United 93 (film)

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United 93
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Produced by Tim Bevan
Eric Fellner
Paul Greengrass
Lloyd Levin
Written by Paul Greengrass
Music by John Powell
Cinematography Barry Ackroyd
Editing by Clare Douglas
Richard Pearson
Christopher Rouse
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Working Title
Release date(s) Flag of the United States April 28, 2006
September 5, 2006 (DVD)
Running time 111 min.
Country Flag of the United Kingdom UK
Flag of France France
Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Arabic
Budget $15,000,000
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile
Ratings
Germany:  12
United Kingdom:  15
United States:  R

United 93 (formerly named Flight 93) is a 2006 docudrama written and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11, 2001 attacks. The film attempts to recount with as much veracity as possible (there is a disclaimer that some imagination had to be used) and in real time (from the flight's takeoff), what has come to be known in the United States as an iconic moment of heroism. According to the filmmakers, the film was made with the full cooperation of all the families of the passengers.[1]

United 93 premiered on April 26, 2006 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, a festival founded to celebrate New York City as a major filmmaking center and to contribute towards the long-term recovery of lower Manhattan. [2] Several family members of the passengers aboard the flight attended the premiere to show their support.

The film opened nationwide in North America on April 28, 2006. Ten percent of the gross from the three-day opening weekend was promised toward a donation to create a memorial for the victims of Flight 93. [3] United 93 grossed $31.4 million in the United States, and $76.2 million worldwide.[4][5]

Contents

[edit] Plot

The film opens early on the morning of September 11, 2001 with the hijackers praying in their hotel room, and then the crew and passengers of Flight 93 assembling in the airport. We also see the air traffic control crews beginning their daily routine (including Ben Sliney), where the first hints of something wrong begin to surface.

Flight 93 takes off after a bit of a delay at Newark Airport. Not long afterwards, the first of the planes smashes into the World Trade Center. It is at first assumed to be an accident, but other traffic-control crews are certain something is amiss, and the United States Air Force is brought into the loop. Shortly before the first plane strikes the World Trade Center, United 93 flies nearby and hijacker Ziad Jarrah looks out the window to see if it has been hit yet.

On board Flight 93, the hijackers hesitate and disagree as to when would be the best time to strike. Eventually one of the terrorists storms into the lavatory, assembles a fake bomb out of modeling clay and electrical wiring, and gives the word. The other hijackers then storm the cockpit and use knives to both terrorize the flight crew and kill one passenger outright. In the cockpit they put a photo of the U.S. Capitol, their target, on the flight yoke mounted clipboard.

Much to the growing consternation of Sliney and his people, coordination with the Air Force is haphazard and there are simply not enough planes ready, or armed, to respond to an in-air hijacking. Sliney ultimately decides to shut down all airspace in the United States and ground every single flight.

The hijackers do not prevent the people from making phone calls through the on-board GTE Airfone system. After hearing about the crashes into the WTC, the passengers and crew understand that if they do nothing, they will also die, and eventually elect to storm the cockpit and attempt to retake the plane. The passengers make one last set of phone calls to friends and family, where they declare their intentions. The remaining crew assemble what makeshift weapons they can: cutlery, wine bottles, a fire extinguisher.

Learning that one of the passengers can fly a plane (although he has not flown a commercial aircraft), the group pin their hopes on him being able to at least control the plane. They debate whether the bomb is real or fake before deciding to start their counter-attack by overpowering the man with the bomb. The man is overpowered and beaten unconscious with a fire extinguisher. Having seen this, the terrorist in the forward section of the planes warns the two in the cockpit and makes several attempts to hold off the advancing passengers, including using what appears to be mace. He too is soon overwhelmed and killed by one of the passengers.

As some passengers attempt to break open the cockpit door with a trolley, the hijacker piloting the plane begins to move it violently, trying to keep the passengers off balance. The passengers manage to break down the door and the film ends as both the passengers and the hijacker fight for control and the plane crashes into an empty field.

