United 93 (2006)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Paul Greengrass

Writer (WGA):

Paul Greengrass (written by)

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | History

Tagline:

September 11, 2001. Four planes were hijacked. Three of them reached their target. This is the story of the fourth.

Plot:

A real time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.

Plot Keywords:

Passenger | Flight | Terrorist | World Trade Center | September 11 2001

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

J.J. Johnson	...	Captain Jason Dahl
Gary Commock	...	First Officer LeRoy Homer
Polly Adams	...	Deborah Welsh
Opal Alladin	...	CeeCee Lyles
Starla Benford	...	Wanda Anita Green
Trish Gates	...	Sandra Bradshaw
Nancy McDoniel	...	Lorraine G. Bay
David Alan Basche	...	Todd Beamer
Richard Bekins	...	William Joseph Cashman
Susan Blommaert	...	Jane Folger
Ray Charleson	...	Joseph DeLuca
Christian Clemenson	...	Thomas E. Burnett, Jr.
Liza Colón-Zayas	...	Waleska Martinez
Lorna Dallas	...	Linda Gronlund
Denny Dillon	...	Colleen Fraser

Also Known As:

Flight 93 (USA) (working title)
United 93 (USA)
Vol 93 (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, and some intense sequences of terror and violence (appeal planned).

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

France | UK | USA

Language:

English | Arabic | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | USA:R (certificate #41676) | Germany:12 | Ireland:15A | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Italy:T | Singapore:M18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Hong Kong:IIA | Sweden:15 | Norway:15 | Argentina:13 | Philippines:R-13 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Australia:M | Iceland:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Denmark:15 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The Iraqi-born (but London-based) actor Lewis Alsamari, who plays the lead hijacker in the film, was denied a visa by US immigration authorities when he applied to visit New York City to attend the premiere, despite having already been granted asylum in the United Kingdom since the 1990s. The reason given was that he had once been a conscripted member of the Iraqi army - although this was also the grounds for his refugee status after his desertion in 1993.

Goofs:

Continuity: When United 93 is in the air, the terrorist in the back of the plane has his brown jacket alternately zipped/unzipped between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ahmed Al Haznawi: [subtitled Arabic] Ziad. It's time.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in United 300 (2007)

Gut and heart wrenching...

I was one of the people who said I wouldn't go see this movie because I felt they were capitalizing on a national tragedy and the trailer gave me nightmares. But, my curiosity got the best of me when I read several positive quotes by numerous critics outside the US. So, I picked up a ticket for the 2:00 show.

There truly are no words to describe the power of this film. The cinematography is excellent, albeit a little unsteady with the shaky lens thing going on. I found that the film very much followed the reports in the 9/11 Commission's book, as well as numerous others. They stuck to the facts and didn't add in any glorified scenes that weren't warranted. You saw the mass confusion as the various air traffic control centers tried to make sense of what was going on. You saw the events on the plane unfold as we think they did that morning. You saw ordinary Americans, scared and frightened, band together and try and keep that plane from hitting another target.

Do we know exactly what was said between people on the planes? No. But there are survivors who had messages from loved ones on their answering machines and people who talked to them that day. The film is a little violent for my tastes, but no more so than any 'Blockbuster' fictional hit out there right now, and this is reality as we know it. Any discrepancies are not for me or you to decide, as those secrets are buried in Pennsylvania.

When it ended, I've never seen a more still theater. You could hear people breathing as they pulled themselves together. This is something that happened to our nation, and while it shouldn't take a movie to make people remember, maybe it does. Maybe we have forgotten or chosen to ignore what happened that day, falling to politics and quick to accuse people who didn't prevent it. Maybe we are against this movie because it makes us uncomfortable, as all meaningful things should. Who knows? Not I.

But, I do know that United 93 was done in a tasteful, respectful manner, and many of the families affected on 9/11 supported its release. Who are we to say otherwise? See the movie and then make your judgment call. You may find yourself surprised, just as I did.