Posted on 02/05/2006 8:56:19 PM PST by Cinnamon Girl
"Raid on Entebbe" the 1977 made for t.v. movie is on DVD and I just saw it for the first time. Yes, it looks made for t.v. and features Charles Bronson as an Israeli general (who keeps calling Yoni Netanyahu "Yanni"), but like "Exodus," it is a film that Hollywood probably wouldn't touch today.
The star of this true story about Israel's daring rescue of the (Israeli) Air France passengers kidnapped by a German/Palestinian joint terrorist effort, is Bibi's brother Yoni, played by Stephen Macht, with friend an expert marksman Sammy Berg played by James Woods.
While James Woods may remain Hollywood Incorrect (remember his rant about muslim terorists? Hollywood has moved in shame away from its not entirely leftist past.
In "Raid on Entebbe" the Israelis were clearly the good guys, carefully planning a raid into the airport of Uganda, blowing up migs and shooting every single terrorist, while Edi Amin, played by Yafet Kotto, looks like a bumbling fool, preaching to the Israeli hostages to let the Palestinians have their land back. Would Spielberg stand for such a demeaning depiction of Amin today? Or not show us the families of the German and Arab terrorists the Israelis took out, so we could see they're just regular folks, like the Israelis?
How is it that Hollywood, and the American public were able to tolerate the Israelis back then, let alone celebrate them?
"Exodus", discussed on an earlier post, was made in 1960 and stars Hollywood hero Paul Newman as an angry leader of the Haganah, who, along with the Irgun, fight for the state of Israel, but go back even farther in time and you'll find "The Best Years of Our Lives." Made in 1946, this Oscar winner for Best Picture follows the lives of three veterans returning home. One of them, real veteran Harold Russell, takes on a critic of the war during a powerful exchange in a soda shop:
Homer (noticing that a man is staring at his hooks): Pretty cute hey?
Man: You got plenty of guts. Terrible when you see a guy like you who had to sacrifice himself and for what?
Homer: And for what? I don’t get you mister.
Man: We let ourselves get sold down the river. We were pushed into war.
Homer: Sure, by the japs and the Nazis so we—
Man: No, the Germans and the japs had nothing against us. They just wanted to fight the limeys and the reds, and they would have whipped too, if we didn’t get deceived into it buy a bunch of radicals in Wash.
Homer: What are you talking about?
Man: We fought the wrong people, that’s all. Just read the facts, my friend. Find out for yourself why you had to lose your hands. And then go out and do something.
Homer: Look here mister, what are you selling anyway?
Man: I’m not selling anything but plain old fashioned Americanism.
Hmer: some Americanism. So we’re all a bunch of suckers, hey? So we should have been on the side of the Japs and the Nazis, hey?
Man: Again I say, just look at the facts.
Homer: I’ve seen a couple of facts. I’ve seen a ship go down and over 400 of my shipmates went with it. Were those guys suckers?
Man: That’s the unpleasant truth, and the sooner we get wise to it--
If this dialog would be in a film today about the Iraq war, Roger Ebert and company would tear it to shreads. And where is that film about the Iraq war anyway?
I strongly recommend all three of these films and I'm looking for more.
Thanks for the ping and the stuff about the 1946 movie.
Homer, who never acted before won an Academy Award.
She's wearing nothing but bloomers
It is correct to pull the bloomer down first. ;-)
"I still haven't seen Munich, but I do want to see it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You might consider watching "One Day in September" first, before watching Spielberg's version "Munich".
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230591/
It gives a much more balanced look at what happened at the 72 Olympics rather than the slanted view that is apparently presented in "Munich".
Agreed, I won't spend a penny on Spielberg's slanted take on this.
"One Day in September" is definitely worth searching for.
Bibi and Yoni.
I'll second that!
Be still my heart.
Gulp! :o)
Benjamin Netanyahu is like Donald Rumsfeld. They never lose their good looks. (I love their grins.)
I remember watching Raid on Entebbe when it aired on television in 1977. Awe inspiring story.
That is so true.
I've also got a old photo of DR saved, it's stunning. Will post just a link so the thread won't go even farther off course!
Speaking of Raid on Entebbe I noticed that comcast has it On Demand, so will have to tape it, haven't seen it in years.
Heheh, no kidding.
I was going to say that about Vice President Cheney. Always hot.
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