Amazon.com: One of the most shocking events in modern American history gets a skilled and respectful treatment in United 93. The movie begins by following the four terrorists who hijacked the plane that never reached its target on 9/11/2001, tracking them as they enter the airport and wait for their flight, surrounded by the people who will die from their actions. From there, it cuts to and fro among air traffic controllers and the military as, gradually, it becomes clear that planes are being hijacked and crashed into buildings. As the focus turns to the captive United Flight 93, the passengers discover, due to cell phone connections with family, that they're on a suicide mission and--almost paralyzed by stress and anxiety--decide to fight back. Most movies create tension by implying what might happen, but with United 93 the audience knows exactly what happened: Every person on that plane died. As a result, the movie is more relentlessly gut-wrenching than suspenseful (though the dawning realization of the air traffic controllers has an effective creeping dread). But writer/director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy) manages to keep the scale of the events human; there are no glamorous heroics, only terrifying confusion and desperate, hopeless bravery. One can only hope the movie brings some peace to the families of the passengers, as United 93 is the cinematic equivalent of a war memorial, commemorating lives lost in a moment of horrible, harrowing conflict. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description: Honest unflinching and profoundly moving United 93 tells the unforgettable story of the heroic passengers and crew members who prevented the terrorists from carrying out their plans for the fourth hijacked plane on September 11 2001. As on-ground military and civilian teams scrambled to make sense of the unfolding events forty everyday Americans who sat down as strangers found the courage to stand up as one. It s a powerful tribute to real-life heroes that Richard Corliss of TIME magazine calls "Unmissable." System Requirements:Running Time: 111 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 025192657023 Manufacturer No: 26570
A Tragedy Told As Close To The Way It Was As Possible United 93 was a very powerful film, though hard to watch. The filmmakers did extensive research so that the film could portray as accurate a picture of the events as possible. They talked to the families of the survivors and got them on board before making the film, consulted with them, and gave them a special showing before the film was released, so the families feelings were taken into account. There were no Hollywood type invented side stories or personal dramas added to the story line. The movie, United 93 didn't just take place on the airplane, but much of it also took place in various control towers, which was quite interesting. Also some of the people in the film were the actual people who were involved with the events at the time. If you don't mind revisiting 9/11, I would recommend this film to you. I don't think any movie could do a better, more responsible job than United 93.
A tribute that hits every mark and remains an honorable memoriam of the ones we lost... Paul Greengrass had a hefty undertaking here. Not even five years had passed since the tragic events of 9/11 took place before Greengrass started filming his tribute to the brave souls aboard United 93. The horrific events were not only still fresh in the minds of the American public but the subject was sore indeed. Greengrass was either going to succeed in bringing the American public together in their praise and admiration of his film or he was going to send them running from the theaters in aggravation and frustration and thus risked becoming the director labeled as the one who failed to do justice to such a grave subject.
I think we can all agree that Greengrass succeeded marvelously here.
`United 93' is a beautifully honest rendering of the tragic day known as 9/11. Taking an honest look into not only the lives of the `victims' aboard the plane but also the hijackers and the befuddled men and women on the ground, `United 93' is able to reach into the pit of its audiences soul and extract a real connection to the events taking place on the screen.
The film opens with a calm and eerie depiction of the four men responsible for this tragedy preparing themselves for their `mission'. It's the perfect way to open the film for it automatically lets us know who these men our. What I appreciate about what Greengrass does here is that, instead of shooting for the obvious and making this film all about how `evil' and `sadistic' these hijackers were he goes for the more intellectual route by showing us how `human' they were. They honestly thought they were doing gods will. It doesn't excuse their horrific actions, and of course neither does this film, but Greengrass successfully creates human `villains' for us.
As effective as the opening is, it's the ending that will really stay with you. As much as we know how this story ends we find ourselves anticipating the passengers to `save the day' so-to-speak and so when the film abruptly ends we are left heartbroken all over again, as if we are hearing about these events for the first time.
Another aspect of `United 93' that is so masterful is the way Greengrass is able to depict the sudden and effortless decline into confusion and frustration, especially when concerning the men and women still on the ground. As we are led through the events unfolding before the air traffic controllers we are instantly placed in their shoes and this overwhelming feeling of panic and desperation is etched across our bodies. We feel tense; we feel scared; we feel alone. By capturing this feeling Greengrass is able to keep the intensity high throughout the entire film, never losing the mood of the film.
