The Movies of 9/11

It’s been 7 years since the tragedies that happened on September 11, 2001.  While this was before my time at the movie theatre, it’s been one of the only days that has cause the theatre to close early.  That’s a powerful statement in itself, since the film industry is one that thrives on long hours and being available when other options may be closed.

Since then, I can think of three movies that have been released that relate to the events that happen on that day.  At the time of their release, I didn’t feel that society was ready for a commercial movie about such a life-changing event.  It felt inappropriate, almost a pervasion of what happened to those people that lost their lives.  It felt wrong that people would make money off of the films.  Looking back on things now, I may have taken it too seriously, but I still don’t feel that all the films were appropriate for the time.  Let’s take a look at some of them:

Fahrenheit 9/11 - A documentary type film by Michael Moore, explaining his opinion on how the President Bush failed to take immediate action after the tragic event, and how Bush manipulated the situation to benefit his backers.

Well, I wrote the synopsis… but that doesn’t mean that I have to agree with it.  I, for one, saw this movie because I was interested in what Moore had to say, not that I agreed with his stance.  To make a mockery out of one of the single worst tragedies in American history, to me, was offensive.  Yes,there were valid points in the film, but overall, I felt his views to be inappropriate.  Seriously, in that situation, how would you respond?  In my opinion, a movie with it’s own message, but wasn’t appropriate.  He tried too much to take advantage of what happened.

World Trade Center - The true story of two Port Authority police officers who were trapped beneath the wreckage of the fallen World Trade Center.  While gathering equipment to go into the towers, the concourse collapses on them, leaving them trapped 20 feet under the surface of the rubble, unable to reach anyone by radio.  They must depend on their own will to survive.  Their families wait anxiously as they see the towers fall, not knowing if their loved ones were in the towers at the time.

Released 5 years after the attacks of 9/11, I felt that this movie was far more accurate, and touching than Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11.  Oliver Stone did a good job trying to capture the event for what it was, a terrible tragedy.  It was also very commercially successful, bringing in over $70 Million.  However, this is the type of movie that I feel should have had its box office receipts donated to charity… which I’m not sure it was.  Does anyone know?

United 93 - From Rotten Tomatoes: Paul Greengrass’s meticulous reconstruction of the events surrounding the crash–the result of a heroic struggle between the passengers and hijackers–of the fourth plane to be hijacked on September 11, 2001.

That’s all I want to put for the synopsis, because this is widely considered the most accurate, non-hollywood feeling film about the tragic events.  All I want to say is.. this film, while not as successful as World Trade Center, was much more real.  This is the one movie that I feel didn’t try hard to take advantage of the families and what happened on that fateful day.

Since this is a day we should reflect on in this country, I will leave it at that.  Feel free to discuss in the comments how you feel about the movies of 9/11.

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