Victory at Entebbe

• Director: Marvin J. Chomsky
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Thriller
• Movie Type: Political Thriller
• Themes: Hostage Situations, Daring Rescues, Terrorism
• Main Cast: Kirk Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, Julius Harris, Helen Hayes, Burt Lancaster, Elizabeth Taylor
• Release Year: 1976
• Country: US
• Run Time: 119 minutes

Plot

Within months after the spectacular July 4, 1976 rescue of hostages from Uganda's Entebbe airport, there were two competing TV movies on the subject. The longest (and least) of the two was Victory at Entebbe, hurriedly shot on videotape. The story begins when Arab terrorist capture a civilian airliner and force a landing at Entebbe. Ugandan president Idi Amin (Julius Harris, substituting for recently deceased Godfrey Cambridge), struts about at the airport, insisting that he can do nothing--but apparently siding with the terrorists, especially when the Arabs begin separating and mistreating the Jewish passengers. A surprise Israeli commando raid masterminded by defense minister Shimon Peres (Burt Lancaster, who more than compensates for his miscasting with an excellent performance) rescues most of the hostages, though at least one of the passengers (played by Helen Hayes with a Jewish accent that wouldn't convince a duck) is apparently killed out of retribution while en route to hospital. The teleplay's bad dialogue, and the producers' Airport-like decision to use only big stars in the major roles (Richard Dreyfuss, Elizabeth Taylor, Kirk Douglas et. al.) tends to trivialize one of the most auspicious acts of selfless heroism of the 1970s. A far better dramatization of the incident, Raid on Entebbe, was telecast a few months later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

Helmut Berger - German Hijacker; Bibi Besch; Theodore Bikel - Yakov; Linda Blair - Chana Vilnofsky; Severn Darden; David Groh; Samantha Harper; Julius Harris - Idi Amin; Helen Hayes - Mrs. Wise; Elizabeth Taylor - Edra Vilnovsky; Jessica Walter; David Warner; Harris Yulin; Kirk Douglas - Hershel Vilnovsky; Richard Dreyfuss - Col. Netanyahu; Anthony Hopkins - Rabin; Burt Lancaster - Shimon Peres

Credit

Julian Ludwig - Associate Producer, Marvin J. Chomsky - Director, Charles Fox - Composer (Music Score), Jim Kilgore - Cinematographer, Robert Guenette - Producer, Ernest Kinoy - Screenwriter

Similar Movies

The Delta Force; Hostages; On Wings of Eagles; Raid on Entebbe; America Held Hostage: The Iran Crisis; Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper; La Legion Saute Sur Kolwezi; Operation Thunderbolt

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