World Trade Center (film)

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World Trade Center

"World Trade Center" Promotional Poster
Directed by Oliver Stone
Produced by Moritz Borman
Debra Hill
Michael Shamberg
Stacey Sher
Written by Andrea Berloff
Starring Nicolas Cage
Michael Peña
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maria Bello
Stephen Dorff
Jay Hernandez
Michael Shannon
Morgan Flynn
Connor Paolo
Anthony Piccininni
Alexa Gerasimovich
Music by Craig Armstrong
Cinematography Seamus McGarvey
Editing by David Brenner
Julie Monroe
Distributed by USA Theatrical and Worldwide DVD/Video
Paramount Pictures
Non-USA Theatrical
United International Pictures
Release date(s) August 9, 2006 (in U.S.)
September 29, 2006 (in UK)
Running time 129 minutes
Language English
Budget $65,000,000
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

World Trade Center is a dramatic film based on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers of New York City(NY), USA, released by Paramount Pictures on August 9, 2006.

The movie was directed by Oliver Stone and stars Nicolas Cage, Michael Peña, Maria Bello, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. It is billed as an uplifting story about everyday New Yorkers helping one another amid a cataclysmic tragedy. Critical reception of the film was generally favorable. Many of the re-created scenes at the Twin Towers were filmed at Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The true story of Port Authority police officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, who, while patrolling the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, saw a plane fly low overhead.

As all of the police officers return to the station, they see the TV, and find that one of the massive twin towers of the World Trade Center has been hit by a plane. Sergeant McLoughlin assigns many of the officers to assist in an evacuation attempt of the (still undamaged) South Tower, and they board a commandeered Metropolitan Transit Authority bus.

When they arrive at the site of the World Trade Center, they see many disturbing things, including one of the first victims jumping out of the tower to their death to escape the flames. As Jimeno drops off their police equipment in 5 World Trade Center, officers proceed to get safety equipment and, walk into the concourse of the World Trade Center, between the two towers. The group consists of McLoughlin, Jimeno, Dominick Pezzulo, and Antonio Rodrigues (A-Rod).

The wives and families of McLoughlin and Jimeno are gradually introduced, unaware of their husbands' and fathers' fates.

An officer, named Chris Amoroso, runs along to tell them of the other events such as the Pentagon being hit by what they believed to be a missile, and the South Tower being hit by another plane. As the group prepare to enter the North Tower, the buildings begin to rumble. Looking around, McLoughlin realizes that the South Tower is collapsing onto them, and their only chance of survival is to run into the service elevator shaft. Chris trips and doesn't have time to get up. A-Rod isn't able to get to the shaft in time. McLoughlin, Jimeno and Pezzulo manage to escape the huge amounts of dust and rubble flying down from the South Tower. But as the rubble continues to crush the elevator shaft, the three are knocked out.

As the group wake up, Pezzulo realises he can free himself, and manages to go nearer to Jimeno in the rubble, who, along with McLoughlin, have survived the collapse of the South Tower. As Pezzulo gets optimistic that they will live, the rumbling starts up again, as the North Tower is now collapsing as well. Although Jimeno and McLoughlin are unharmed, Pezzulo is fatally wounded and, after firing his gun up through a gap in the rubble to try to alert rescuers to their position, dies.

After Jimeno and McLoughlin spend hours under the rubble, two United States Marines, Dave Karnes and Jason Thomas, who are searching for survivors of the tower collapse, find Jimenjo and McLoughlin and call for help to dig them out.

Their families are called and told that their husbands have walked out of the rubble in perfect health, but this is wrong; in fact, they are both in danger of dying. When the wives arrive, they are told that their husbands are in the garage and rush to meet them. McLoughlin's family manages to find him just before he is pulled into the operating room to be put in a medically induced coma.

Two years later, as they attend a celebration to receive an award for courage, the families are happy again that the two officers, McLoughlin and Jimeno, survived the biggest terrorist attack in US history.

2,749 people perished in the Twin Towers attacks (not including the hijackers) and only 20 people were pulled out alive. Jimeno and McLoughlin were numbers 18 and 19.

