Raid on Entebbe (1976) (TV)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Irvin Kershner

Writer:

Barry Beckerman (written by)

Release Date:

9 January 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History

Plot:

Second of a series of dramas about a daring Israeli commando assult on the Entebbe Airport in Uganda.

Plot Keywords:

Uganda | Jewish | Hijack | Airplane | Idi Amin

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Peter Finch	...	Yitzhak Rabin
Martin Balsam	...	Daniel Cooper
Horst Buchholz	...	Wilfred Boese (as Horst Bucholz)
John Saxon	...	Maj. Gen. Benny Peled
Sylvia Sidney	...	Dora Bloch
Jack Warden	...	Lt. Gen. Mordechai Gur
Yaphet Kotto	...	President Idi Amin - Jr.
Charles Bronson	...	Brig. Gen. Dan Shomron
Tige Andrews	...	Shimon Peres
Eddie Constantine	...	Capt. Michel Becaud
Warren J. Kemmerling	...	Gad Yaakobi (as Warren Kemmerling)
Robert Loggia	...	Yigal Allon
David Opatoshu	...	Menachem Begin
Allan Arbus	...	Eli Melnick
Mariclare Costello	...	Gabrielle Krieger

Runtime:

150 min | 121 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG | Australia:PG | Iceland:16 | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Stockton Metropolitan Airport, Stockton, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Released theatrically in Finland.

Goofs:

Factual errors: One of the EL AL aircraft has a US Registry number. All US Aircraft registry begin with the letter N. All Israeli registered Aircraft being with 4X on their registration numbers known as tail numbers.

Quotes:

Capt. Sammy Berg: Well, if this thing works, I'll kiss Amin's foot.
Capt. Michel Becaud: It went well.
Capt. Sammy Berg: If you meant it didn't take too much time, yea.
Capt. Michel Becaud: Speed is important...
Capt. Sammy Berg: Speed, right, but when all those men run into the terminal, it will be the biggest noise to hit africa since the elephants stampeded!
Capt. Michel Becaud: Now listen, Sammy...
Lt. Col. Yonatan 'Yoni' Netanyahu: Sam's right...
Capt. Sammy Berg: Goodbye surprise!
Lt. Col. Yonatan 'Yoni' Netanyahu: Surprise will be gone...
Lt. Col. Yonatan 'Yoni' Netanyahu: We need to hit the terminal with less men.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "House M.D.: Alone (#4.1)" (2007)

Seems a bit underrated

Considering that this movie was made in 1977, surrounding events that happened not to long ago from then, I would certainly place it in a higher position than it currently is. With regards to authenticity, the Israeli and Mossad PR department seems to given full cooperation when it came to all the details surrounding the event because absolutely nothing seemed out of place in the sets. Every piece of equipment, uniform and aircraft were surprisingly authentic. All this would have been useless without a proper cast and the same is most certainly delivered. There isn't a lot of action until the climax but even the slower sequences will keep you gripped until that arrives. This movie is very detailed, realistic and authentic and would be classified as a must watch in my book.