a job today.

1713. But...

1714. But it was a catastrophe.

1715. Get some rest.

1716. Roone?

1717. We need to talk about a one-hour special for tomorrow.

1718. Okay. I'll call you right back.

1719. And I have an approach.

1720. We take a flash unit out to the airport.

1721. Helicopters will still be there.

1722. We'll see them in daylight. Well, what's left of them.