[edit] Cast

Actor Real Life Role
Christian Clemenson Tom Burnett
Trish Gates Sandra Bradshaw
David Alan Basche Todd Beamer
Cheyenne Jackson Mark Bingham
Opal Alladin CeeCee Lyles
Starla Benford Wanda Anita Green
J.J. Johnson Captain Jason Dahl
Nancy McDoniel Lorraine G. Bay
Polly Adams Deborah Welsh
Richard Bekins William Joseph Cashman
Susan Blommaert Jane Folger
Ray Charleson Joseph DeLuca
Gary Commock First Officer LeRoy Homer
Liza Colón-Zayas Waleska Martinez
Lorna Dallas Linda Gronlund
Denny Dillon Colleen Fraser
Trieste Kelly Dunn Deora Frances Bodley
Kate Jennings Grant Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas
Peter Hermann Jeremy Glick
Tara Hugo Kristin White Gould
Marceline Hugot Georgine Rose Corrigan
Joe Jamrog John Talignani
Corey Johnson Louis J. Nacke, II
Masato Kamo Toshiya Kuge
Becky London Jean Headley Peterson
Peter Marinker Andrew Garcia
Jodie Lynne McClintock Marion R. Britton
Libby Morris Hilda Marcin
Actor Real Life Role
Tom O'Rourke Donald Peterson
Simon Poland Alan Anthony Beaven
David Rasche Donald Freeman Greene
Erich Redman Christian Adams
Michael J. Reynolds Patrick Joseph Driscoll
John Rothman Edward P. Felt
Daniel Sauli Richard Guadagno
Rebecca Schull Patricia Cushing
Chloe Sirene Honor Elizabeth Wainio
Olivia Thirlby Nicole Carol Miller
Chip Zien Mark Rothenberg
Leigh Zimmerman Christine Snyder
Khalid Abdalla Ziad Jarrah
Lewis Alsamari Saeed Al Ghamdi
Omar Berdouni Ahmed Al Haznawi
Jamie Harding Ahmed al-Nami
Thomas Roberts Himself
Michael Bencal Boston 3
Tom Fitzgerald Boston 5
Bard Marques Boston 6
John Moraitis Supervisor
Scott Tourin Boston Controller 5
Amanda Boxer Cleveland Supervisor
Morgan Deare Cleveland Supervisor
Daniel Fraser Cleveland Controller
Ben Sliney Himself
Tobin Miller Himself
Rich Sullivan Himself
Actor Real Life Role
Tony Smith Himself
Michael Bofshever John White
Carol Bento Herndon 1
Robert Serviss Herndon Command Center ATC
Matt Siebert Herndon 2
Peter Wong Herndon 5
James Fox Himself (as Major James Fox)
Shawna Fox Herself (as Staff Sgt. Shawna Fox)
Jeremy Powell Himself (as 1st Lt. Jeremy Powell)
Patrick St. Esprit Kevin Nasypany
Gregg Henry Robert Marr
Karen Kirkpatrick Dawn Doskins
Curt Applegate Himself
Kevin Delaney New York Controller
John Kaplun New York Controller
Greg Callahan Himself
John E. Smith New York Controller
Peter Pellicane Paul Thumser
Rick Tepper Himself
Bill Walsh Newark Supervisor
Craig Woythaler Matt Hall (scenes deleted)
Susie Gossling Valerio Herndon Controller (uncredited)
Dennis Karagovalis Flight Crew (uncredited)
Jeff Lipman Neads - Missile Controller (uncredited)
Matthew E. Parr Herndon ATC Operator (uncredited)
Joey Sontz Newark passenger (uncredited)

[edit] Production notes

The film was the first Hollywood feature to draw its narrative directly from the September 11 attacks. Passengers were portrayed in the film mostly by professional actors (Tom Burnett, for instance, is played by Christian Clemenson, who has appeared on Boston Legal). The roles of one of the flight attendants, the two pilots, and many other airline personnel were filled by actual airline employees. Some participants in the real-life events play themselves, notably FAA operations manager Ben Sliney. In an interview for UK magazine Attitude, casting consultant Lee Dennison revealed that stand-ins for the hijackers were used until two weeks into filming and the actors playing them were kept separate from everyone else in order to cultivate more on-screen tension.

