''Raid on Entebbe'' is a 1977 NBC

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by Irvin Kershner. It is based on an actual event: Operation Entebbe and the freeing of hostages at

Entebbe Airport Entebbe International Airport is the only international airport in Uganda. It is located about southwest of the town of Entebbe, on the northern shores of Lake Victoria. This is approximately by road south-west of the central business distr ...

Entebbe Entebbe is a city in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. Th ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

, on July 4, 1976. The portrayal of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was

Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...

's final performance; he died five days after the film's release. ''Raid on Entebbe'' describes the rescue of the hostages held in Uganda, the discussions within the Israeli government, and the controversy prompted by the rescue. A similar production on the Entebbe raid, '' Victory at Entebbe'', was rushed through production by ABC and broadcast one month earlier in December 1976.

Plot

On 27 June 1976, four terrorists belonging to a splinter group of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine under the orders of Wadie Haddad boarded and hijacked an

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...

Airbus A300 The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner. West ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

. With President

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

's blessing, the terrorists divert the airliner and its hostages to Entebbe Airport in Uganda. After identifying Israeli passengers, the non-Jewish passengers are freed while a series of demands are made, including the release of 40 Palestinian militants held in Israel, in exchange for the hostages. The

Cabinet of Israel The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the governmen ...

, led by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, unwilling to give in to terrorist demands, is faced with difficult decisions as their deliberations lead to a top-secret military raid. The difficult and daring commando operation, "Operation Thunderbolt", will be carried out over 2,500 miles (4 000 km) from home and will take place on the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as ...

. While still negotiating with the terrorists, who now numbered seven individuals including Palestinians and two Germans, the Israeli military prepared two

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

transports for the raid. The transports refueled in Kenya before landing at Entebbe Airport under the cover of darkness. The commandos led by Brig. Gen Dan Shomron had to contend with a large armed Ugandan military detachment and used a ruse to overcome the defenses. A black Mercedes limousine had been carried on board and was used to fool sentries that it was the official car that President Amin used on an impromptu visit to the airport. Nearly complete surprise was achieved but a firefight resulted, ending with all seven terrorists and 45 Ugandan soldiers killed. The hostages were gathered together and most were quickly put on the idling C-130 aircraft. During the raid, one commando (the breach unit commander Yonatan Netanyahu, brother of future Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

), and three of the hostages, died. A fourth hostage,

Dora Bloch Dora may stand for: * Dora (given name) Places United States * Dora, Alabama * Dora, Arkansas *Dora, Missouri *Dora, New Mexico * Dora, Oregon * Dora, Pennsylvania *Mount Dora, Florida Other countries * Lake Dora (Tasmania) *Lake Dora (West ...

, who had been taken to

Mulago Hospital Mulago National Specialised Hospital, also known as Mulago National Referral Hospital, is a component of Mulago Hospital Complex, the teaching facility of Makerere University College of Health Sciences. It is the largest public hospital in Ug ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and R ...

, was murdered by the Ugandans on Idi Amin's orders. With 102 hostages aboard and on their way to freedom, a group of Israeli commandos remained behind to destroy the Ugandan Air Force MiG-17 and MiG-21 fighters to prevent a retaliation. All the survivors of the attack force then joined in flying back to Israel via

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ...

and Sharm El Sheikh.

Cast

as Yitzhak Rabin *

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and wa ...

as Brigadier General Dan Shomron * Yaphet Kotto as

Martin Balsam Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New Y ...

as Daniel Cooper * Horst Buchholz as Wilfried Böse * John Saxon as Major General

Benny Peled Benny Peled ( he, בני פלד; April 18, 1928 – July 13, 2002) was the commander of the Israeli Air Force during the Yom Kippur War and Operation Entebbe. He retired with the rank of Aluf (major general). Biography and career He was born Biny ...

* Jack Warden as Lieutenant General Mordechai Gur * Meshach Richards as Major General Allon * Sylvia Sidney as

* Robert Loggia as

Yigal Allon Yigal Allon ( he, יגאל אלון; 10 October 1918 – 29 February 1980) was an Israeli politician, commander of the Palmach, and general in the Israel Defense Forces, IDF. He served as one of the leaders of Ahdut HaAvoda party and the Labor P ...

* Tige Andrews as

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

* Eddie Constantine as Captain

Michel Bacos Michel Bacos (3 May 1924 – 26 March 2019) was a French airline pilot. He was the captain of Air France Flight 139 when it was hijacked on 27 June 1976 by Palestinian and German terrorists belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of ...

David Opatoshu David Opatoshu (born David Opatovsky; January 30, 1918 – April 30, 1996) was an American actor. He is best known for his role in the film ''Exodus'' (1960). Opatoshu began his acting career in the Yiddish theater. Following his tenure in th ...

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. ...