The performances by the cast of unknowns are fantastic; utterly flawless. By casting real life airline employees he was able to capture a true human nature to the reactions of the crew as well as the passengers. Also, but casting no-name actors he was able to capture the raw realism of the events. There are no recognizable faces here so there is no way we can be taken out of the film so-to-speak. This way we are always thinking about the people being portrayed and not the actor doing the portraying.
I think when speaking of the acting one must point out the brilliance of the four actors portraying the hijackers. Khalid Abdalla, Lewis Alsamari, Omar Berdouni and Jamie Harding all attacked these roles with fearlessness and confidence. It was a brave thing, taking on the roles of men who are so loathed, feared and detested in America, but the manage to make these men real and human and thus utterly blew me away. Ben Sliney has also received a lot of attention and praise for his performance (he played himself). I must also mention him and his masterful performance; truly grounded and natural.
In the end though, this film belongs to Paul Greengrass. His direction of this film is flawless (that Oscar should have been his). His tribute is so honorable. That word seems appropriate for this film; honorable. It handles the events, not with sugarcoated delicacy but with emotional resonance and realistic humanity. The film is gritty and raw and abrasive but in a way that captures the heart of the people involved.
`United 93' is one of the most controversial films around, and truly one of the most difficult to sit through; but it is a masterpiece of modern film making and is a film that everyone should experience at least once.
Average movie Unless you live in a cave in Tibet, you know this film is about 9/11, and it's the second film I've seen on this. I saw World Trade Center earlier this year and felt it was so so (Maybe if they left out celebrity casting like this gem does, it would've been better). Donna and I had recorded Flight 93 on television, and I actually still don't know what the difference is between that and United 93. I do know that this one hit closest to home for me, literally. United 93 crashed in Somerset County less than 2 hours from my hometown. And we can postulate that it was a darn good thing it crashed since it was supposedly headed for D.C. Now I am not going to conspiracy theorize of anything with you, but how do we really know? Greenglass does a fine job of making a tasteful movie, but the only thing we know for sure that happened on that plane was what passengers said to people who they called before they all blew up and died. And Greenglass made his film around that.
I'll admit. I cried. I sit here writing this, looking at the small TV where I watched the second plane crash into the WTC on CNN, and I watched my daughter play around me as I watched the movie earlier. She will never know a world without 9/11. She will never know the taken for granted freedoms we once had. It bugged me that Greenglass almost seemed to attempt to get into the psyche of the terrorists in the film, as if he knew what they were thinking. And how white everyone but the terrorists were in the film. The film bugged me. It bugged me that as with my grandparents before me who know where they were when Pearl Harbor was bombed or my parents who know where they were when Kennedy was shot, and now I won't forget where I was in Sept 11, 2001. I was in my bedroom in our first apartment getting ready for work watching on a small Emerson CRT television. And I sit here writing this, I wonder where my daughter will be when the next big catastrophe happens.
Greenglass has a snowballs chance in hell for the directing nod, but maybe if the Academy wants to throw the auteur a bone it'll come in the shape of a film editing Oscar, even though there are some heavy hitters there, as well. We will see if the five year old largest catastrophe on American soil, and the third film about it, can come away with a solitaire award on Oscar night.
I'm getting there I sat in the theater for another movie when the trailer to this one came on. I got extremely emotional, and couldn't concentrate on the movie I was supposed to watch. (I can't even remember which movie it was...) but now I am getting a little braver and I think I will watch it. I read almost all the reviews, and they are very good. so I will definately watch this movie. the question is - when? (I really admire all the reviewers' courage for seeing this movie. I am sorry for being such a coward, and it really helped - to read everyone's reviews. now I want to watch this movie)
United 93 Emotional experience. Close-ups of passengers, terrorists and air traffic controllers put us in the events of 9/11. It comes back, planes flying into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. We recall Todd Beamer and "Let's roll" although his call to arms is subdued. This is a sympathetic portrayal. Even the terrorists are human. They are nervous and shown muttering prayers. They believe in their twisted mission. A picture of the U.S. Capitol is posted in the cockpit, so we assume it was the target of the 4th plane.
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