Raid on Entebbe (film)
Encyclopedia
Raid on Entebbe is a 1977 TV movie directed by Irvin Kershner
. It is based on an actual event: Operation Entebbe
and the freeing of hostages at Entebbe Airport in Entebbe
, Uganda
on July 4, 1976. It was the last movie to be released featuring Academy Award-winning actor
Peter Finch
who died just 10 days after the movie aired. Actress Dinah Manoff
appears in one of her very first roles.
The movie was released shortly after a more hastily released made-for-television version came out - Victory at Entebbe
(1976).
Though the movie was premiered on television in the USA, in some countries (including the UK) the film was distributed theatrically. http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/64548
is believed to be fairly accurate. The basic facts of the rescue of hostages held when hijackers working for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
boarded and hijacked an Air France
plane recounts the events and response of the Israeli government and the controversy that the rescue stirred.
This version shows the difficult deliberations held by the Cabinet of Israel
to decide on a top-secret military raid on the Jewish Sabbath
by commandos; a difficult and daring operation carried out over 2500 miles from home, and of course, an unwillingness of the Israeli government to give in to terrorist demands. One commando was killed (the operation commander Yonatan Netanyahu, brother of future Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
), as were three of the hostages, and 45 soldiers under the then dictator of Uganda
, Idi Amin
. The death of Netanyahu was moved from the beginning of the assault when it happened to the end for plot reasons. A fourth hostage, Dora Bloch, who had been taken to Mulago
Hospital in Kampala
, was murdered by the Ugandans on Idi Amin's orders.
Irvin Kershner
Irvin Kershner was an American film director and occasional actor, best known for directing quirky, independent films early in his career, and then Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. -Background:...
. It is based on an actual event: Operation Entebbe
Operation Entebbe
Operation Entebbe was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by the Special Forces of the Israel Defense Forces at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976. A week earlier, on 27 June, an Air France plane with 248 passengers was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists and...
and the freeing of hostages at Entebbe Airport in Entebbe
Entebbe
Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
on July 4, 1976. It was the last movie to be released featuring Academy Award-winning actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Peter Finch
Peter Finch
Peter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
who died just 10 days after the movie aired. Actress Dinah Manoff
Dinah Manoff
Dinah Beth Manoff is an American stage, film and television actress and television director best known for her roles as Elaine Lefkowitz on Soap, Marty Maraschino in the film Grease, Libby Tucker in both the stage and film adaptations of I Ought to Be in Pictures, for which she won a Tony award,...
appears in one of her very first roles.
The movie was released shortly after a more hastily released made-for-television version came out - Victory at Entebbe
Victory at Entebbe
Victory at Entebbe is a made-for-television film from 1976 based on an actual event: Operation Entebbe and the freeing of Israeli hostages at Entebbe Airport in Uganda...
(1976).
Though the movie was premiered on television in the USA, in some countries (including the UK) the film was distributed theatrically. http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/64548
Plot
This version of Operation EntebbeOperation Entebbe
Operation Entebbe was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by the Special Forces of the Israel Defense Forces at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976. A week earlier, on 27 June, an Air France plane with 248 passengers was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists and...
is believed to be fairly accurate. The basic facts of the rescue of hostages held when hijackers working for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
boarded and hijacked an Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
plane recounts the events and response of the Israeli government and the controversy that the rescue stirred.
This version shows the difficult deliberations held by the Cabinet of Israel
Cabinet of Israel
The Cabinet of Israel is a formal body composed of government officials called ministers, chosen and led by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister must appoint members based on the distribution of votes to political parties during legislative elections, and its composition must be approved by a...
to decide on a top-secret military raid on the Jewish Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
by commandos; a difficult and daring operation carried out over 2500 miles from home, and of course, an unwillingness of the Israeli government to give in to terrorist demands. One commando was killed (the operation commander Yonatan Netanyahu, brother of future Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
), as were three of the hostages, and 45 soldiers under the then dictator of Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
. The death of Netanyahu was moved from the beginning of the assault when it happened to the end for plot reasons. A fourth hostage, Dora Bloch, who had been taken to Mulago
Mulago
Mulago is a hill in north-central Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. The hill rises above sea level.-History:Mulago was derived from the Ganda word “omulago”, a type of medicine, kept on this hill, that was used by Kabaka Suuna II for protection against spirits. The landmark on this hill is...
Hospital in Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
, was murdered by the Ugandans on Idi Amin's orders.