The dialogue, which was mostly improvised during rehearsals Greengrass held with the cast, was based on face-to-face interviews between actors and families of those they portray. Almost none of the passengers in the film are referred to by their names. Their identities remain anonymous, emphasizing the group effort over any individual heroics (and also portraying the fact that strangers on an airplane would not know one another's names). Much of the dialogue uses technical authenticity rather than theatrical embellishments, such as talk about if a plane has "Squawked 7500."

Filming took place on a 20-year-old reclaimed Boeing 757, formerly operated by MyTravel Airways, at Pinewood Studios near London, England from October till December of 2005. The cockpit was built by Flightdeck solutions. The location was chosen both for its financial incentives and to shield actors from unwanted public scrutiny they might have received in the U.S.[6] Action was filmed with handheld cameras, chosen for their versatility on the close-quarter sets and to create a sense of immediacy.

The title was changed from Flight 93 to United 93 in March 2006, to differentiate it from the A&E film Flight 93. Shortly thereafter, the film was given an 'R' rating by the Motion Picture Association of America for "language, and some intense sequences of terror and violence."[7] Universal Pictures appealed this rating, but it was rejected. The film was released in U.S. cinemas on April 28, 2006. It opened second in the weekend box office behind RV, but netted a slightly higher per-screen average.

Initial screenings ended with a closing credits line, "America's war on terror had begun." This was replaced in the release version with, "Dedicated to the memory of all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001."[8]

[edit] Historical background

Main article: United Airlines Flight 93

United Airlines Flight 93 was a Boeing 757-222 flight that regularly flew from Newark International Airport (now known as Newark Liberty International Airport) in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport continuing on to Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan, on a different aircraft. On September 11, 2001, the aircraft on the flight was one of the four planes hijacked as part of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, intended to crash into and destroy the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. It was the only one of the four planes that did not reach its intended target, instead crashing near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, about 150 miles northwest of Washington.

[edit] Controversy

The film has been criticized for its portrayal of German passenger Christian Adams. Of all passengers on the plane, only Adams is portrayed as counseling appeasement. Sunday Times critic Cosmo Landesman mused, "Surely one of the passengers didn't phone home to point out that there was a cowardly German on board who wanted to give in?"[9] Critic John Harris suggested in a Guardian blog, "there will surely be all kinds of cries about old European surrender monkeys, the United States' contrasting backbone etc."[10] The Guardian reports that Silke Adams, Adams's widow, is "believed to have refused to cooperate on the film, saying that the memory of her husband's death was still too raw" and states that "so far there is no evidence to suggest that Christian Adams did not support the other passengers, or refused to storm the cockpit."[11]

After the trailers for the film began circulating in cinemas, there were calls for Universal Pictures to pull them, due to the upset and surprise caused to some audience members.[12] One theater in Manhattan unilaterally pulled the trailer after audience complaints.[3]

The Iraqi-born, London-based actor Lewis Alsamari, who plays a hijacker in the film, was reportedly denied a visa by U.S. 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 reported to have been 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.[13]. Other sources say that he applied late for his visa and that it was not denied [14].

The official Internet forum for the film, previously available on Universal's website, was shut down as of May 3, 2006. No word has yet come from Universal as to why the board was removed from their server; however, it may have been because of flaming.[15]

The cockpit voice recorder tape from United Flight 93 has never been made public; however the transcript was made public after the film was completed, shedding more light on what actually happened in the final 30 minutes before the plane crashed. In some parts, it may contradict the choices made by the filmmaker in terms of some dialogue and specific aspects of the event. For example, the pilots, Jason Dahl and LeRoy Homer, are shown in the movie to be killed by the terrorists immediately as they are hijacking the plane. Some statements made by the terrorists in the transcript of the cockpit voice recorder tape,[16] as well as moans heard in the background inside the cockpit,[17] raised doubts that both pilots were indeed dead before the plane crashed; however, other documentary evidence from the 9/11 Commission Report indicated that at least one passenger reported in a cell phone call seeing two bodies, possibly the pilots, lying dead on the floor outside the cockpit after the hijacking.[18]

