Leofwine_draca One of three movies that were rushed out in the wake of the 1976 terrorist hijacking, this television film is considered by many who saw it at the time to be the best of the bunch. It's certainly a well-made film, with plenty of authenticity and some very good turns from an excellent ensemble cast. Yet I couldn't help wishing that this film had a little more 'oomph', a little more excitement to propel it along. It's a very dry film that's filled with talky dialogue throughout and the last-reel gung ho antics come too little, too late for my liking. While this may well be because the film is based on a real-life incident and therefore things have to be portrayed as they really happened, in comparison to the recent edge-of-your-seat UNITED 93 you can really see the difference.Most of the fun comes from playing 'spot the cast member' as there are many heavyweights popping up in various roles. Peter Finch, Robert Loggia, Jack Warden, and Eddie Constantine are all fairly interchangeable in desk-bound official turns, and it's left to the on-the-ground guys to give the best acting jobs. Charles Bronson and John Saxon lend some brief, decent military toughness to the proceedings while Horst Buchholz is very convincing as the sweaty, nervous terrorist leader. Watch out for an early turn from James Woods who is very good as an Israeli soldier, and little old lady Sylvia Sidney playing to type as a sweet little old dame.For my part, the film had two excellent and very different performances which made things worth watching. The first comes from Martin Balsam, playing a hostage; this guy can do no wrong, and he's very understated here, and great with it. Using just his eyes for the most part he conveys a ton of emotion and shows up the other actors around him. Finally there's Yaphet Kotto in his scene-stealing turn as Ugandan President and all-round cannibal Idi Amin; this is a great role for any actor and Kotto is superb at conveying the psychopath's mood and mannerisms. While the film is a little dark in terms of lighting and the sets sometimes don't convince, the level of technical detail is good and the story is always interesting. It may not be a classic but it is a decent little hostage thriller and worth seeking out for fans of the genre or the actors involved.

venkatb83 i have heard about the famous entebbe hijack incident many times, and i was curious whether Hollywood made any films on that subject and when am searching for it in net i found 2 films and that link lead to me here 1.Raid on Entebbe (1976) 2.opertaiom thunder bolt-raid on entebbe..i have watched first one (Charles Bronson) and loved it.....they made film very well-and some what authentically... starting to finish its thrilling-entertaining film.....Charles Bronson's best acting(i wasn't aware of him-until i watched his mechanic-which remade same name n lead of cinema As Jason sthatham)and this is 2nd film of him i watched...2 actors who's role as junior and senior idi amin make us laugh-make serious films tense moments quite fun..!!! idi amin's fun side-seriousness can be seen in his conversation with foreign friend who pressurize him to arrest terrorists,and while he talking with hostages...!!best film...go watch and witness the successful rescue mission of hostages un hurt...it deserves more but not possible so 10/10

Theo Robertson This is by no means a bad account on the legendary true life tale of Israeli special forces rescuing over a hundred hostages from Entebbe airport . However I couldn't help noticing how flat everything seemed . The directing is rather static even during the action scenes , the dialogue is unmemorable but worst of all are the performances - Field Marshall Idi Amin , president of Uganda and uncrowned king of Scotland ( Hope it's not too hot in hell for you Dada ? ) , who wouldn't want to play that role . Unfortunately Yaphet Kotto seems to have been cast at short notice and hasn't put enough charisma into the role , and the other actors don't really stand out , not even James Woods . I guess there was a race on by film companies to get their film out first , and it certainly seems that this film was produced in a hurry . But as I said it's far from being terrible and if memory serves me right it's superior to the version that preceded it and at least it isn't an action thriller in the vein of DELTA FORCE

stargirlrk This movie was excellent, even for a 1977 TV movie, and I would recommend it to everyone although it is Out of Print and only available on VHS. You can still find copies of it on eBay and at old video stores. This movie is gripping from the beginning to end with a superb climax rescue scene at the end of the hostage crisis. Anyone should see this movie, particularly those who like military/action movies that are based on true events. THIS MOVIE MUST BE SEEN!