Black Sunday

Palestinian-Israeli conflict spills over into America. An overzealous member of Black September (a "terrorist" group) wants to see a plan through that includes detonating a bomb at Super Bowl X in Miami, Florida. No one can stop her but an Israeli soldier/assassin/terrorist (whatever you think he is). He seems to be the only one smart enough and capable enough to stop her. He operates in the U.S. with impunity as he's given carte blanche to uncover Black September's plot and stop it.

I thought this film was excruciating. Ninety percent of it was crazy people screaming in bad accents. There was no drama, no suspense. The ending was almost comical. The panic crowd scenes were so badly done they are hilarious and the pathetic special effects were painful to see. Robert Shaw performing acrobatic stunts? Oh as if!

For years down to this day since seeing Black Sunday in the theater I've always watched major sporting events with this film in mind. That's the kind of thoughts that director John Frankenheimer plants in your mind with a viewing of Black Sunday. Black September the Palestinian terrorist organization of the day and the ones responsible for the slaughter of Israeli Olympic athletes in Munich have something special in mind for America at one of our major sporting events. Israeli intelligence Mosad learns of it and the guy who learned of it is dispatched to the USA to stop it. Robert Shaw is the agent that is sent and he gives a carefully controlled performance of an Israeli assassin. The kind you send out after Arab assassins. Shaw is quiet and deadly and most effective in his acting. The other side is represented by Marthe Keller and note that she's not a traditional Moslem woman in her style of living. Nonetheless both she and Shaw have suffered immense personal tragedies which has brought them to their respective positions. Keller has found a former Navy Pilot who was a Vietnam POW Bruce Dern who is more than slightly unhinged. After a court-martial he's bitter against the USA and wants to commit an atrocity and he has a very specific atrocity in mind. All three of the leads acquit themselves well in their roles. But the real star is the special effects and an ending that for the last half hour will have you on the edge of your seats. I predict your reaction to Black Sunday will be the same as mine. You will never watch a major sporting event without this film in the back of your mind.

This adaptation of Thomas Harris' bestseller concerns a terrorist group that plots to bomb the Super Bowl and enlists the aid of an unhinged Vietnam vet (are there any others in the movies?), played by Bruce Dern, to carry out the dirty deed. There are many problems with this so-called thriller. For one, the terrorist group members themselves have thick, almost-incomprehensible accents, which is fine if they're only going to be onscreen briefly. But they're not, so I found myself straining to understand them. Also, even though this is supposed to be an action movie, full of tension and suspense, it doesn't get out of first gear until the denouement. Heck, it hardly has the wherewithal to take the foot off the brake pedal. It's not that the movie's premise is preposterous - terrorist groups have targeted the World Trade Center, for example - it's just that all of the machinations and ruminations and preparing for this terrorist attack are outlandish, the proverbial much ado about nothing. Worst of all, the cop in charge of getting to the bottom of matters (Robert Shaw) isn't exactly portrayed in an appealing light either - for much of the movie, I had no idea who I was supposed to root for! This is a major flaw, a fault of junky screenwriting. I'm glad I didn't waste time or money in a theater seeing this one, and I hope you avoid that as well.

Black Sunday is a film with a plethora of logical gaps, not too mention the improbable seizure of the Goodyear blimp and Robert Shaw's Die Hard-esque acrobatics in the final reel. Shaw is also badly miscast as an Israeli intelligence operative. Bruce Dern does his usual man on the edge of a nervous breakdown thing, and it's all way too long. Set the standard for ridiculous action heroics for many years too come.

An Israeli strike on the headquarters of Palestine terrorist group Black September uncovers a tape clearly intended to be released after a terrorist attack on the US early in the new year. Travelling to the US to work with the authorities there, Major Kabakov races against time to uncover the plot led by Dahlia Iyad to kill 80,000 at the Super Bowl in Miami. I'm not sure how the mixed messages inherent within the politics of this film are meant to be taken but the film itself is still an engaging story. Sitting to watch it I worried that the running time was too long and that it would suffer as a result, however this wasn't the case as the time is filled well. Of course there is the "ticking clock" scenario to keep everything moving but the film also does well to spend some time with the characters and develop them to a point. This doesn't always work (and indeed is a bit too sympathetic at times) but mostly it helps make this more than just a thriller. As a thriller though it still works and moved a lot faster than I expected it to, with Frankenheimer holding the tension consistently well while also delivering a couple of solid set pieces. The cast are mostly good. Shaw is a good lead even if his character is a bit tasteless. We are sold his character's murdering and bombing off the back of him being an Israeli, which somehow makes it OK? You can see Shaw struggling with this element of his character and his relieve is obvious when he is given simpler action stuff to do. Dern is much better because at least his character makes sense – we are never with him but his performance is very good. Keller is solid throughout while the supporting cast generally work. Overall then, if you can ignore the way the film treats its generally murderous characters differently based on their politics, this is an engaging and enjoyable thriller. I can see why many hate the politics of the film as they are pretty tasteless but generally the tension and action makes it work.

The fact that anyone would think of, write, direct and enjoy a film like this is disturbing. I don't see how a film about a terror attack could be used as the basis for a "drama" unless it is a documentary. People wonder why they're are so many terror attacks and violence, It's a shame the director and the whole sick lot responsible doesn't lose someone to terrorism. And from my understanding we're supposed to sympathize with a terrorist?

If you want to see Robert Shaw, watch "The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three." If you want a good nutcase, watch "The Caine Mutiny." If you want a Frankenheimer conspiracy film, look for "The Manchurian Candidate." But if want you want is a thriller with an absurd premise, a limping and at times inexplicable plot, and a by-the-numbers John Williams score, watch "Black Sunday." "Black Sunday" is interesting in its early appreciation (for America) of the justness of the Palestinian cause, but that political savvy is undercut by a terrorist plan that reminds me of Steve Martin's joke about cat juggling: attack the Superbowl with a Blimp that fires DARTS? What? Imagine a chase scene between a helicopter and a blimp and take a wild guess who wins. Imagine dialogue with all the personality of particleboard. The editing of the climax is good, sure, but it could have been vastly improved by letting the terrorists do more than just disrupt a football game. If this is re-made, I say follow the lead of 90's disaster flicks, and let the terrorists kill a few thousand people.

Hang on tight for this one, folks! This flick moves so fast sometimes that you might think you missed something along the way. Basic story line holds up well through the years. Good chase scene on the Florida streets! Excellent camera work all the way through. Cast is excellent--especially Mr. Shaw (as usual). He gives David Kabakov a healthy measure of humanity that sprays out of the film and covers you like a heavy wool coat; his suffering makes your heart ache. And boy, is that blimp a pest! This one is worth the view--from beginning to end. A classic!

John Frankenheimer gets to direct one of the biggest stars...the Goodyear blimp. An ex-Navy pilot and prisoner of war(Bruce Dern) teams with a devout member(Marthe Keller) of the Black September terrorist group to hijack/fly the Goodyear blimp and shoot a quarter million rifle darts into the Orange Bowl. Among the 80,000 football fans in attendance watching the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl X is the President of the United States. Trying to prevent the disaster is an Israeli anti-terrorist expert(Robert Shaw)who is as ruthless as the people he tracks down. This action thriller is based on the Thomas Harris novel. And accenting the action is a gripping musical score by John Williams. Shaw is solid and determined. Dern is like a lunatic tightroping the edge of sanity. Keller is as solemn as she is fetching. In support are Fritz Weaver, Steven Keats and Bekim Fehmiu. The violence is vivid while the special effects are average for the time period.