The Path to 9/11 (2006) (TV)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

David L. Cunningham

Writers:

John Miller (based in part on the book 'The Cell') &
Michael Stone (based in part on the book 'The Cell') ...

Release Date:

10 September 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

A television mini-series on the events leading up to the US terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. |

Plot Keywords:

September 11 2001 | Vice President | White House | Condoleezza Rice | Secretary Of State

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Harvey Keitel	...	John O'Neill
Michael Benyaer	...	Khalid Sheikh Mohammed / 'KSM'
Wendy Crewson	...	Valerie James
Shirley Douglas	...	Madeline Albright
Kevin Dunn	...	Samuel 'Sandy' Berger
Nabil Elouahabi	...	Ramzi Yousef
Mido Hamada	...	Massoud
Barclay Hope	...	John Miller
Frank John Hughes	...	Bill Miller
Dan Lauria	...	George Tenet
Amy Madigan	...	Patricia Carver
Art Malik	...	Colonel Raymond Malik
Michael Murphy	...	William Cohen
Stephen Root	...	Richard Clarke
William Sadler	...	Neil Herman

Runtime:

240 min | Finland:277 min (5 parts) | 263 min (extended version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Urdu | Dari | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Germany:16 (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Marc Platt Productions

Trivia:

Shaun Toub, who portrayed Emad Salem (the FBI informant in the 1993 WTC Bombing) in this miniseries, also portrayed El Sayyid Nosair (one of the men responsible for the 1993 bombing) in Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing. (1997) (TV).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During the hijackers' flight training, a pan shot shows an Independence Air jet in the background. Independence Air did not exist in 2001.

Quotes:

Kirk: War is about killing the enemy and destroying his property. It's not about sittin' around a conference room coverin' your own asses!

Movie Connections:

References Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing. (1997) (TV)

A rare case of TV fulfilling its potential

I have read The 9/11 Report all the way through and 2 of al Qaeda expert Michael Scheuer's books and, as I watched part 2 of "The Path to 9/11", I couldn't help but think how much better it was AS A MOVIE (forget the politics) than Spielberg's docudrama, "Munich", which I saw on DVD several days ago.

I was hoping for a movie that presented the events leading up to the attack in a reasonably accurate, understandable, and interesting way. I never would have expected a TV network to produce something of this quality. What I saw was one of those very rare cases where TV lives up to the potential we once expected but have very rarely seen.

Beginning with the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, it relives the events leading up to and including what many of us remember as possibly the worst day of our lives. Most importantly, it reveals the hard work done by American intelligence agents and the frustrations they experience as politicians repeatedly find what some would call reasons and most of us would call excuses for not acting. The portrayal of events is first rate with an outstanding cast led by Harvey Keitel as FBI agent and al Qaeda expert John O'Neill, and is quite consistent with the reports of the 911 commission and others such as Michael Scheuer.

Concerning the politics: I think this should be seen as a commentary, not on one individual or political party as opposed to another, but on how difficult it is to operate in a governmental system that encourages avoiding mistakes (that the media and political opponents can use to destroy one's career) more than taking needed action for the benefit of our society.