Operation Thunderbolt

Mivtsa Yonatan

Israel

1977

124 Min

Color

1.66:1

Hebrew, English, Arabic, German

Currently 2.7/5 Stars.
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PROD Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan

SCR Ken Globus, Menahem Golan, Clarke Reynolds

CAST Yehoram Gaon, Gila Almagor, Assi Dayan, Klaus Kinski, Sybil Danning, Arik Lavie, Shmuel Rodensky, Gabi Amrani, Mark Heath, Henry Czarniak

In July 1976, an Air France flight from Tel-Aviv to Paris via Athens was hijacked and forced to land in Entebbe, Uganda. The Jewish passengers were separated and held hostage in demand to release many terrorists held in Israeli prisons. After much debate, the Israeli government sent an elite commando unit to raid the airfield and release the hostages. The film is based on the true facts and follows the events since the flight’s takeoff and until the hostages’ return to Israel. —IMDb

Director

Menahem Golan

As one of the leaders in Israeli cinema, filmmaker/producer Menahem Golan has collaborated with his cousin Yoram Globus since the early ‘60s to produce over 150 movies. He spent many years directing theatrical productions in Israel before coming to the U.S. to study film in New York and later became a protegé of director Roger Corman. When Golan returned to his homeland, he and Globus worked together to create Israel’s film industry with prestigious films such as Sallah Shabati (1964). In 1979, Golan and Globus took over the Cannon group in Hollywood where for the next 10 years they produced quality independent films such as Love Streams (1984) and Barfly (1987). In 1989, the two producers went their separate ways with Globus becoming the head of Pathe International, and Golan moving to take over the 21st Century Film Corporation. —Sandra Brennan