Posted on 04/28/2006 1:21:50 PM PDT by RobFromGa
Just saw United 93-- I thought it was excellent. It evolves in real-time and its cuts back and forth between the Air Traffic controllers, the Military room, and the plane.
It was somewhat shocking to watch the level of confusion in terms of what was going on, but when you see what information that they were dealing with, it makes sense.
The hijackers to me came across more as fanatical than evil, and they were not turban-wearing obvious characters, they were cleaned up and I ride on planes with people like them on every flight I take.
In the movie, they are carrying out the plans of others and are obsessive in their task. We are not fighting an enemy that is likely to be reasoned with.
There is one character that I'm glad they included- he has a European *maybe French* accent and he makes a number of comments along the lines of "If we do what they say, they'll spare our lives"-- typical appeasement mentality.
Thanks to this group of heroes, many thousands of lives may have been spared and we kept the Islamic nuts from claiming the Capitol or White House as a prize.
I give in 9.5/10!
Fantastic post with a lot of great information, thanks!
Thanks.
I think they are replaying the TV movie this weekend.
Let us know what you thought about it Tasha.
You express yourself very well.
Welcome aboard here on FR, Auteur :)
But the guys in the military command bunker were right on top of things---the problem was that the major/captain? couldn't get authority from above to shoot down potentially hostile planes . . . and, they got bad info from the FAA, which told them Flight 11 was gone, then was back.
#####
I bet a side by side comparison with any modern PG-13 movie would have more curse words and/or violence than United 93. I also bet that the R rating was issued to keep away family viewers. I am very protective of the minds of young people and believe that this movie, while powerful, is not too powerful for a teen-ager. It shows the work of ordinary people deciding that they are in a life-threatening situation and have to help themselves as best they can. A lesson that teen-agers are old enough to learn.
...sounds like it should be shown in high school history classes .
&&&&&
Definitely, and exactly what the high school teacher who saw the movie with me said as we left the theater.
Wow. I haven't remembered that feeling for a long time.
######
I remember vividly what I was doing before I happened to switch the TV to Fox news and saw the smoke from the first Tower.
President Bush and his Administration had planned to emphasize Education during this week. While he was in Florida in a classroom, Laura was on Capitol Hill meeting senators, and an expert from NIH on how children learn to read was being interviewed on CSPAN. That was Sept 11, 2001 before 8:46am EDT.
We must always remember and teach our children that everyone killed by the terrorists was someone who was working that morning. Whether a passenger on a plane, a civilian contractor at the Pentagon, a kitchen helper in the restaurant on the top of the Trade tower, or a bond trader, every single person was Doing something productive, or on their way to do something productive, not sitting home lazing about (like me.)
Just reading these reviews and comments is giving me goosebumps.
Never forget.
Placemark for link to 9-11 thread
Thanks very much for adding to our knowledge of the film.
...the last 25 minutes of the film are spent entirely inside the cabin of United 93. The editing (which I'm sure will be nominated for an Oscar) does not allow the audience to catch it's breath.
It Should be nominated. It will be interesting to see exactly what various awards groups actually do next winter. I bet they will try to ignore it as "old news."
Interesting that Greengrass is credited as the writer as well as producer. Part of his genius was being able to get actors, and some playing themselves, to ad lib their own dialogue.
It really is a masterpiece on so many levels.
I simply believe that both liberals and conservatives can enjoy this movie, and have so up to this point.
@@@@@
I hope you are correct. It will be a great thing if there can be any point of agreement in our bifurcated political world.
I plan to bring a lot of tissues. I didn't know anyone on that flight, but I did know several people who died in the Towers. And, but for the grace of God, I would have been at the point of impact in Tower 1 on 9/11/01.
Glad you were spared on 9-11, hope the movie is cathartic and makes you proud to be an American where we fight back against evil at great cost. The Religion of Death can never defeat the shining city on the hill.
My mother saw the planes crash into the buildings on her way to work; I saw the 2nd tower fall from my office window. A close friend of the family was on the phone with his sister's husband only minutes before he was killed. A friend of mine got a Blackberry message from another friend -- and it was the last any of us ever heard from him. Two close friends of mine were among those covered in dust who had to find ways to get home. Another friend had a 2-week-old baby and 2 other children under the age of 7 who had to evacuate their apartment in Battery Park City...without her husband, who worked on the other side of the WTC from their apartment.
The landlines were out of whack that day, and they asked people not to use cell phones (saving cells for emergencies) so the only way I could contact my father (on Long Island) and let him know my mother was safe and sound in my apartment was to e-mail my brother (in LA) over my cable modem. My brother then phoned my father to pass along the message. I will never, EVER forget walking up 2nd Avenue with thousands upon thousands of other people. ATMs had long lines. Grocery stores had long lines. For the rest of the week, during the ban on air travel over NYC airspace, the silence was eerie, and people stopped dead in their tracks to look at the fighter planes that would periodically swoop over the city.
I will never forget that week. I will never forget the anger, the pain, the sheer fury I felt at those who did this to us.
And then, one year later, I was in Montreal for a long weekend. I went to Mass at the Anglican Cathedral and had to listen to the priest give a sermon on how the Americans deserved what they got. As I walked out, I said to him "I'm from New York, and I knew people who died in the Towers. And I can assure you that they did not deserve it." He hemmed and hawed and I walked out. A few minutes later, I was at a McDonalds getting some coffee, and a man who'd also been at the Mass came up to me and said he was from Connecticut and that he wanted to thank me for what I'd said. I know I should separate the priest from the man, but I just couldn't do it. I was sickened.
But..I strongly urge you to go see "United 93". Yes, it will hurt, and yes, you will be angry. But we must not forget 9/11 ever again and who did this.
That catholic priest has no reason to be in the ministry. They are supposed to shine light, not darkness in this world.
I know I've never served in the military (I'd flunk boot camp) but I love my country as much as anyone who has served. I am sitting here at my PC, crying at the posts in this thread. I will see the movie tomorrow, and I will remember. I remember every single day. I thank God that He spared me from being killed, and I also thank Him for letting me remember.
As for those who wonder about young children seeing it, I'd say yes, even though I have none. I was born in the late 50s, so the scars of the Holocaust were still fresh. And my parents made sure that my brother and I knew exactly what happened under the Nazis. We had seen pictures of Auschwitz when we were still pre-teens. It had a profound effect on us, and I am grateful to my parents for having exposed us to the books and movies they did. We're not Jewish, but we are compassionate human beings.
(((Kelly)))
I saw United 93 last night. Here is my review:
http://www.epinions.com/content_228813934212
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.