Munich: Widescreen DVD Review

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Title: Munich: Widescreen

Region: One

Genre: Drama Thriller

Stars: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, and Geoffrey Rush

Writers: Tony Kushner and Eric Roth

Based On The Book “Vengeance” By George Jonas

Director: Steven Spielberg

Feature length: 2 hours and 44 minutes

Extras: Optional Introduction By Director Steven Spielberg

Languages: English and French Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing and French and Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Keep Case

Chapter Stops: 20

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2005/DVD Release: 2006

Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: R

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

“Munich” is Steven Spielberg’s best feature film since “Saving Private Ryan.” Another confirmation that Spielberg is a masterful filmmaker and one of the very best not only of his generation, but also in the United States too. Somehow the reception for “Munich” seemed subdued despite critical acclaim and Oscar® nominations. This is not the first or the last time a filmmaker has faced any animosity from a group of people who disapprove of his or her work. It seems to go with being an artist. Even “Schindler’s List” had some people offended because they felt the depiction of an industrialist in the Nazi party who saved over a thousand Jews during the Holocaust was distasteful. Right now there are Christians upset over the theatrical release of “The Da Vinci Code” and there were people upset over “The Passion Of The Christ” as well as “The Last Temptation Of Christ” nearly two decades before. If there was anything that struck a cord in me at the end of “Munich” it was the carefully framed image of Manhattan Island with the World Trade Center Twin Towers looming high in the sky. It immediately thought about the recent influx of dramatizations of September 11, 2001 related events on both the big and small screens and I then I realized one thing. While I feel people sometimes miss the point because they get caught up in the emotion, I cannot simply say that they are getting caught up in metaphor or that their feelings are unjustified. 9/11 is too close to home for me not to equate the fact that if I were to condemn one group for finding displeasure in one film then I would be a hypocrite because I feel similarly about 9/11 films. Thus I have to allow for the fact that if you are not comfortable with something and have a certain point of view or emotional attachment then it must be respected, but just I cannot tell people 9/11 films feel too soon therefore because I don’t want to see them does not mean you should not. So I suppose we’re are all sensitive to issues and no one can or ever will be one hundred percent happy about what is going on around us in general, but I at least can feel empathy for both sides of the coin enough to say if you don’t like something than don’t see or hear it, but don’t begrudge those who are interested in seeing or hearing it for themselves and let them make up their own minds and hearts.

Steven Spielberg states in his optional introduction (4:30) that appears before the film that “Munich” is based on a book and that there are areas of the film that are dramatized that no one can be certain if it was indeed true or not. It is not a condemnation of the covert acts Israel took after the tragic murder of eleven Israeli athletes by Palestinians that began in the Olympic hotel area set up for participants in the 1972 games that were held in Munich. It think he simply wanted to tell a compelling story based as close as possible to historical facts and found the book “Vengeance” to be as close as possible to a form of documentation at the time when they decided to develop the film and I also think that based on Spielberg’s introduction, the film is meant to make the viewer reflect upon the incident and consequences thereafter and therefore it does not present an easy morale. Now you can agree with Spielberg or me and none of us. If you want to see “Munich” on DVD I urge you to watch it and digest it and then decide if you can what your own feelings are regardless.

Getting off the political soap box I have to state there are some great Actors in this film including a well cast Eric Bana, Academy Award® Winner Jeffrey Rush, Ciaran Hinds, who some might remember as the man who played Julius Caesar in the acclaimed HBO series “Rome” as well as Daniel Craig, who will be the latest Actor to portray 007 in the upcoming feature film adaptation of “Casino Royale.” Actor Michael Lonsdale, who played the villain Hugo Drax in the 007 thriller “Moonraker,” also appears in the film as the enigmatic “Papa.”

I would expect nothing less than an excellent standard definition DVD transfer for Steven Spielberg’s 24^th feature film if you include “Duel” since it was released theatrically abroad. Universal Home Entertainment delivers well with a beautiful anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio presentation coupled with an intense English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack. A French Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is also included on the DVD along with English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded onto the dual layered DVD as options. Outside of the optional Steven Spielberg introduction, there are no extra value features included on this DVD although there is a two-disc set available on DVD, but sold separately available too. A descriptive video service for the visually impaired is also included on the DVD.

The interactive menus use scenes from the film as transitions to subsequent menus and all are easy to navigate. “Munich: Widescreen” is available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

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