UNITED 93

Starring:
Khalid Abdalla, David Alan Basche, Christian Clemenson, Cheyenne Jackson and Ben Sliney

Writer/Director:
Paul Greengrass

Running Time:
111 mins

"I think we have a highjacked plane"

September 11th, 2001. As the passengers board United flight 93 from New York to San Francisco, the captain informed them that this would be a trouble free flight that would see them fly through clear skies and arrive slightly early at their destination. What they didn't realise was that amongst the forty-four people on the plane, four of them were part of something that would change the world forever. As two planes crash into the World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon, these for take the over the flight and turn United 93 towards Washington.

Portraying the events of September 11th, 2001 was always going to be controversial and extremely sensitive but with less than five years since terrorism hit the US in such devastating way, has Hollywood left it long enough to look back on that day?

British writer/director Paul Greengrass is the first filmmaker to directly tackle portraying the events that took place on that fateful day and this approach is both riveting and harrowing. Instead of consentrating on the devastation that took place in New York and Washington, Greengrass looks that day through the eyes of the people working in the Air Traffic control centres, the military and the passengers and crew of United flight 93. Filmed using a documentary approach, this extremely well researched fictional account of what happened on the United flight and when both the civilian and military authorities realised what exactly was taking place.

The film starts at the beginning of the day. This like any other Tuesday morning in September, as people head to work, start their shifts, plan for the day or board a flight. The people continue with their usual mundane tasks with everything running like clockwork and routine. Briefings take place, meeting happen and breakfast is served onboard the 4200 flights flying over the East Coast of America. It is only when Boston Air Traffic control loses contact with an American Airlines flight that things start to change.

From here on in we discover how unprepared both the US civilian and military authorities for these acts of terrorism. With cries of "we haven't had a plane highjacking in twenty-years", you quickly realise that there was no plan in place for an eventually such as this. Problems with the chain of command, the lack of communication between civilian, military and government and the feeling of being absolutely powerless to stop what was happening is displayed without compromise but never pointing blame at any one authority.

The events on the plane are harrowingly realistic. Paul Greengrass and his creative team took the correct approach by not casting any big name actors as the passengers, crew or terrorists. Instead he casts character actors that you may have seen in small parts or in TV roles but no one you have ever heard of before. This makes the story and the real people they are portraying the main emphasis of the film and not the big name above the title. With this in place, we see a fictionalised account of the events that took place on the plane. Taken from actual recordings of phone calls made by the passengers on the plane, we discover what took place and how the flight was taken over and what happened after that.

'United 93' is an astonishing movie that is uncompromising and emotional. By portraying the events in an extremely realistic manner, the film has to be praised for the removal of any sentimentality, patriotic notions or posturing and American flag waving that you may have expected from Hollywood. Instead we have a movie that basically tells the story as it was and is a testament to human bravery and courage but also portrays how far people will go for their cause.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented well.

BONUS FEATURES

United 93: The Families and the Film (59.57 mins)
Director Paul Greengrass and actors Daniel Sauli, Peter Hermann, Corey Johnson, Simon Poland, Trieste Dunn and Lorna Dallas are joined by the families of United Airlines Flight 93 passengers Jeremy Click, Richard Guadagno, Louis Nacke, Nicole Miller, Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas, Alan Anthony Beaven, Deora Badley, Linda Gronlund and flight attendant Deborah Welsh to talk about the movie and the brave people that were lost on September 11th 2001. This is an emotional accompliment to the main feature film and one that allows you to know about the lives of the passengers of the flight before that awful day.

Feature Commentary with director Paul Greengrass
The exceptionally talented director gives another excellent single person commentary on a film that he feels extremely passionate about. He reveals how he and his creative team approached the subject and the corporation he had with families of the passengers. The man at the helm also discusses the changes made to the film, the scenes that were deleted and how the passengers, terrorists and air traffic control workers were portrayed in the film. The commentary is first rate and a much listen for fans of the film and the director.

Memorial Pages
Read individual messages and remembrances from friends and family about the passengers of United 93.

OVERALL

For a movie that deals with such a sensitive and emotional subject the bonus features adhere to the same principles. The documentary is just as moving as the film and the commentary track comes from a director with the utmost respect for the subject. The memorial pages are also an emotional read, making this a suitable piece of remembrance for the passengers.

DVD

Bloody Sunday


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2006