[edit] Critics response

[edit] Awards

  • Best Picture - Online Film Fans Awards, October 23, 2006
  • Best Director, Oliver Stone - Online Film Fans Awards

[edit] Controversy

Jeanette Pezzulo, the widow of Port Authority police officer Dominick Pezzulo (who died on 9/11 and is played by Jay Hernandez in this film), has expressed anger with this film and feels it is wrong McLoughlin and Jimeno participated in the production. She's quoted as saying, "My thing is: this man died for you. How do you do this to this family?".[1] Staten Island resident Jamie Amoroso, whose husband also died during the rescue operation, has also expressed her anger over the film and said she did "not need a movie" to tell her "what a hero" her husband was.[1] Baltimore detective Ken Nacke, whose brother Louis died on Flight 93, said he would not be going to see the film. He criticised its producers for not involving enough of the survivors' families in its production, something he said did happen with United 93 director Paul Greengrass, who collected the blessings of all the victims' families before shooting his controversial film (although it has been reported that the widow of United 93 victim Christian Adams refused to cooperate in the making of that film. See United 93 Controversy). He added: "I met a couple of people who lost relatives and had approached the producers and weren't allowed to be involved, and I think it would be disrespectful to them if I went to see it."[1] Despite the fact that some of the film's profits were to be donated, Stone has been accused of profiteering by some. The Port Authority police officers who are played by Cage and Peña, John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, and their wives, played by Bello and Gyllenhaal, were involved with the production and continue to support the film. McLoughlin's wife Donna has said: "We got involved because we felt it needed to be done accurately. We wanted to do the right thing and I think the filmmakers wanted to do the right thing too."[1] Both John McLoughlin and William Jimeno appear at the end of the film during the barbecue scene.

There were initial concerns this film would examine 9/11 conspiracy theories because director Oliver Stone is known for examining similar theories in his films (JFK in particular), and some 9/11 conspiracy websites are promoting the idea that the film does contain hints of the conspiracy. Stone and the producers, however, have said the film is a simple dedication to the heroism and sadness of the day with little-to-no political themes.[1][2][3]

The Los Angeles Times reported that 9/11 conspiracy theorists were boycotting the film and were disappointed Stone didn't make a JFK style conspiracy film.[4] "Was Stone used by the Illuminati as an unknowing pawn to whitewash the 9/11 conspiracy theories to the masses?" wondered author John Conner.[5] Syndicated radio hosts Jack Blood and Alex Jones also expressed similar views that many in the 9/11 Truth Movement were expecting Stone to give them a voice and felt let down.[4]

[edit] Factual inaccuracies

View of the smoking World Trade Center as seen from a bus full of police officers heading to the burning building. From this orientation, one can see that only one tower is hit (the north tower). Thus, the view is looking south and therefore the sunlight coming in from the right (west) would lead one to believe it's late afternoon. In actuality, the attacks on the towers took place in the morning. So the sun would be rising from the east and should be coming from the opposite (left) side of the frame. The RCN van represents the company's image from 2004.
View of the smoking World Trade Center as seen from a bus full of police officers heading to the burning building. From this orientation, one can see that only one tower is hit (the north tower). Thus, the view is looking south and therefore the sunlight coming in from the right (west) would lead one to believe it's late afternoon. In actuality, the attacks on the towers took place in the morning. So the sun would be rising from the east and should be coming from the opposite (left) side of the frame. The RCN van represents the company's image from 2004.

Commentators have pointed out a number of factual inaccuracies in the film, particularly concerning the rescue effort. The film has been accused of not providing a fair portrayal of the character and motives of rescuer Dave Karnes, a pivotal character in the film who did not cooperate in the making of the film. The film also inaccurately portrayed Jason Thomas, who joined Karnes in the rescue, as white when he was really black. The film's producers realized the mistake only after production began, and apologized to Thomas, whose identity had not been widely known for years after September 11. Also, on the DVD commentary, Oliver Stone refers to Jason Thomas as Mike Thomas.[6]

