Flight 93 crash site...
Posted on 04/26/2006 1:19:44 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
The sobbing at the back of the auditorium was not the sentimental sniffling you normally hear at the cinema. It was the full-throated grief customarily heard in a hospital or funeral home.
But last night anguished families wailed as they watched the last moments of their loved ones unfold on screen at the world premiere of Hollywood’s first film about the September 11 hijackings, United 93, by the British writer-director Paul Greengrass.
About 90 relatives of the 40 victims mustered the courage to walk the red carpet to watch Mr Greengrass’s disturbingly realistic depiction of the passenger revolt that brought the aircraft down in a field in Pennsylvania and saved the US Congress from attack.
"It’s horrific to see my brother Edward on the screen, knowing what is going to happen," said Gordon Felt. "It’s shattering, but it needs to be. This is a violent story."
Some cinemas in New York have pulled the graphic trailer for United 93 in the run-up to Friday’s scheduled release because of protests from traumatised New Yorkers that it was "too soon".
But Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival - founded to revive the lower Manhattan neighbourhood after the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center - insisted on holding the premiere of Greengrass’s film.
"Some people will not want to see the film. People find the subject too hard. I respect that," Mr Greengrass acknowledged. But, he added, "Remembering is painful. It’s diffcult. But it can be inspiring and it can bring wisdom."
Despite the ornate surroundings of the Zeigfeld Theatre in midtown Manhattan, the screening was almost certainly the most sombre film premiere in New York’s history.
The audience gave the victims’ families a standing ovation before the film started, but were overwhelmed towards the end by the relatives’ open weeping and left the auditorium in stunned silence.
The audience included former Senator Bob Kerrey, a member of the official 9/11 inquiry; New York’s police commissioner Ray Kelly; actor Steve Buscemi, a former fireman who joined the rescue effort at Ground Zero; and the real-life air-traffic controllers who played themselves in the movie.
But the British-based Iraqi actor, Lewis Alsamari, who plays one of the hijackers, was unable to attend because he could not obtain a US visa.
The film, made with the co-operation of the victims’ families, sticks scrupulously to the plot laid out in the 9/11 report commissioned by Congress as it portrays the hijacking in real-time.
The result is a kaleidoscope of shards of information about the attack - including real footage of the blazing World Trade Centre towers - without any attempt at embellishing the story or developing the individual characters.
It starts with the hijackers reciting the Koran in their hotel room and ends, abruptly, as the passengers try to seize the flight controls, with a shocking view through the cockpit window of the jet plunging into the Pennsylvania field.
"It’s a powerful story. It’s hard to watch. But it’s an important motion picture," said Alice Hoagland, whose rugby-playing son Mark Bingham took part in the revolt. "As a mum who lost a son fighting terrorism on Flight 93 and as a flight attendant, I know we have a lot to do." "Although it ended up in tragedy, there is a glimmer of hope because you see the building of Congress still standing," she said.
The evening had a patriotic bent, with ushers handing out "Stars and Stripes" lapel pins. Universal Pictures, the distributor, announced it would donate 10 per cent of the first weekend’s box office to a memorial for the Flight 93 victims.
"The stars are truly those people in the plane," said Ben Sliney, the Federal Aviation Authority’s operations manager who plays himself in the film. "That is something I would have done. I think I would have gone down fighting like that. It’s the American way."
Ken Nacke, whose brother was one of the passengers, said he found himself "rooting for them, for a different outcome".
Omar Berdouni, a Moroccan actor who plays one of the hijackers, rejected suggestions that Arab cinema-goers might see the film as a tribute to the terrorists. "To an Arabic audience, the people do not represent Arabs or Moslems. These people are from a sect. They do not represent me or my society," he said.
Mr Greengrass said it was "humbling" to bring the film in New York. "There is a great debate going on on where we are going in the post 9/11 world,", he said. "This is part of the process of film-makers saying ‘We would like to join that conversation’."
The film-maker, whose previous features include "Bloody Sunday", said he was chastened by his experience of working in Northern Ireland.
"I think Northern Ireland is one of the few examples of where political violence has been negotiated away thanks to the political engagement of all the parties in a peace agreement. My time making films there has shown me it takes a long time," he said. "It took us a generation."
I suspect that this will be the reaction of most red blooded Americans.
NEVER FORGET
"... "too soon" ..."
Actually, about 4 years too late. ALL of America needs to see this film. I will when it comes to my area.
Never Forget. Never...
Good for De Niro and the other organizers of his event.
It was the full-throated grief customarily heard in a hospital or funeral home
I suspect that this will be the reaction of most red blooded Americans.
NEVER FORGET
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Just reading that description made the screen all blurry for me.
I used to think my dad was so weird how he'd choke up at patriotic 'things' and events when I was a kid.
I get it now!
