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About This Quiz
This 2005 film about the massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes, and the hunt for those responsible, is one of Steven Spielberg's most powerful movies. Test your knowledge of this spy-thriller-with-a-conscience with our quiz!
Who played Avner, the leader of the retaliation mission?
Eric Bana
Eric Bana, an Australian, got his start in comic roles. But his dark Slavic looks (his father is Croatian), have made him sought-after for serious roles in "Troy" and "The Hulk."
Ralph Fiennes
Misha Collins
Rufus Sewell
In what year were the Munich Olympics?
1972
The events of the summer 1972 unfolded on live television, due to the number of journalists already on hand to cover the Olympics. Some of the real-life TV coverage was used in "Munich."
1976
1980
1984
How many Israeli athletes were killed?
two
five
nine
eleven
Two members of the Israeli team were killed in their dorm building at the Olympic Village. The remaining nine died at a NATO airfield, where an attempted rescue failed.
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What was the reason Golda Meir gave for missing the athletes' funeral?
it was an assassination risk
her sister died
Meir tells Avner she couldn't attend the memorials because of her sister's funeral. Ephraim, Avner's handler, more cynically guesses that she was afraid of being heckled by people who blamed her for the deaths.
she was at a UN summit
she was ill
Who played Ephraim?
Dustin Hoffman
Ben Kingsley
Geoffrey Rush
Rush plays Ephraim as a confident, witty guy, despite being saddled with the world's worst Buddy Holly glasses. That's why he's an Academy Award winner, we suppose!
Stellan Skarsgard
What kind of sweet does Ephraim like?
baklava
Ephraim eats the Mediterranean treat as he and Avner walk along the seaside. Late in the film, Avner brings Ephraim a box of baklava. Avner doesn't eat it himself, which Ephraim says is wise: "You've just signed away your dental insurance."
cotton candy
date rolls
saltwater taffy
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From what country is Steve, the team's driver?
Germany
the United States
Romania
South Africa
Steve was played by Daniel Craig. He says, early on, that he's only just joined the Mossad, but his backstory is never revealed.
In what city is the first assassination?
Beirut
Paris
Rome
Though the five men are there on serious business, the Roman scenery is distractingly pretty. As are the menus -- some of the business gets done in open-air cafes over coffee or wine.
Zurich
When Avner meets with his friend Andreas, and Andreas' girlfriend, who does he say he works for?
the CIA
the Mossad
Red Army Faction
rich Americans
Andreas, an old friend, has fallen in with European radicals, including his girlfriend Yvonne. They seem like lightweights, but Andreas gets Avner to someone with real connections.
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Where in Rome does the team find their first target?
at a bombmaker's workshop
at a clandestine meeting
at a talk on poetry
One of the most intriguing things about "Munich" is how multifaceted all the characters are. Wael Zwaiter is a conspirator in the Munich killings, but he's also a poet and translator.
visiting his lover
What question does Avner ask Zwaiter twice?
"Are you Wael Zwaiter?"
"Do you know why we're here?"
"How do you live with yourself?"
Both #1 and #2
The first murder is both tense and strangely anticlimactic. Avner nervously asks Zwaiter "Do you know why we're here?" and seems to want some kind of moral reckoning, but when Zwaiter does not repsond, he pulls the trigger.
Louis, their source for information in France, describes his family in what way?
"honorable"
"ideologically promiscuous"
Louis implies that his family is also money-motivated and politically agnostic. But the colorful term he uses to sum that up is "promiscuous."
"money-motivated"
"politically agnostic"
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What last name does Avner give to Louis?
Ben-Gurion
Mayer
Smith
Storsch
Avner is cautious around Louis, who is selling him information that will help the team find their targets. Steve is even more suspicious: he never trusts Louis and is frank about saying so.
Where does Robert plant his first bomb?
in a garbage can
in a mailbox
in a package
in a telephone
The mechanism works in a tricky way. The bomb doesn't just explode when the someone picks up the receiver -- the assassins have a remote which shows a red light when the phone is in use, so they can detonate the bomb manually.
What does the third target, Abd al Chir, offer Avner on his balcony?
a beer
a cigarette
a sleeping pill
Al Chir's room is next to that of newlyweds, who "keep at it all night." Though Avner's room is two doors down, al Chir still offers him one of his sleeping pills to help him sleep through the noise.
to show him around the city
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After his third bomb is not satisfactory, what secret comes out about Robert?
he wasn't trained as a bomb maker
Robert is supposedly a toymaker by profession. He can make bombs because of his military training. However, when Steve yells at him, Robert finally admits,, and finally admits, "I was not trained to do this!" He learned to defuse bombs in the military, not make them.
he is a conscientious objector
he is blind in one eye
he is dyslexic
Where do Avner's wife, Daphna, and the new baby go to be safe?
Brooklyn
Daphna and the baby would be safe there today. But the Brooklyn of the 1970s? We're not so sure that was the safest place to run to!
Miami
rural France
a kibbutz in Israel
Why does Louis become angry at Avner?
Louis didn't know he was an assassin
Avner shared Louis' information with the Israeli government
Avner tells his bosses that three wanted Palestinians are in Beirut, prompting a commando raid there. Louis finds out, and is upset that Avner, who said he worked for rich Americans, tipped off the Israeli government.