Critics of the film say it inaccurately identified the rescuers who worked to free Jimeno and McLouglin, failed to accurately convey the time required to dig the men out, and that it understated the dangers posed to the rescuers. Among other things, the film failed to properly acknowledge the role of paramedic Chuck Sereika. Contrary to that which is depicted in the film, Sereika began treating and extricating Jimeno a full 20 minutes before officers from the New York City Police Department's Emergency Services Unit arrived.[7]

[edit] Box office

On opening weekend it gained approximately $18,730,762 in the U.S. and Canada. As of October 25, 2006 the film has made $70,278,893 at the North American Box-Office. Worldwide the film has taken in over $162,000,000.[3]

[edit] Filming Dates

The movie was shot during 19 October 2005 - 10 February 2006.[8]

[edit] DVD/HD DVD/Blu-ray releases

The Region 1 DVD was released on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 with the Region 2 release following on January 29, 2007. A special 2-disc set was also released, which includes the following bonus features:

[edit] Disc one

  • Commentary by Oliver Stone
  • Commentary by Will Jimeno and rescuers Scott Strauss, John Busching and Paddy McGee
  • Nine deleted/extended scenes with optional audio commentary

[edit] Disc two

  • The Making of World Trade Center
  • Common Sacrifices
  • Building Ground Zero
  • Visual and Special Effects
  • Oliver Stone's New York
  • Q+A with Oliver Stone
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • 5 TV Spots
  • Photo Gallery

A 3-Disc Deluxe Edition was produced exclusively for Target stores. The third disc came with "In Their Own Words," a 75 minute series of interviews, including survivors John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, their spouses, and other survivors and rescuers.

Blu-ray and HD DVD versions

[edit] Disc one

  • Commentary by Oliver Stone
  • Commentary by Will Jimeno and rescuers Scott Strauss, John Busching and Paddy McGee
  • Nine deleted/extended scenes with optional audio commentary.

[edit] Disc Two

  • The Making of World Trade Center HD
  • Common Sacrifices HD
  • Building Ground Zero HD
  • Visual and Special Effects HD
  • Oliver Stone's New York HD
  • Q+A with Oliver Stone
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • 5 TV Spots
  • Photo Gallery

(*Although Paramount initially dropped its support of the Blu-ray format, it is now supporting Blu-ray again with HD DVD's demise. This movie will re-appear on Blu-ray in May 2008.

The 2-disc HD DVD and 2-disc Blu-ray sets have the same bonuses as the 2-disc DVD set. The Target 3-disc Deluxe Edition has more extras than any other release, including the HD DVD and Blu-ray versions.)

[edit] Interviews

[edit] See also

Film Portal

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Guardian Media Group (July 9, 2006). A film too far for Stone?. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
  2. ^ Oliver Stone shoots Sept. 11 movie in New York. USA Today (November 2, 2005). Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  3. ^ Halbfinger, David M. (July 2, 2006). Oliver Stone's 'World Trade Center' Seeks Truth in the Rubble. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  4. ^ a b Daunt, Tina. "An Indictment of Mr. Conspiracy", Los Angeles Times, 2006-08-06. 
  5. ^ Halter, Ed. "Fakes on a Plane", The Village Voice, 2006-08-07. Retrieved on 2006-08-10. 
  6. ^ Caruso, David B. (August 14, 2006). Mystery 9/11 rescuer reveals himself. Associated Press. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
  7. ^ "Oliver Stone's World Trade Center Fiction", Slate, 2006-08-09. 
  8. ^ for verification visit http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469641/business

[edit] References

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Films directed by Oliver Stone
Feature films
Seizure (1974) • The Hand (1981) • Salvador (1986) • Platoon (1986) • Wall Street (1987) • Talk Radio (1988) • Born on the Fourth of July (1989) • The Doors (1991) • JFK (1991) • Heaven & Earth (1993) • Natural Born Killers (1994) • Nixon (1995) • U Turn (1997) • Any Given Sunday (1999) • Alexander (2004) • World Trade Center (2006) • W. (2008)
Documentaries
Persona Non Grata (TV 2003) • Comandante (2003) • Looking for Fidel (2004)