I know EXACTLY what you mean. I felt the very same way.
Flight 93 crash site...
"But the British-based Iraqi actor, Lewis Alsamari, who plays one of the hijackers, was unable to attend because he could not obtain a US visa."
All he had to do is go by way of the Rio Grande. He wouldn't have had a problem getting there.
Regarding the movie, too soon for me to see it. Maybe in 10 more years.
> actor Steve Buscemi, a former fireman who joined the rescue effort at Ground Zero
Bwwuuuuhhhh.... what? An actor I can actually *respect?*
Damn. Let's hear it for the funny lookin' little guy.
Anyone know when the DVD hits the market?
Apr 25, 2006 8:39 pm US/Eastern
Congressman Blocks Flight 93 Memorial
(CBS) WASHINGTON Family members of those killed on United Flight 93 are urging a North Carolina congressman to lift his hold on funding for a memorial planned for the Pennsylvania site where the plane crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.
Nearly a dozen family members are scheduled to meet with their members of Congress on Wednesday to encourage them to sign a letter that asks Rep. Charles H. Taylor, R-N.C., to support $10 million for the project.
It was not clear if they would also meet with Taylor.
Taylor, chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Interior Department, has blocked millions in funding for the project in the last two years, and has expressed opposition to funding it when it comes up again before his committee May 3, said John Scofield, the House Appropriations Committee spokesman.
The White House has requested $5 million for the nearly 1,700-acre site in remote western Pennsylvania as part of a larger spending bill.
Hamilton Peterson, president of Families of Flight 93, said Tuesday he is confident the issue can be resolved.
"He still has time to act, so I'm extremely hopeful that he will share the patriotic views that we have relative to honoring and memorializing the courageous acts as now affirmed by the release of the cockpit recorder," Peterson said.
Multiple messages left Tuesday at Taylor's congressional and campaign offices by The Associated Press were not returned. The Washington Post, which reported on the issue Tuesday, said Taylor believes no more tax dollars should be used to buy federal land for memorials.
Earlier this month, during the trial of Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, cockpit recordings were released that vividly revealed the struggle between passengers and hijackers — confirming what had been described in the official 9/11 Commission report.
The Post reported Taylor had resisted requests from President Bush and key White House aides to approve the funding request. The GOP fears political damage from Taylor's opposition.
Political pressure on the Republicans could build with the release of "United 93," a film that tells the story of the fight waged by passengers and crew. The movie will open at New York City's Tribeca Film Festival on Tuesday night.
Trailers for the movie encourage people to donate to the Flight 93 Memorial Fund, and 10 percent of proceeds from the movie go to the memorial.
The flight was en route to San Francisco from Newark, N.J., when it was brought down near Shanksville, Pa. The 33 passengers, seven crew members and four hijackers on board died.
The memorial is estimated to cost nearly $58 million — $30 million of which is to be raised by private donations. Of the $30 million, about $7.5 million has been raised since a fundraising campaign started last year, according to a memorial spokeswoman.
The project is backed by Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., whose district includes the crash site.
"We need to build a memorial for these people," Rep. William Shuster, R-Pa., told the Post. Shuster's district includes Shanksville.
"These 40 people were the first counterattack of the war on terror, and they were victorious. We owe them a great debt of gratitude," Shuster told the newspaper.
All he had to do is go by way of the Rio Grande. He wouldn't have had a problem getting there.
Regarding the movie, too soon for me to see it. Maybe in 10 more years.
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I'm sorry - I dont see why EVERY single thread has to have a border issue statement added. I'm in Southern California - been in California and Oregon all but 2 of my 36 years - I get it. The fact of the matter is - since 9-11 even without closing the borders, President Bush is doing something right and we haven't had a repeat here. I'm sure that's more than dumb luck. Just like abortion is not the only conservative cause - neither is the border. Important for sure - but I can still proudly stand behind my President whether I agree 100% with him or not.
Maybe you should see it now - to remind you what hasn't happened again.
Too bad he wasn't a member of the Taliban seeking entrance to an Ivy League university.
If M. P. Cato were alive today, would he add "Ceterum censeo, Carthago delenda est" to every thread or just use it as his tagline?
Will the surviving family share in the proceeds? (
oh, never, never forget this day. All Americans should be made to see this film. We have become to complacent. It is time to be reminded.
God bless us all and God bless this great country! And thank you - all of you - on all those flights that day! We will never forget you or your heroism or patriotism. May we never experience another day like 9/11 again. If we do, I hope we unleash all the power this country has on those that wish this country and our people harm.
*too* complacent. sorry folks. It has been a long day.
I am going to buy tickets online, like I did for The Passion. We'll decide to go or not, but I want that first weekend to be a blockbuster.
From what has been reported this is one movie that is worth supporting with a bit more of a nod then a Blockbuster or Netflix rental.
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