Peter Sarsgaard, left, and the cast of September 5 (Paramount Pictures)

Given the years it can take for a film to be made, the filmmakers behind the German production September 5 couldn’t have anticipated the political climate at the time of its release. The film depicts events surrounding the early morning hours of the titular day in 1972, when Black September, an offshoot of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, infiltrated the Israeli athletes’ apartments in the Olympic Village in Munich. The attackers held 11 Israeli athletes hostage, demanding the release of more than 200 prisoners and warning that if their demands weren’t met by the deadline, one hostage would be killed every hour.

Director Tim Fehlbaum refrains from re-creating the actual events in the Olympic Village or the violence that unfolded later on the tarmac at the Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base. Instead, the film focuses almost entirely on the claustrophobic TV control room of ABC Sports, capturing the sweaty, frantic tension and confusion as the production crew realizes that the sounds of early-morning gunfire signal a disaster about to be broadcast live across the globe. Newbie producer Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) calls the camera shots, reporting to Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), the president of ABC Sports. Like the audience, both then and now, the team learns about the unfolding tragedy in piecemeal fashion. At a brisk 95 minutes, the film’s timeline is never less than riveting.

Two additional sources of tension drive the narrative: the uncertain outcome of the hostage crisis and the ethical dilemma of what a news scoop is worth. As depicted, this is fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants journalism, where information is sought and fact-checked (with at least two sources) as quickly as possible. Of the real-life central figures portrayed, only Mason is still alive. He consulted with the filmmakers and helped secure the rights to ABC’s archival footage. Reportedly, the control room set closely replicates the actual production center in Munich.

The script economically delivers snippets of information detailing the hierarchy within the control room while keeping exposition light. Internal conflicts—such as bickering among the production crew or disagreements between the sports director and network executives—never overshadow the breaking news. (The news department argues for taking over the coverage, believing that the sports team is out of its depth for such a crisis.)

The filmmakers adhere to the old newsroom adage: stick to the facts. However, the closing credits acknowledge fictionalization for dramatic purposes. German actress Leonie Benesch portrays the sole German speaker on the ABC crew, likely a composite character representing the young West German perspective. Her character bears the burden of conveying a lot of context.

Actors portray real-life figures such as Olympic swimming star Mark Spitz (David Iselin) and ABC reporter Peter Jennings (Benjamin Walker), the latter heard but not seen as he hides from German police to report near the hostage standoff. While another actor voices sports commentator Howard Cosell, footage of Jim McKay delivering updates is authentic, as are the original ABC promos. Despite being shot on a digital RED camera, the film’s desaturated cinematography credibly mimics the grainy, flat aesthetic of early satellite video broadcasts.

Some viewers may find the film’s scope too narrow. While the dialogue touches on West Germany’s efforts to use the 1972 Olympics to rehabilitate its global image less than 30 years after the Holocaust, the film does not delve into the broader geopolitical context of the Middle East conflict. Instead, the script mirrors the urgency of a breaking news report rather than offering the depth of a Sunday supplement feature story. The Academy Award-winning documentary One Day in September (1999) fills in many historical gaps and features some of the same archival footage used in Fehlbaum’s thoughtful and engrossing film.