Allan Arbus Allan Franklin Arbus (February 15, 1918 – April 19, 2013) was an American actor and photographer. He was the former husband of photographer Diane Arbus. He is known for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman on the CBS television series ...

as Eli Melnick *

Stephen Macht Stephen Robert Macht (born May 1, 1942) is an American television and film actor. As the father of actor Gabriel Macht, he portrayed Henry Gerard, a Harvard professor in the US legal drama '' Suits'', alongside his son. Early life Macht was b ...

as Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu *

James Woods James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off- Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in ''The Trial of the ...

as Captain Sammy Berg *

Harvey Lembeck Harvey Lembeck (April 15, 1923 – January 5, 1982) was an American comedic actor best remembered for his role as Cpl. Rocco Barbella on ''The Phil Silvers Show'' (a.k.a. ''Sgt. Bilko'', a.k.a. ''You'll Never Get Rich'') in the late 1950s, and a ...

as Mr. Harvey * Dinah Manoff as Rachel Sager *

Kim Richards Kim Erica Richards (born September 19, 1964) is an American actress, socialite, and television personality. She began her career as a child actress, and rose to prominence from her roles in '' Nanny and the Professor'', '' Escape to Witch Mount ...

as Alice *

Aharon Ipalé Aharon Ipalé (December 27, 1941 – June 27, 2016) was an Israeli-American actor, known for his roles in American and British film and television productions. His credits included ''Fiddler on the Roof'' (1971), '' Innocent Bystanders'' (1 ...

as Major David Grut * Mariclare Costello as Gabrielle Krieger

Production

''Raid on Entebbe'' was filmed entirely in the United States, with the Stockton Metropolitan Airport in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquired Rancho Campo de los Franceses. The city is named after R ...

, serving as both Entebbe Airport and an

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...

(IAF) base. Producers Blatt and Scherick turned to the " Hollywood Squadron", the 146th Airlift Wing of the

California Air National Guard The California Air National Guard (CA ANG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Air Force, and part of the National Guard of the United States. As militia units, the units in the California ...

to provide three C-130 Hercules transports. Scenes were also shot at the Van Nuys Military airport, Los Angeles; these included footage of passenger jets, and the interior of a C-130 in which Bronson made his speech to the team about to attack Entebbe. The C-130E variant used by the

was the same variant that was flown by the 146th Wing. The camouflage scheme used by both the United States Air Force and IAF was virtually identical, and with the overpainting of Israeli markings, the Hercules transports became both "set dressing" for an Israeli airfield and as the aircraft used in the raid on Entebbe. The 146th Airlift Wing also supplied all the military equipment, such as M151 jeeps and weapons that would be seen at an active base. Other aircraft used in ''Raid on Entebbe'' include an

B2 F-BVGA (seen in archive footage); a

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...

, two Douglas DC-8-31s, 10 North American F-86 Sabre (1/2 scale models representing the Ugandan Air Force MiGs),

North American FJ-3 Fury The North American FJ-2 and FJ-3 Fury are a series of swept-wing carrier-capable fighters for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The FJ-2 resulted from an effort to navalize the North American F-86 Sabre operated by the United States Ai ...

and

Bell UH-1 Iroquois The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...

helicopter. Principal photography on ''Raid on Entebbe'' took place in November 1976, with the training for the raid that took place using a replica of the Entebbe Airport. The actual airport had been built by an Israeli construction company and their involvement led to an accurate

mockup In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mockup may be a ''prototype'' if it provides at lea ...

being built to test out tactics devised for the raid.

Reception

Critical response

''Raid on Entebbe'' received initially good reviews. Capitalizing on its strong all-star ensemble cast, a film version was released theatrically in the UK and Europe in early 1977.Barron 2016, p. 209. In May 1977, local Thai authorities banned the film from being shown in Thailand. They argued it presented a one-sided image of the Middle East conflict and posed a risk to the nation's relations with Arab states."Thais ban film on Entebbe raid."
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', May 15, 1977. Retrieved: March 9, 2017.

Accolades

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Barron, Colin N. ''Planes on Film: Ten Favourite Aviation Films''. Stirling, UK: Extremis Publishing, 2016. . * Solomon, Aubrey. ''Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. .

External links

* * * {{Subject bar , portal1= Uganda , portal2= Israel , portal3= Television , portal4= Film 1977 television films 1977 films 1970s action thriller films American aviation films American political thriller films American action thriller films Cultural depictions of Idi Amin Cultural depictions of Menachem Begin American docudrama films Films about the Israel Defense Forces Films about aircraft hijackings Films about terrorism in Africa Films directed by Irvin Kershner Films scored by David Shire Films set in 1976 Films set in Israel Films set in Uganda Films set in airports Films set on airplanes Films shot in the United States Operation Entebbe Super Bowl lead-out shows 20th Century Fox Television films Thriller films based on actual events Films about battles and military operations American drama television films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films