Customer Reviews

Operation Thunderbolt

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In 1976, Palestinian and German terrorists hijacked an Air France flight and forced it to land in the African town of Entebbe, where they were welcomed and protected by Uganda's then-dictator, Idi Amin. Releasing all the non-Israeli passengers, the terrorists threatened to kill the rest unless dozens of their comrades were released from Israeli prisons. Rather than submit to blackmail, the Israeli army secretly flew thousands of miles to Entebbe and freed more than 100 hostages in a daring nighttime raid to the cheers of most of the world.

"Operation Thunderbolt," now available on DVD, was filmed in Israel with the full cooperation of the Israeli government, and is an exciting re-creation of the events of those tense days. We see the full scope of the story, from the original hijacking to the passengers' captivity in Uganda to the agonized debates at the highest levels of the Israeli government over a diplomatic vs. a military solution.

All the characters speak their own languages, so the film is a linguistic hodgepodge of Hebrew, Arabic, German and English; fortunately, the DVD includes subtitles. It also contains a documentary on the real events surrounding the rescue, which is almost as compelling as the film itself.

"Operation Thunderbolt" is the thrilling and true story of how one small country refused to let their people be killed by terrorists and took action to prevent it. People who claim that Israel is a "terrorist state" should see the film and be reminded who the real terrorists are.

This is an awesome movie. You have to read the subtitles but it is the closest movie, by far, to what really happened. It bothered me to see Yoni die at the end, even though I knew it was going to happen. Yoni was the driving force of this mission and he didn't get to see the finished product. A great man was lost that day, but this was his goal, to see those people rescued, no matter what. 101 people are alive due to this daring rescue. Just shows everyone the guts that Israel had and has

This movie, a much better adaptation then the garbage flick put out by Hollywood, "Rescue at Entebbe", is very true to the tactics, techniques, and training of a counter-terrorism unit. If you want slick action, smooth lines, excellent special effects, and brilliant camera work this movie is not for you. If you want the presentation of an actual event as supported by the participants, many of whom gave their advice and recollections to the making of this movie (one of whom is now the IDF Chief of Staff); complete with the impact on the families of those who went into harms way, then you will find this movie of great interest.
It boiled down to this: when Jews were held hostage and faced with death it was only the Jews (Israelis) who came to their rescue. The fact that when the doors were kicked in and the dogs were taken down the memorable phrase is, "They're ours!"
When the mission is over, and the hostages returned, you see joy and celebration, and the cost to the families who lost their loved ones. You also see the heroes coming off the plane and heading off to their next assignment.
Historical Note: Yonaton is buried in Jerusalem, next to him is the grave of the General who sent him on the mission. Israeli soldiers are buried in the order they die. Benyamin Netanyahu, his brother, eventually became Prime Minister of Israel, after commanding the same commando unit.

Tired of how the European and international community loves to intervene when Israel rightfully defends itself and how it yawns when the Arab terrorist savages kill Israelis? Well, this film's for you!

I cannot add to the reviews already written except to say that I too was there, and remember this vividly. I am so glad I decided to purchase this DVD. Don't expect the Hollywood version. Expect to be awe struck by the planning and execution of this mission. BB Netanyahu's brother was a great man. It is only ashame that we had to lose even 1 Israeli life, and it was his.

Details the unbelievable but true heroism and genius of the IDF and Mossad's operation to free the PFLP's hostages. Sweet.

This wonderful film, on the cover entitled ���� �����, "Mivtsah Yonathan", which actually is Hebrew for "Operation Jonathan", and is affectionately named (as was "Operation Thunderbolt" itself) for Yoni Netanyahu, brother of the later prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. Yoni was the only soldier-fatality on the mission. Even though pricey, this film was well worth every penny spent. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. I echo all of the other comments in support of buying this film. Although I enjoyed also "Raid on Entebbe", the American version of the same events with an all-star cast, I enjoyed this one more. Very exciting, very true to life, and very interesting. I remember the actual events, even though being ten at the time, but was quite aware, even at that age, of what was happening in the world. The movie is very accurate as to what actually happened. The film is mainly in Hebrew and English, although there is also some German, Arabic, and French, but subtitles are supplied. Definitely, purchase this film!

MIVTSA YONATAN (OPERATION THUNDERBOLT) from 1977 is one of my favorite albeit mostly forgotten films. It tells the story of the 27 June 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight out of Tel Aviv, putting it in the hands of the PLO by way of German and Palestinian terrorists (among them a coterie of those annoying socialist-revolutionary Germans, such as we saw in the 2008 film DAS BAADEN MEINHOF KOMPLEX, see my review). The great Klaus Kinski as Wilfried Boese is chilling in his matter-of-fact shoving around of Israeli citizens. One of them asks him of all people what he means to accomplish...wondering aloud if the NAZI horrors hadn't been enough.

