When it comes to news events happening around the world, it’s easy to take for granted the instant footage available, often provided by smartphones, as they happen in real time.

It was completely different before their arrival, as this insightful drama based on the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich reveals.

Having secured the Olympics, Germany are very keen to highlight the changes that have taken place over the years, by having greater access than ever before for the sports fan. This meant that their games would be the most camera friendly, utilising technology where live feeds of the sports could be beamed all over the globe.

Overseeing the filming of the games are the ABC Sports team, who were not only keen to capture US success, but the spirit of the games overall. This meant that they were based in the Olympic village itself, right in the heart of the event.

The main man in charge is Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard), who knew exactly how he wanted the games to look. Assisting him was his Head of Operations Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), who in turn was babysitting relative newbie Geoffrey Mason (John Magaro) who was producing the coverage.

Everything was going swimmingly, including a win in the pool for Mark Spitz, until early one morning they get a call, stating that some gunmen had made their way into the Olympic village.

Despite being a sports team, they soon realised that they were now reporting the news, live, but not just to the US but the entire world, who were all watching.

The terror attack that took place at the ’72 Olympic Games have been well documented, such as with Spielberg’s 2005 Munich and Kevin McDonald’s 1999 documentary One Day in September. This comes at it with an interesting perspective, that of the team behind shooting the footage as it took place. They were responsible, inadvertently, for what turned out to be the first televised live broadcast of a terrorist attack, which was seen globally.

It’s a fascinating look at how a team that specialised in sports, suddenly had to adapt on the fly, having the only access with their cameras to the events as they unfolded.

Swiss director Tim Fehlbaum captures the chaos that erupts with a real confidence, giving it the feel of a behind the scenes look at TV, similar to that of The Newsroom, but with a pleasing retro palette.

There’s some very impressive editing too, as actual footage that was broadcast by the unit – mostly of news anchor Jim McKay’s pieces to camera – are woven seamlessly into the narrative, reinforcing the verisimilitude of the scenario.

It makes for an intriguing and enthralling drama, told from a unique viewpoint, that kept the world on the edge of their seats, and after watching this, you can appreciate why.