Avner nearly gets a little girl killed
Avner refuses a dinner invitation
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What does Louis do after the assault in Beirut?
ceases doing business with Avner
raises his price for information
punches him
invites Avner to dinner
The invitation doesn't come from Louis, per se. Louis's father wants to meet "Mr. Storsch" and take his measure. "Papa" ultimately decides not to punish Avner for breaking the rules.
Why can't Avner, according to Papa, be a great cook?
he's also a killer
he has large hands
Papa, though an "ideologically promsicuous" dealer in information, is also a passionate cook. He says he could have been a master, if he didn't have big hands, like Avner's.
his sense of smell isn't sharp enough
he doesn't garden as well
What is the real name of Louis' papa?
Claude
Jean-Paul
Maurice
this is never revealed
The patriarch of Louis' very large family is only referred to as "Papa." He was played by character actor, Michael Lonsdale.
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When the team stays at the Athens safe house, who else arrives in the middle of the night?
the Athens police
German eco-radicals
PLO operatives
Louis arranges for the Mossad team to use the safe house, but somehow also sells the same two nights to the PLO. Robert saves the day by identifying himself as ETA (a Basque nationalist), and the others as either Red Army Faction or ANC.
backpacking hippies
Who is the top target Avner wants, but Louis says is untouchable?
Yasser Arafat
Zaid Muchassi
Hussein al-Chir
Ali Hassan Salameh
Arafat was the longtime head of the PLO and a founder of Fatah. He is mentioned in the movie, but isn't on the list of targets. Arafat really was untouchable. He died at age 75, and though there are conspiracy theories about his death, it was most likely from natural causes.
Why does the team miss their shot at Salameh in London?
a drunk American guy blunders into the action
Later, Avner and Carl speculate that the drunk guy -- and the friends who pull him away -- were actually CIA agents. This is never confirmed, but there was something a little too convenient about the encounter.
Salameh is too well-guarded
Avner has moral qualms about the killing
they can't be sure it's really Salameh
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Who is killed by the Dutch independent assassin?
Carl
Avner mistakes Jeanette for a prostitute, telling Carl to avoid "the local honey trap" in the bar. Carl, unfortunately, takes advantage of her services -- and ends up dead in his room. (On second viewing, notice how much the actress who played Jeanette, Marie-Josee Croze, looks like a brunette Naomi Watts).
Hans
Robert
Steve
After Jeanette's murder, what does Hans refuse to do?
cover her nakedness
Jeanette began stripping out of her robe when the men enter her houseboat, in an attempt to distract them. After her death, Avner closes up her robe, but Hans insists on opening it again. He doesn't want her to have any dignity in death.
feed her cat
notify her mother
notify the police
How does Robert die?
shot by a PLO operative
he commits suicide
he blows himself up in his workshop
You could probably construct a theory that Robert's materials were somehow sabotaged, making it a murder. But the movie seems to indicate an accidental death.
he falls from a bridge
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Who stabs Hans and why?
it's revenge by PLO members
it's revenge by a friend of Jeanette
it's a mugging
this is never explained
Steve and Avner find Hans sitting on a park bench in the early-morning hours. He's dead. Who killed him is never made clear. One thing we know is that the killer didn't take anything -- namely, money -- from Hans.
In what country do Avner and Steve make their second attempt on Salameh?
France
Lebanon
Greece
Spain
The second attempt also fails too. Steve and Avner accidentally shoot a teenage guard. This seems to be a stand-in for an actual incident in Lillehammer, Norway, where Mossad agents killed a Moroccan waiter they mistook for Salameh.
At the end, who comes to see Avner in Brooklyn?
Ephraim
Ephraim tries to persuade Avner to return to Israel, telling him that is where he, Daphna and their daughter belong. Avner refuses, but invites Ephraim home for dinner out of traditional Jewish hospitality.
Golda Meir
Avner's mother
Steve
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Which of these journalists is not seen/heard in the film?
Howard Cosell
Barbara Walters
McKay and Cosell were sports reporters who were pressed into service as news reporters when the events during the Olympics took a deadly turn. Jennings was a foreign correspondent who had been covering the Middle East for ABC for some time.
Jim McKay
Peter Jennings
Avner is a native-born Israeli, or "sabra." The word "sabra" also means what?
a kind of cactus
The "sabra" is more formally known as the opuntia cactus. It grows in the Middle Eastern desert and is very hardy; the parallelism is clear.
an eagle
a lion
"firstborn"
Which role was written with its actor in mind?
Avner/Eric Bana
The role of Avner was written with Eric Bana in mind. It's not clear why, since Bana is Aussie comedian, nothing like the "tormented Israeli spy" he played.
Louis/Mathieu Amalric
Robert/Matthew Kassovitz
Jeanette/Marie-Josee Croze
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Tony Kushner, who collaborated on the screenplay, is better known for what play/film?
"Angels in America"
Kushner is best known for "Angels In America," a hugely successful play and movie about gay life. He also wrote the musical "Caroline, or Change."
"Chicago"
"Tootsie"
"Evita"
For how many Academy Awards was "Munich" nominated, and how many did it win?
zero/zero
two/one
four/two
five/zero
"Munich" won no awards at the Oscars. In part, it was steamrolled by critical favorite "Brokeback Mountain," whose makers carried off the Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score awards.
You Got:
/35
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