United 93 - I'll get the bad stuff out of the way first. This is THE worst camerawork ever seen on a big screen film. It's what I call "Piñata Filmmaking". Think of the camera on a string getting pulled all over the place. This is OK in short bursts during action scenes, but not every second of the film. When people are talking there is this thing missing called EDITING. One camera on one person talking, then cut to the second camera of the next guy talking, not whipping the camera all around to each person with no cuts. Unfortunately this is the fault of reality TV and it's now spilled over to filmmaking and it's a damn shame. I can't imagine any legendary director like Stanley Kubrick or Alfred Hitchcock ever doing this, let alone sitting through a film like this without walking out. The only solution I have found is to just look at the center of the screen, otherwise, you'll get a headache.
    On to the film. This is the third film on the subject, but the first two were made for cable, so they will never get the exposure of a big screen film, which is a shame, since for the most part, those are better. Flight 93 was a raw, emotional wreck of a ride. We learn about each passenger, every heartbreaking phone call that was made and what was said by both sides. By the end we've gotten to know them and live through and with them. We know they way the film will end, but some bizarre hope is that they plane pulls up and they are able to safely land. I would like to see one passenger have a dream sequence of that happening, just to see it on film. The Flight that Fought Back is like a real time version of the flight, almost a documentary.
    United 93 takes a different path. The first half of the film is about how Air Traffic Controllers and NORAD learned about what happened and what they did. The problem is things happened so fast and since no one every experienced a situation like this, they didn't know what to do. Who would? At first glance this seems a bit annoying, the film is called United 93 after all. It's not 9/11. But what is serves to do is provide a timeline that you might not have ever considered. Flight 93 actually was delayed 45 minutes at Newark, so by the time it was going, all 3 other attacks already happened. It was all over by the time 93 was hijacked. So this allows the passengers to be the first people in the world to fight back in a post 9/11 world. The first 3 planes had no idea what was happening in the world around them. If this plane took off on time it too would've been crashed without a chance of stopping it.
    Unlike Flight 93, this film makes no attempt to get to know the passengers. If you want a film with a background on all of them, this isn't it. No one is introduced and while the phone calls are made, they aren't shown from both sides. We hear passengers learn about the attacks on the World Trade Center and then The Pentagon. They realize it's a suicide mission and something, anything has to be done. No votes are taken, no counting of hands. Just get anything you can as a weapon and go. Here Mark Bingham grabs a fire extinguisher, Thomas Burnett makes the most phone calls and is basically the leader. Todd Beamer is more of a minor character here and is more impatient. His famous line is rendered to something smaller, "let's roll already." It is not played for maximum impact as it could've been. In the previous film the stewardesses boil water for weapons on the food cart. Here it is talked about, but they go after the man with the fake bomb, take him down and then go for the hijacker by the cockpit door. He uses a food cart to defend himself and then they take it from him after killing him and use it to bring the cockpit door down. The cockpit is stormed but it is too low to stop it from crashing. The plan was to take the hijackers out and get the one man who had pilot experience into the cockpit to fly the plane. He ominously tells them they are so low that they'll have to get them out fast as there's no time to pull up. They get in and attack the two men left. Zihad refuses to give up and he pushes the yoke down as they try to pull him off. Before the plane crashes, the screen goes black. Then text appears. No other images are shown.
    Because of all this it's more a film of strength, determination and anger. We are more of a fly on the wall like we are on the plane too, then getting the whole picture from all sides. There is no gut wrenching sadness when Jeremy Glick is saying goodbye to his wife and saying he loves his 3 month old child. That puts a history of what they lost that day. This film makes you absolutely despise the hijackers and revel in them being taken out brutally. At the end there is no crying, there is anger at our enemies and what they did to us and determination to keep fighting them. Surprisingly the most emotional part of the film is when the second plane hits the World Trade Center since we know what is going to happen. Even though we've seen it before, the impact is still as brutal as ever.
    There are no name actors here which is perfect. There is no attachment to any face which I think  will hurt Oliver Stone's WTC film. Many of the controllers were the actual people from 9/11, so that makes it even more real. 
    One interesting thing they made up for the film is that Zihad, the terrorist pilot, puts a picture of the US Capitol on the yoke. They also have the other terrorists wondering what's going on, why is waiting too long, they make it seem like he lost his nerve. This also lead to the plane taking too long to get to the target.  The other things is the last words on the flight recorder are spoken by Alan Beaven who saw "turn up." He was from New Zealand and that was the equivalent of saying pull up in American English. So we know they were there and they got the plane back, but it was just too late, they didn't have enough room to pull up. This was not covered in the film.
    A lot of people whine that "it's too soon" to have a film like this because they don't want to have to deal with 9/11. They put it out of their mind and buried their feelings. They actually get angry if you force them to remember it. This real question is "is it too late?" 

Rating 6.5/10

Nine Innings from Ground Zero - Ever since I became an adult I had no interest and saw no need for pro sports. Since I'll watch anything about 9/11 and this from was a different angle than dealing with the attacks, I thought it could be interested.. I was amazed by this film. It is gripping, powerful and moving as it details the Yankees post season game play in a 9/11 world. Baseball gave New Yorkers a reason to be happy again and to forget their troubles, only if for a few hours. Then on the way home they would see the work still going at Ground Zero and be brought back to reality. The flag found at the WTC even flew in the outfield, players wore NY FD & PD hats on the field. The hated Yankees had finally become beloved by the country. Interviews with all the major players from the Yankees and the Diamondbacks who played them in the world series are included, also Rudy Giuliani, George Bush, Ari Fleischer, Curtis Sliwa and more. It details the exciting wins at Yankee Stadium where the place literally shook with excitement. Also rare footage of the president behind the scenes as he prepared to throw the first pitch including having a secret service agent dressed up on the field as an umpire for extra security. He talks about it in an interview how Derek Jeter said not to throw from in front of the mound or to bounce the ball or he'd get booed. He signs autographed balls and jokes he promised never to go to a world series unless it was the Texas Rangers, but he made an exception. It is also funny how he said that made him nervous, not anything else going on in the world. He had nothing to worry about as he threw a perfect strike. It's more impressive when you realize he has a jacket and a bullet proof vest on. It also showed the heartache as 9/11 families went out to Arizona for the final game 7 that the Yankees lost. Even though it's a baseball film, it's really not about baseball, it's about healing. At 1 hour this documentary is short and sweet and captures a great spirit of the time that is far beyond gone at this point. 

Rating: 9.5/10

9/11/04 Twin Towers of Light

Composite of the height of the lights, notice the size of the buildings at the bottom

I made the pilgrimage to NYC on 9/11/04 to see the twin towers of light as I have wanted to see them in person since they first turned them on. As I drove in from the west I could see a light hitting the clouds almost 50 miles away from NYC. I thought it might be the lights and was right. Even from 20 miles away it looks just like a solid beam of light. It isn't until you get a few miles away do you see the lights split into two. I went to Liberty State Park to get the best possible view without having to fight the tunnel traffic and outrageous parking prices in the city. Even better was that they opened up the parking lot for free and it wasn't overly crowded. When you walk toward the lights at the same level it is amazing to see how they could take such a place of such sorrow and turn it into something so beautiful. There were many 100s of people there of all ages and walks of life photographing, videotaping or just staring at it. Some sat with candles and just looked at the beauty and were alone with their memories. The blue lights go up and meet  about a mile up and continue to extend miles into the sky. Many of us have seen pictures of the lights, but that doesn't even begin to capture the moment. You can't see it all in a photo - it must be seen in person. It takes almost a full 10 seconds to follow the lights up to where they meet the clouds. The most startling thing is how all kinds of bugs and dust are attracted to the massive lights and they float and blow through the air making the lights look like they are alive and sparkling. It is breathtaking.  If you walk as far as you can where the ferries go out you can look at the lights with the river in front of you. The reflection on the water rippling heads toward you and looks awesome. It expands the lights into two directions.  Everyone should make the pilgrimage next year in case the lights are turned off forever.

Ground Zero Today

WTC on the surrounding fence
WTC Train Path Station Subway Sign
WTC Path Station

This page © 2001-08 Alex Thrawn
Dedicated to Rick Rutkowski 1940-03 & Marilyn Guyote 1948-05
Thanks to all the troops fighting for freedom in the world today.