September 5

September 5

Year: 2024

Runtime: 1 h 31 m

Language: english

Director: Tim Fehlbaum

Echo Score: 84
HistoryThriller

During the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, an American sports broadcasting team finds themselves unexpectedly covering a crisis when Israeli athletes are taken hostage. The film explores the events through their perspective, offering a unique look at the live broadcast that was watched by an estimated one billion people worldwide.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – September 5 (2024)

Explore the full timeline and setting of September 5 (2024). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Early September 1972

The events occur during the 1972 Munich Games, a moment of international attention and political tension. The period is marked by the rise of live television coverage and rapid, far-reaching reporting. The crisis transforms a sports broadcast into a global news event.

Location

Munich, Olympic Village, Fürstenfeldbruck

Set in Munich during the 1972 Summer Olympics, the story unfolds across the city’s venues and the nearby Fürstenfeldbruck airbase. The film juxtaposes the festive Olympic atmosphere with a sudden, deadly crisis. A translator and a tight-knit news crew navigate the chaos while real lives hang in the balance.

🏟️ Olympics setting 📰 Live broadcasting 🗺️ Crisis site

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 20:01

Main Characters – September 5 (2024)

Meet the key characters of September 5 (2024), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Hank Hanson (Corey Johnson)

A member of the ABC Sports crew; positioned within the operations team as the crisis unfolds. He experiences the pressure of balancing coverage demands with the realities on the ground. His stance reflects the human side of a newsroom under siege, navigating ethics and deadlines.

🎬 Crew Member 🗺️ Operations 🧭 Ethics

Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro)

Head of the control room who sees the hostage crisis as a high-stakes story to own. He pushes for aggressive coverage, prioritizing speed and sensational angles. His ambition exposes the tension between journalistic drive and the welfare of those involved.

🎯 News Leader 🧭 Ethics 🗝️ Control

Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard)

ABC Sports president who advocates using emotions over politics to shape a compelling broadcast. He orchestrates coverage shifts and strategic decisions to maximize impact. His choices reveal the power and peril of live, story-driven television.

🎤 Executive 🧭 Ethics 🗺️ Strategy

Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch)

The local translator who helps the crew access information and navigate the crisis. She becomes a witness to the coverage’s human cost as lives unfold around the broadcast. Her perspective adds a grounding, empathetic counterpoint to the newsroom’s frenzy.

🗣️ Translator 🗺️ Witness 📰 Reporter

Peter Jennings (Benjamin Walker)

A senior on-air figure who anchors the post-crisis coverage and interacts with officials. He symbolically represents the newsroom’s authority and its responsibility to report truthfully. His role underlines the stakes of presenting evolving, uncertain information.

🎤 Anchor 🧭 News Integrity

Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin)

Head of operations who questions the ethics of sensationalism and the rush for a scoop. He warns about the human cost and the danger of a compromised, rushed broadcast. He embodies the tension between operational pragmatism and moral responsibility.

⚖️ Operations 🧭 Ethics

Director Swim Race (Daniel Betts)

Broadcast director coordinating the live feed and control-room logistics. He attempts to maintain order and timing as the crisis consumes airtime. His role highlights the technical side of turning events into a televised narrative.

🎛️ Director 🎯 Broadcast

Roone's Assistant (Solomon Mousley)

An aide to Roone Arledge who assists with operations and access logistics. He is part of the inner circle coordinating the crew’s response to the unfolding crisis. His presence underscores the scale and delegation behind a major live broadcast.

🧰 Assistant 🗺️ Logistics

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 20:01

Major Themes – September 5 (2024)

Explore the central themes of September 5 (2024), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🎥 Media Ethics

The film probes the pressures of live coverage and the pull of ratings over people’s safety. Executives push for emotional, sensational moments to maximize viewership, sometimes at the expense of accuracy. The crew’s decisions reveal how broadcast priorities can shape public perception. The result is a meditation on responsibility in a media-saturated era.

🧭 Crisis Coverage

A terrorist siege forces the newsroom to pivot from a planned feature to ongoing surveillance of a lethal event. The crew negotiates time slots, access, and identification to maintain the broadcast, blurting out information as it comes in. This raises questions about truth, timing, and the cost of scoops when lives are at stake. The narrative underscores the moral weight of reporting in a crisis.

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 20:01

Unlock the Full Story of September 5

Don't stop at just watching — explore September 5 in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what September 5 is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

September 5 Summary

Read a complete plot summary of September 5, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

September 5 Summary

September 5 Timeline

Track the full timeline of September 5 with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

September 5 Timeline

September 5 Ending Explained

What really happened at the end of September 5? This detailed ending explained page breaks down final scenes, hidden clues, and alternate interpretations with expert analysis and viewer theories.

September 5 Ending Explained

September 5 Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of September 5 that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

September 5 Spoiler-Free Summary

More About September 5

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about September 5: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About September 5

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