nakedpianoplayer said:

I'm about to go see it...

All the reviews I've read so far have praised to the hilt the respect and dignity the movie pays to the events and victims...I'd rather see this movie now, than wait 30 years and have the "Titanic"-ized version, complete with shmaltzy, violin-filled soundtrack, fake storylines, major actors so that the movie becomes their vehicle, and "composite characters" filling in for real-life souls.

Byron said:

thats true...


a movie made years from now would never have the same emotion.



my mother said she is definately going to see it, and thinks that i should too let us know what you think after its over

nakedpianoplayer said:

I'll definitely do that... ...and I agree with whoever said it earlier: this won't be a movie I buy buttered popcorn and a large Coke for.

I don't feel that it's too early for this film. It's been almost 5 years. While I know that's not a great amount of time, it's been long enough as not to be completely disrespectful or dishonorable. If my loved-one was on that flight and the filmmakers weren't spoiling the memories of the victims, I would want the movie to be made as a tribute and honor to all the passengers and crew memebers. We all say we will never forget, but unfortunately we do forget. We may remember the horriffic scenes that were replayed a hundred times a day, but we forget the names, the faces, the real stories of the people that died. This film, if done correctly, can teach us more about people we persoanlly never knew and make sure that we truly never forget them.
[Edited 4/29/06 13:29pm]

Terilicious said:

my god, has it been that long ????

Are any of you who are planning to see this film from DC or New York City? I'm not accusing you of anything, but I think it may be easier for some people to see something like this.

At the time of the attacks, I worked two Metro(that's what we call the subway) stops from the Pentagon. So, I felt a deeply personal reaction to it. Everything was shut down and it was very scary to be living in the DC area not knowing what could happen. My mother was also seriously ill at the time and I had to rush her to the hospital. It's not a day I want to relive.

im hopin u guys come back with reviews

Just got back...

It's a very well made film...not disrespectful, sensational or manipulative in any way, shape or form. It's so straight forward...no stereotypical Hollywood tricks to play with your emotions or anything like that. This story doesn't need it...

For me, anyway, it wasn't a hard film to watch. However, at times you will most likely relive many of the emotions you had when first learning about the Twin Towers being hit... ...watching the real-life characters in the control tower and at the military base react with stunned silence really brought that moment back in my mind...but just in moments, not for the entire film. It was rather enlightening to see what everyone involved on the back-end of this tragedy was experiencing and how they were reacting...they're constantly in catch-up mode, and you never feel it's because they're incompetent...you know it was because they're all trying to comprehend the magnitude of what's unfolding while also trying to act and react correctly and quickly.

Also, everyone comes across as individual souls interacting together, whether due to their occupation or to the circumstances which unite them, no matter how tragic...I never got the feeling of "Here's the military...here's the FAA...here's the government...here's the Muslim community/religion"...I just saw people.

Nobody on flight 93 is portrayed as a hero, at least not individually...but as a group your respect, admiration and especially your heart go out to them with ease. Nobody has any catchy lines, nobody even has more lines than anyone else...nobody is really singled out as being more deserving of our emotions and attention, and I think it's a better film for it. Be warned, though...you will get sincerely choked up when seeing these passengers making their last phone calls to the ones they love... ...that it me hard. Real hard. Especially since the words spoken at that moment were most likely the actual last words of many of the passengers...they aren't the result of some scriptwriter's imagination.

I don't think there's anything about this movie that deserves any criticism. It's a very good movie...not a great one, but still very good. Individually, it may be "too soon" for some...that's a personal choice and viewpoint. But collectively as a nation, I don't think it's too soon at all.

Byron said:

Wonderful review Byron, thank you .

evenstar3 said:

Get the bootleg! That will show them!


Can we say "bootleg" here?

Byron said:

WOW! Thank you man. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THIS MOVIE

I don't know how I feel about this movie. I want to see it but I know I'm going to be full on cry mode. Like I was in Schindler's LIst. I was relieved to hear that the family members ok'd it. I do have to say that I want to see Mark Bingham's story. I read the book that was written about him.


M

u2prnce said:

i dont want to see it, but i am tempted to just to see it in nyc and see the reaction to it.

After seeing a panel discussion with the family members who perished in this tragedy, and seeing extensive scenes from the film, I must admit...I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THIS MOVIE...

