Sports Movie of the Week — ‘Black Sunday’ [VIDEO]

The Super Bowl is consistently the highest-rated television program of the year. Regardless of the participating teams, the game draws the attention of many Americans, as well as international viewers.

Authorities have often cautioned that the same massive global audience that brings advertisers to the Super Bowl makes it a potentially attractive target of terrorist organizations as well. To that end, added security measures have been implemented to ensure that the game and its fans face minimal risk.

Our Sports Movie of the Week, ‘Black Sunday,’ envisions such a terrorist scenario at Super Bowl X in Miami in 1976. Filmed by director John Frankenheimer, ‘Black Sunday’ focuses on a disgruntled Vietnam veteran (Bruce Dern) and a Palestinian terrorist (Marthe Keller), who plan to use the Goodyear Blimp to detonate an explosive device over the Orange Bowl while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys play for the NFL title. An anti-terrorist agent (Robert Shaw) uncovers the planned attack, but he may not be able to stop it.

Five Reasons to Watch ‘Black Sunday’

1. Actual footage from Super Bowl X is used. Due to current licensing fees and restrictions, the NFL is unlikely to ever allow so much of its brand, and the brands of its franchises, to be used with full consent as it did in this film.

2. The film was adapted from the novel of the same name by Thomas Harris (‘Silence of the Lambs’), who set the movie in New Orleans and drew source material from the real-life murder of Israeli athletes at the Olympics in Munich in 1972.

3. A film score from legendary composer John Williams, who also did ‘Star Wars’ saga films, ‘Jaws,’ ‘Superman,’ the ‘Indiana Jones’ films, ‘E.T.’ and many more.

4. Few actors would be as naturally weird as Bruce Dern is as the suicidal blimp pilot.

5. An appearance by broadcasters Pat Summerall and since-deceased Tom Brookshier, who were part of the CBS Sports NFL coverage for years.

Click the play button to watch the a trailer/advertisement of the film below: