Victory at Entebbe (1976)

Its difficult to dispute some or most of the obvious criticisms of this film, that it was made hastily ( for a reason, both 1976 films on the subject were) that it has 2-bit sets, as it would tend to, another thing I find which gives it an odd feel is the lack of score/soundtrack, it has a stage play look....what I find puzzling is that it is found to be far inferior to its rival in any way, which has most of the same faults -and more besides..."Raid has the charisma and presence of action-man Charles Bronson , c'mon, YOU have the late Chuckster in charge of rescuing you from Arabs, Germans and crazy Ugandan dictators if you are ever in that position, you know you want him to-(if the real Israeli government had had Bronson they could have dispensed with the Golani brigade and Paras, C130s and recoilless gun-jeeps and just sent in Chuck with his pump-gun and melon truck to house-fight the terrorists out of existence) But this film despite its TV look is a far better, more exciting, more involving, more colourful script than "Raid..Richard Dreyfuss is pretty matter-of-fact Jewish charismatic and some sort of substitute for Bronson and Woods.I think the criticism of the actor playing Amin is pretty unfair, that his antics were over the top, of course the real Amin was in no way over the top, was he? It may be played a little even-voiced, precise and shrewd sounding by Julius, but I would call it a professional job still, bear in mind in 1976 the outside world had not seen as much of the real Amin as it had later.I can tell you that there was total silence in the cinema as Julius/Amin spoke back in 1977. A good sign.The assault on the airport terminal is VERY exciting and realistic in its muzzle-flashing ruthless flesh-spattering gore,the shock sudden loss of Yoni to a Ugandan sniper's bullet, after the commandos have taken control , is shock and matter-of-fact heroic ...the role of the black Mercedes limo is explained and its ominous silent tarantula-like approach to the terminal is tense, as the commandos leap out blazing at the first of the terrorists lounging outside(yes, they did a number on that blonde Nazi bitch).People really seem to have it in for Linda Blair and her chocolates-it seems nitpicking and perhaps the chocolates reflect something that really occurred on the flight.Jeez, they were Kosha chocolates after all, as she said, but everyone wants to exorcise poor Linda and her sweets. There is the inevitable humanitarian armchair-expert attack on the 'bloodthirsty" Israeli soldiers who cut down 1 or 2 of their own people , after warnings to stay down-hilarious that this time, Israeli soldiers are dubbed monsters for killing their own people instead of the usual innocent Muslim terrorists these days. The humanization of one of the German captors is criticised-but this features even more in the films rival with Horst Bucholz.Perhaps this person actually was a little like this, or just seemed more decent compared to the German woman.If all the terrorists were shown brutal hateful & dehumanised, then the critics would rag on that.This film is the better more entertaining better-written more involving of the first two. Apparently the later Operation Thunderbolt eclipses both.Good for it.

In late June 1976, Air France flight 139--which had some 240 passengers on-board traveling from Athens to Paris--was hijacked by armed Arab terrorists who re-routed the plane to Entebbe, Uganda. All-star political adventure, filmed inexplicably on videotape (later transferred, with poor results, to film), was shown on ABC-TV just a few months ahead of NBC's version of the story, "Raid on Entebbe"; it was a rush job to beat the clock, and it shows. The harrowing facts of the ordeal have a tough time making an impact here, what with Ernest Kinoy's teleplay whipped up on the spot and Julius Harris stepping in for Godfrey Cambridge at the eleventh hour as dictator Idi Amin. The casting is certainly interesting; these stars must have had a vested interest in the proceedings and felt a great need to be a part of the experience, even if three-dimensional roles weren't exactly waiting for them (Kirk Douglas and Elizabeth Taylor, in particular, are poorly used). Some suspense and excitement near the finale, but it's long and talky when it should have been a gripping docu-drama.

Two films came out in the wake of the successful Israeli rescue of a lot of Jewish passengers on an Air France flight that was hijacked to the Ugandan capital of Entebbe that year. This one, Victory at Entebbe, had a lot more star power to it if you look at the cast list.The Seventies began the years of terrorism starting with the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. For reasons I can't explain, the left took up the cause of the Arabs and of Islam, societies which wouldn't let them operate, no way, no how. Maybe it's psychological or pathological, it sure ain't rational.The group that took the Air France passengers hostage were Germans, members of the Bader-Meinhoff gang which was a militant German leftist crowd. The idea these folks had was to trade their lives for the lives of Arab terrorists in Israeli and other western power's jails. To do they had the tacit cooperation of another loon who ran a country for a while, Idi Amin Dada of Uganda.All you need to know about that one you can see in Forest Whitaker's portrayal in The Last King of Scotland. Here though is the Idi Amin played by Julius Harris whose antics nauseated the civilized world. It's the Idi Amin I remember from the news.Anthony Hopkins plays Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin who ironically would fall victim to extreme Judaism some 20 years later. This was his first time as Prime Minister and he's ably assisted by Burt Lancaster as Shimon Peres as Defense Minister. These two guys must have been flattered all to heck because they sure don't look like Hopkins and Lancaster.Working on a five day deadline the terrorists imposed, the Israeli military crafted a rescue that stunned and delighted the civilized world. 103 innocent Jewish lives were rescued from barbarism and death, there was no meek resignation in that generation of Jews. This film technically speaking was the fourth Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas joint project. They have no scenes together. Douglas and his wife played by Elizabeth Taylor play the parents of Linda Blair who is one of the passengers on the plane and who are part of a small group representing the families of the hostages meeting with Hopkins.One of the stories that got world attention was the murder of Dora Bloch played by Helen Hayes here. She was taken ill and removed to a Ugandan hospital and she was killed by the Ugandans in retaliation for the Israeli rescuers killing Ugandan troops who were protecting the terrorists.The best one I thought in the cast was Bibi Besch who played the only female among the terrorists. She looked every inch the part of a German whose antecedents were no doubt proud Hitler youth members. She practically is salivating when the Jews are separated out from the rest of the passengers for what she knows will be annihilation.Victory At Entebbe should be required viewing for anyone who has romantic notions about the nature of terror and the need for a state of Israel.

This and "Raid on Entebbe" were American all-star takes on the Entebbe rescue. The definitive movie is "Operation Thunderbolt" (in IMDb under its Hebrew name, "Mivtsa Yonatan"). It was the only one made with the cooperation of the Israeli government, and has Israelis in all the Israeli roles.For movie buffs, though, it's fun spotting well-known actors (like Burt Lancaster) here and in "Raid" whose Judaism was downplayed or concealed by the studios earlier in their careers.For Star Trek fans, Theodore Bikel (Worf's father) has a major role and Bibi Besch (Dr. Carol Marcus in Star Trek II) appears in passing.