[edit] Critical reception

Roger Ebert, Michael Medved, Peter Travers, and James Berardinelli all awarded it with four stars. It was termed 'one of the most moving films of the year' by Peter Travers in Rolling Stone, and achieved an average 91% rating from the Web site Rotten Tomatoes, another 90% from Metacritic and a 95% from the Broadcast Film Critics Association. United 93 appeared on 214 critic's Top-10 lists (the third most of any 2006 film), and was ranked #1 on 47 lists (the most of any 2006 film).[19] At the website Movie City News, which ranks 250 critics lists and awards point values for list-placement, United 93 ranks as the #1 movie of 2006 [20][21][22] with a score of 917.5 points. On Metacritic, the film appears on 39 top ten lists, more than any other 2006 film on the site[23], although the 2006 film with the highest average score on the site is Army of Shadows.[24]

[edit] Top ten lists

Only two films (The Departed and The Queen) appeared on more top ten lists of the best films of 2006 than United 93, and no film received more #1 mentions[23]:

Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal and Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer named it among the top ten best films of 2006.[23]

[edit] Awards and nominations

[25][26]

[edit] Won

[edit] Nominated

[edit] DVD

2-Disc limited edition
2-Disc limited edition

United 93 was released to DVD on September 5th, 2006, in both widescreen and fullscreen. Also released was a 2-disc Special Limited Edition in widescreen. The 1-disc editions included the following:

  • Feature Commentary with Director Paul Greengrass
  • United 93: The Families and the Film (videos of each family meeting the actor who plays their lost loved one)
  • Memorial Pages

The 2-disc edition included the above special features plus the following:

  • Featurette: Chasing Planes-Witnesses to 9/11.

The 1-disc editions are still being produced and shipped into stores, but the special limited edition is now only available online.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Four Years On, a Cabin's-Eye View of 9/11 January 1, 2006 New York Times article
  2. ^ September 11 plane drama to open NY film festival March 29, 2006 Reuters article
  3. ^ a b A Dark Day Revisited April 10, Newsweek
  4. ^ msnbc
  5. ^ Box Office mojo - United 93
  6. ^ The Day They Hijacked America April 28 2006 The Guardian
  7. ^ MPAA Film Ratings
  8. ^ A Flight to Remember April 18, 2006 The Village Voice
  9. ^ "A terrifying flight back in time" June 04, 2006 The Times
  10. ^ Skating on thin air May 25, 2006 http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk, accessed June 11, 2006
  11. ^ United 93 'surrender monkey' defends role in film The Guardian (June 7, 2006)
  12. ^ Universal Will Not Pull 'United 93' Trailer, Despite Criticism April 4, 2006, New York Times
  13. ^ 9/11 film actor refused visa for US premiere April 21, 2006 The Times
  14. ^ America bars Iraqi immigrant who played hijacker in September 11 film April 22 2006 The Independent On Sunday
  15. ^ Former Site of United 93 Universal Pictures Message Board
  16. ^ United Flight 93 Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript. Some point to the comment made at 9:45:25 to indicate doubt that both pilots were dead. Accessed December 10, 2006
  17. ^ United Flight 93 Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript. There are several unattributed groans recorded at 9:58, before the passenger assault on the cockpit apparently began. Accessed December 10, 2006
  18. ^ The 9/11 Commission Report, Page 13, paragraph 2. Accessed December 10, 2006
  19. ^ Best of 2006 « CriticsTop10
  20. ^ 2006 Overall Critic's Top 20 - Movie City News
  21. ^ 2006 Overall Critics Choice Results Discussion - The Hot Button
  22. ^ 2006 Overall Critics Choice Chart - Movie City News
  23. ^ a b c Metacritic: 2006 Film Critic Top Ten Lists. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
  24. ^ Best Reviewed Film of 2006 - Metacritic
  25. ^ United 93 Awards and Nominations at IMDB
  26. ^ United 93 Awards and Nominations at Movie City News

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Theatrical Feature Films directed by Paul Greengrass

Resurrected (1989) • The Theory of Flight (1998) • Bloody Sunday (2002) • The Bourne Supremacy (2004) • United 93 (2006) • The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) • Green Zone (TBA)