Cast
- Peter FinchPeter FinchPeter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
as Yitzhak RabinYitzhak Rabin' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995.... - Martin BalsamMartin BalsamMartin Henry Balsam was an American actor. He is known for his Oscar-winning role as "Arnold Burns" in A Thousand Clowns and his role as "Detective Milton Arbogast" in Psycho.- Early life :...
as Daniel Cooper - Horst BuchholzHorst BuchholzHorst Werner Buchholz was a German actor, remembered for his part in The Magnificent Seven and Nine Hours to Rama. He appeared in over sixty films during his acting career from 1952–2002.-Life and work:...
as Wilfried BöseWilfried BöseWilfried Böse was a founding member of the left-wing German militant group Revolutionary Cells. He led the 1976 hijacking of Air France Flight 139 to Entebbe, Uganda, where he famously told a Jewish passenger who showed him his Auschwitz tattoo "I'm no Nazi! ..... - John SaxonJohn Saxon (actor)John Saxon is an American actor who has worked on over 200 projects during the span of sixty years. Saxon is most known for his work in horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Black Christmas, both of which feature Saxon as a policeman in search of the killer...
as Maj. Gen. Peled - Jack WardenJack WardenJack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
as Lt. Gen. Mordechai Gur - Yaphet KottoYaphet KottoYaphet Frederick Kotto is an African-American actor, known for numerous film roles , and his starring role in the NBC television series Homicide: Life on the Street .-Early life:Kotto was born in New York City, the son of Gladys Marie, a...
as Idi AminIdi AminIdi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military... - Meshach Richards as Maj. Gen. Allon
- Charles BronsonCharles BronsonCharles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
as Brig. Gen Shomron - Sylvia SidneySylvia SidneySylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.-Early life:...
as Dora Bloch - Robert LoggiaRobert LoggiaRobert Loggia is an American film and television actor and director.- Early life :Loggia, an Italian American, was born on Staten Island, the son of Elena Blandino, a homemaker, and Benjamin Loggia, a shoemaker, both of whom were born in Sicily, Italy...
as Yigal AllonYigal AllonYigal Allon was an Israeli politician, a commander of the Palmach, and a general in the IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Israeli Labor party, and acting Prime Minister of Israel, and was a member of the Knesset and government minister from the 10th through the... - Tige AndrewsTige AndrewsTige Andrews was an American character actor. His work includes the role of Captain Adam Greer on the late 1960s-to-early 1970s television series The Mod Squad and Detective Lt...
as Shimon PeresShimon PeresGCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years... - Eddie ConstantineEddie ConstantineEddie Constantine was an American-born French actor and singer who spent his career working in Europe....
as Capt. Michel Becaud - David OpatoshuDavid OpatoshuDavid Opatoshu was an American film, stage and television actor. He was born as David Opatovsky in New York City, where he was reared and educated. His father was the Yiddish writer, Joseph Opatoshu.-Television:...
as Menachem BeginMenachem Begin' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,... - Allan ArbusAllan ArbusAllan Arbus is an American actor notable for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman on the television series M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
as Eli Melnick - Stephen MachtStephen MachtStephen Robert Macht is an American television and film actor.-Early life:Macht was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was raised in Brooklyn Heights, NY, until his father's death. At age nine, he moved with his mother and older brother to live with his maternal grandfather, a haberdasher, in...
as Lt. Col. Yonatan 'Yonni' Netanyahu - James WoodsJames WoodsJames Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
as Capt. Sammy Berg - Harvey LembeckHarvey LembeckHarvey Lembeck was an American comedic actor best remembered for his role as Cpl. Rocco Barbella on The Phil Silvers Show in the late 1950s, and as the stumbling, overconfident outlaw biker Eric Von Zipper in the beach party movie series during the 1960s...
as Mr. Harvey - Dinah ManoffDinah ManoffDinah Beth Manoff is an American stage, film and television actress and television director best known for her roles as Elaine Lefkowitz on Soap, Marty Maraschino in the film Grease, Libby Tucker in both the stage and film adaptations of I Ought to Be in Pictures, for which she won a Tony award,...
as Rachel Sager - Kim RichardsKim RichardsKimberly "Kim" Richards is an American actress, former child actress, and television personality. She had roles in several Disney movies in the 1970s and later TV shows in the late 1970s and early 80s before returning to the screen with her sister Kyle Richards on Bravo's The Real Housewives of...
as Alice