If it manages to make a lot of money, then fine, because 10% will go to a noteworthy cause. Also keep in mind though, that it costs a little over $15,000,000 to make this film, and I don't think it's unreasonable for them to recoup the money that went into creating it, as the talent and crew (unknowns and non-celbrities) have devoted a lot of time and emotional energy to this project and only made scale pay during this production.

For me, it is vitally important for us to see this film for several reasons:
Intially, it has been very much on my mind that America is part of the world community now in ways that we never could have imagined, for now we too have seen the face oF terrorism up close and personal. I'm a person who has lived bi-continentally for over a decade, and one of the things that has always struck me while living overseas is that the idea and possibilty of being caught up in terrorism is very common in continental Europe . Every time I fly into London Heathrow or Paris CDG, I've always thought "Dear lord, let it be a safe day today"...or when I'm chilling out in Spain it has always been everpresent in my mind that there might be a wacko Basque supporter in a fucked up mood who wants to blow up a bus or cafe I'm sitting in. Or additionally when I visit Ireland I might be driving down a picturesque country road rigged with eplosives from the IRA. That's just how IT IS in today's world. And though I'm not saying that I want Americans to walk around in a state of fear waiting for the boogeyman to come and get them, I do think it's important that we take our heads out of the sand and realize that this IS the kind of world we're living in in the 21st century. As a country whose intersts and policies have far reaching effects on a global scale, we have to realize that we, too, are apart of that world, warts and all. Having insight as to how these kind of events can unfold will make us better informed (and hopefully) better prepared as everyday citizens...just trying to survive...

With this movie, United 93, perhaps in discovering the events that took place prior to the crash, we can also really get a sense of the real spirit of America, the small voice that exists inside us all, that in the most dire of moments propells us to action to try to set things straight when they seem most bleak. Secondly, many members of the production are either real life flight personnel, or were personnel directly involved in the United 93 tragedy on 9/11; both they, and the victims' family members feel that through watching the events unfold, every innocent person who has ever boarded a plane can now get a feeling of instructive empowerment on what they can do if they (God forbid) should they ever be in that situation.


Last, but not least, I guess I just want to see this as a way to pay my repects to the bravery the fallen; these were everyday Joes and Janes who fought back, and I feel their courage to not just sit idly by and accept what was being doled out to them is certainly worth recognizing, even if only buy my presence in a theatre seat to see United 93.

Definetly not.

I just finished watching the A&E movie they made called Flight 93. I didn't even know this movie was made.

M

Byron said:

PRECISCELY .

In this movie, you have the cooperation and imput of families of the victims (some relatives who had even received concealed phone messages during the ordeal), professional airline personnel connected to the tragedy...they even have the original controller who actually had the good sense to shut down all flights once he realized the planes were being used as missiles, apparently it was his FIRST day on the job...I definitely want to see this film before it gets the scmaltz-treatment 20 years from now. I need to see this raw, and as authentic as they can get it while the people connected to the tragedy are still living.

...then I'm going to go and see the Oscar nominated flick "Paradise Now"...it's a complicated world we're living in today, and I want to be able to gain insight into it before too much time passes, and Hollywood turns these issues into watered down clichès...

NO,I will not see it ever. Or any other movie about that day. Ever. We're healing at our own rate and I don't need any input from any movie to interfere with our healing process.
Just because some of the relatives signed agreements doesn't mean all the relatives and loved ones want these movies made.

i don't think i will. i don't like the idea of mixing fact and fiction. nobody knows everything that went on inside that plane. adding some made up shit to fill the two hours of film doesn't seem right to me.

.
[Edited 4/30/06 8:27am]

shellyevon said:

Exactly.

Well, I just saw the movie last night. Ummmmm, these are my sentiments. I really don't know what to believe in this whole fiasco! I observed what had happened on that flight and have mad respect to the people who lost their lives. But somehow, someway I just don't know "why" this movie is out now. Could it be to gain more support for Bush and this damn war? To recapture some of the previous bravado people in America had post 911? It really left a distaste in my mouth for how sloppily the damn military is run in as far as waiting for clearances before scrambling planes to intercept these hijacked flights. I think the movie is "fear inspiring" in a way of how this country is run. In my opinion I feel somewhere there has got to be a cover up! It just doesn't make sense. The pure reality of any situation is that we are all just men! Men with suspicions, ideolgy, and belief systems. America has done it's share of dirt towards other countries as well. So I didn't leave out the theatre pointing my fingers at other countries. I point my finger at the failure for people as a whole, as a planet to unharden their hearts to media manipulation and propaganda. You have to see this movie as a depiction of what "possibly" might have happened. Since I am a believer in God I already have my personal convictions of life. I just encourage people to get closer to their own spiritual being because we as man damn sure are going to destroy ourselves if we are left to resolve the many problems we have brought upon our societys by the usage of greed, pride and prejudice.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

i saw that movie last night too


judging from my reaction to it.. i have NO business trying to go to a theatre to see the other one.