All that, and more, makes this a deeply personal film for me. I'd only seen the dreadful 1976 offering RAID ON ENTEBBE (Entebbe is the Ugandan town where the hijacked plane was hidden), and that same year we saw television's VICTORY AT ENTEBBE starring Sir Anthony Hopkins--just as dreary and unexciting.

But in OPERATION THUNDERBOLT, they really moved to get this exacting version on film. That was thrilling--seeing how people waited for years to see what exactly happened in Munich (see Spielberg's MUNICH). This was one weird situation, with Israeli citizens being held captive in Uganda in exchange for the release of Israeli-held Palestinian "prisoners", all engineered by Col. Moammar Qadaffi and with the full cooperation of Idi Amin Dada. As they say, you couldn't write this stuff.

This film sags a great deal where it shouldn't; yet it is so far ahead of its time. At certain moments it almost looks like an episode of "COPS", but then when there is shooting, you see the operatic victims and ketchup/blood. Oh well, it was the 70s.

Yet this is a nobly great film, and I find it more compelling than the other 2 film versions I know so well. As far as I know some of it at least was shot in Israel, and the government had a hand in it. We get a few jarring you-are-there scenes that hadn't been done in film before.

Yehoram Gaon gives an interesting half-amateur half-pro performance as Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, the leader of the raid itself (and after whom this film is originally named). I won't mention the others because there is absolutely no one recognizable to American audiences, unless you watched a lot of Israeli TV in the 70s.

This film has a compelling score, some awesome sound engineering and a very accurate feel for events at Entebbe and surrounding it. Although the Idi Amin Dada here (some scene-chewing by Mark Heath) is not as chilling as the screwy Yaphet Kotto in RAID ON ENTEBBE, or Forest Whitaker in THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, it still a performance that drives home what this man represented to our world. CREEPY!! Thank God the man is dead!

Also rather odd, but I've often seen OPERATION THUNDERBOLT billed as the only "authenticated" telling of the events of the Entebbe Rescue Mission. I wonder what that's supposed to mean. All the film versions show just about the same thing.

This always leads me to wonder about the fate of the little old lady who looks so much like my late mother (bless them). I recall hearing about her, because she was taken to whatever hospital is near Entebbe and I know she was left behind when they finished the rescue. I can't dig up the name in the credits but I think her name was Doris Berg or Bloomberg. She was accompanied by her son.

I tell you, every time I even think about her I CRY. And I keep crying until my wife helps me out of it.

We may not feel too thrilled about Israel at the moment...it will pass. This film and the true story it tells is no time for quoting from the New England Journal of anti-Semitism. [Thanks Maher.] Do not deprive yourself cruelly and miss the chance to at least watch and study this extremely compelling work. It is must-see filmmaking at its level best, because contrary to usual film, this one is no place for showboaters, hotdogs or prima donna.

After watching this splendid film recently for the second time, I can now say it is one of my all time favorites. The dynamic performances from Klaus Kinski and Sybil Danning are complemented by the spine chilling tension and the incredibly compelling and haunting musical score. It's a confronting, brutally honest film that will resonate with me forever.

OPERATION THUNDERBOLT (Hebrew: MIVTSA YONATAN) is Menachem Golan's and Yoram Globus's film recreation of the daring Israeli rescue of the hijacked passengers of Air France flight 139, bound from Jerusalem to Paris, which took place on July 4, 1976, America's Bicentennial.

Hijacked by a combined force of Arab and German terrorists who claimed to be "freedom fighters," the 85 Jewish passengers plus the flight crew were segregated and flown to Entebbe, Uganda's capital, where they were held under threat of death and with the smirking acquiescence of Idi Amin, the mad dictatorial President of that country.

The Israelis came up with an ingenious rescue plan which involved flying an anti-terrorist team a thousand miles and more to Entebbe, raiding the terminal, and extracting the passengers. It went off about as perfectly as it could. Three passengers were killed and 5 wounded during the rescue. One, Dora Bloch, who had been separated from the others by dint of being taken to the hospital, simply disappeared, presumably murdered. All the terrorists were slain. Only one Israeli soldier, Yoni Netanyahu, (older brother of the future Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu) was lost.

This was a moment of pride for all decent and truly freedom-loving people in the world.

There were several Hollywood versions of the event, but this one, made in Israel, had the backing and cooperation of the Israeli government. Yitzhak Rabin, Yigael Allon, and Shimon Peres all appear as themselves. Sybil Danning ("The Queen of The B's") appears as "Halima" (in real life the terrorist Brigitte Kuhlmann. For more on Kuhlmann might I suggest Council of Eleven: Shall we Not Revenge?).

Anyone familiar with this film will be able to recite long passages of dialogue from Chuck Norris's The Delta Force, another film based on a real hijacking, of TWA flight 847. Apparently, the script from OPERATION THUNDERBOLT (1977) was slightly altered for THE DELTA FORCE (1986), which are both Golan-Globus productions.