''Sword of Gideon'' is a 1986 Canadian
television film about
Mossad
Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...
agents hunting down terrorists associated with the 1972
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...
. It was first shown on the
CTV Television Network
The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divis ...
in Canada as a four-hour miniseries and later on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
in the United States. Directed by
Michael Anderson and written by
Chris Bryant, the film stars
Steven Bauer
Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson; December 2, 1956) is a Cuban-born American actor. Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on '' ¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' (1977–1980) and is perhaps most ...
and
Michael York. The film is based on the book ''
Vengeance
Vengeance may refer to:
*Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance
Film
* ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo
* ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...
'' by
George Jonas
George Jonas, CM (June 15, 1935 – January 10, 2016) was a Hungarian-born Canadian writer, poet, and journalist. A self-described classical liberal, he authored 16 books, including the bestseller '' Vengeance'' (1984), the story of an Israeli ...
, an account of the incident which has been criticized by some intelligence personnel as fictional, though because of its covert nature is difficult to prove or disprove. In some countries the book was titled ''Vengeance: Sword of Gideon'', from which the movie title is drawn. The story was retold in the 2005 film ''
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
'' by
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
.
Plot
Avner, an adept Israeli military officer, is interrupted from his service in the
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
by a special request from Israeli Prime Minister
Golda Meir
Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1 ...
to join
Mossad
Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...
, Israel's intelligence agency. Despite warnings from his father, he agrees to join, and becomes the leader of an elite five-man group assigned to assassinate all of the
Black September
Black September ( ar, أيلول الأسود; ''Aylūl Al-Aswad''), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was a conflict fought in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF), under the leadership of King Hussein ...
terrorists involved in the
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...
. Shortly before embarking, however, his wife reveals to him that she is pregnant, to Avner's surprise.
The undercover unit is dispatched to Europe, where most of the terrorists are located, and begin assassinating them via firearms and bombs. Initially, they are very successful, but after Avner witnesses one of their targets' wife and daughter crying in the hospital upon learning of his death, he soon begins to question the morality of his mission.
Eventually, the unit becomes wanted internationally for the assassinations, and spies dispatched by Black September are successful in killing most of Avner's team over the course of several months. After a botched assassination attempt of two targets results in the team almost being wiped out, Avner asks the case officer in charge of the mission to abort, and his request is granted, ending the mission with only two suriviors.
Upon returning to Israel, Avner's case officer reveals that his Mossad contract length is three years, prompting him to angrily attempt to quit his job and move to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
with his wife and infant son. There, he is the target of harassment by his case officer, who attempts to convince him to return to Israel and go on another mission for Mossad. Avner refuses, stating that he only wants to join the IDF and become an officer again. His boss flatly rejects the offer, and withdraws all of Avner's money from his bank account as punishment for violating his contract with Mossad, leaving the family completely broke. However, he purchases and repairs an old apartment, and is able to make a modest living as a taxi cab driver.
As the movie ends, Avner can be seen commanding an IDF armored column through the desert, and a paragraph of text explains that he returned to Israel to command his tank unit during the
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
.
Cast
*
Steven Bauer
Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson; December 2, 1956) is a Cuban-born American actor. Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on '' ¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' (1977–1980) and is perhaps most ...
as Avner
*
Michael York as Robert
*
Robert Joy as Hans
*
Laurent Malet as Jean
*
Peter Dvorsky as Carl
*
Rod Steiger
Rodney Stephen Steiger (; April 14, 1925July 9, 2002, aged 77) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely assoc ...
as Mordechai Samuels
*
Lino Ventura
Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura (14 July 1919 – 22 October 1987), known as Lino Ventura, was an Italian actor who grew up in France and starred in many French films. Born in Italy, he was raised in Paris by his mother. After a first caree ...
as Papa
*
Colleen Dewhurst
Colleen Rose Dewhurst (3 June 1924 – 22 August 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early drama ...
as Prime Minister
Golda Meir
Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1 ...
*
Leslie Hope as Shoshana
*
John Hirsch
John Stephen Hirsch, OC (; May 1, 1930 – August 1, 1989) was a Hungarian-Canadian theatre director. He was born in Siófok, Hungary to József and Ilona Hirsch, both of whom were murdered in the Holocaust along with his younger brother I ...
as Avner's Father
*
Cyrielle Clair as Jeanette Von Lesseps
*
Linda Griffiths as Carl's Widow
* Daniel Alfie as Ali Salameh
*
Hrant Alianak
Hrant Alianak (born 1950), also billed as Harant Alianak or Grant Aljanak, is an Armenian-Canadian actor and playwright.
Career
In 1988, he was nominated for the Genie Award "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role" for the 1987 film ' ...
as Wael Zwaiter
*
Sonia Benezra as Mrs. Hamshari
Home media
The film was released on VHS by
HBO/Cannon Video under license from
Home Box Office
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
. However, HBO didn't own it and then in 2004 was released on DVD by
Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Echo Bridge Entertainment is an American independent distribution company. It acquires and distributes feature films, scripted and non-scripted series, documentaries, and children’s programming for home video, digital and television in the United ...
. Currently, the film belongs to
Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...
(formerly
Alliance Entertainment
Alliance Films (formerly Alliance Entertainment, Alliance Communications, Alliance Atlantis Releasing Ltd, Motion Picture Distribution LP and also known as Alliance Vivafilm in Quebec and also known simply as Alliance) was a Canadian motion pictur ...
).
External links
*
*
*
{{Michael Anderson
Canadian television films
English-language Canadian films
Munich massacre
Operation Wrath of God
1986 television films
1986 films
Cultural depictions of Golda Meir
Films directed by Michael Anderson
Films based on non-fiction books
1980s Canadian films