i cried like a baby for the last half of the movie....




it was nicely done though, and showed a more human side to the events which we have really only seen done through news coverage.... i thought it would be much more made up - you know, built up for the movie - actually, it was very well done in that way i think, so as not to take away from anything done or said by the real life people involved.....


it was touching... and difficult to watch.

jojofran said:

I think this is more a reflection of your already-formed opinions and biases than it is a reflection of anything dealing with the movie itself. There were no politics whatsoever in this movie, "pro" or "con" anything...and it doesn't deal with anything outside of what happened on that flight, and the people who were on it.

The military was depicted as being "run sloppily"? There is protocol and procedure in place for them to follow, and getting clearance from the FAA is part of that. Once it was deemed too much of an emergency to stick to that protocol, the military literally says "Fuck the FAA" and sends the fighter jets out over New York.

Alwayslate said:

As for how much is reality and how much is fiction, the research that went into making this film was extraordinary...hundreds upon hundreds of interviews with people who were actually in contact with those who were on the plane at the time...there were dozens of people constantly talking on cell phones and plane phones to family members, airport crew members and even 911. The people on the ground were being told what was happening on the plane, and that information was passed onto the director and screenwriter during the interviews. Do they know if 5 passengers attacked the terrorists, or 10 passengers, or 12? Does it matter? Do they know if they actually tried entering the cockpit by using the service cart instead of kicking it in with their feet? Does it matter?
[Edited 4/30/06 10:16am]

Byron said:

Byron. You are entitled to your opinion. My sentiments are my own. Everyone has their own pre-conceived notion of what happened. 911 didn't just happen yesterday. There are 5 years that have happened prior to the damn film being made. So for you to state this in relation to my post is out of line. You can have your opinion however. I am in no way unknowledgable about this country and it's history. Matter of a fact I would be a fool to dismiss the history of any matter. Politics were presented after 911 thus politics will be apparent while viewing the film. Also in closing it did inform the viewer that people didn't even know the plane was hijacked until it crashed! Also those fighter jets were "unarmed". What the hell is an unarmed fighter jet going to do in the case the country was being attacked? Hungh?

to those who saw it:

did you walk out of the theater feeling a sense of closure, or did you walk out feeling as upset and disturbed as you did on 9/11?

and if your answer was the latter, how will that benefit you?

no wrong answer. just asking.

Ottensen said:

Well, it was his first day after being promoted to the position he held...but yeah, it was wild to just see the ordinary-ness of it all...I think the way they first discovered that a plane may be hijacked was a controller overhearing a voice on his headset, one that didn't belong to the pilot, that sent a red flag up in his mind. When the head controller (or whatever his official title is) heard this, he told the guy to keep him up to date...then returned to a meeting he was in, and told the people there that there might be a hijacking...but what stands out is that he says it calmly and in a matter-of-fact way...and the people who are in the meeting almost laugh in shock at hearing it, as if saying "Do people still hijack airplanes?"...

I watched the clips of it on the computer you know the trailer...and I cried the entire time... I was disgusted and it brought back too many awful memories and feelings that I could only say I felt on that day...so no I would not watch that movie.

jojofran said:

What I"m saying is that you saw things in the movie that just weren't there...you seemingly became angry or irritated by the fact that it MAY have been put out to help garner support for the war and the Bush administration ("I just don't know "why" this movie is out now. Could it be to gain more support for Bush and this damn war? To recapture some of the previous bravado people in America had post 911?")...that view could not have been put into your mind simply from what occurs during the film, because it's in no way "pro-war" or "pro-Bush"...hell, one of the few times it even mentions the president in any way, it's to show the military feeling as if they have their hands tied because they need Bush's authorization before taking any action against possible hijacked planes...and they can't seem to get that authorization because they can't reach him. It's a VERY small aspect of the film, and is shown not to "make a statement" but to reflect facts and reality.

Whatever my views and biases towards what occurred 5 years ago, I am indeed able to step back and realistically tell myself if there was a "slant" towards the movie or if it played as it was advertised--as an objective take on one aspect of that tragic day.