United 93 (2006)

Director:

Paul Greengrass

Writer (WGA):

Paul Greengrass (written by)

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

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:

2000s | Cleveland Ohio | Passenger | Flight Attendant | Tragedy

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 22 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:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

Trivia:

The United 93 flight crew is entirely portrayed by real pilots and flight attendants, some of whom actually work for United Airlines.

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the overview of the Newark airport in the beginning, an air-traffic controller can be seen wearing a blue lanyard displaying, "Transportation Security Administration" with an American flag displayed after "Transportation". These were issued post-September 11, 2001 as the Transportation Security Administration was formed under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which was signed into law on November 19, 2001. Most 2001 roll-out supervisors at the TSA have these lanyards for airport identification cards. An ATC could own a lanyard as it is understandable that the lanyards would be distributed throughout the airport operations personnel.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References A Knight's Tale (2001)

Understated but powerful

This movie approaches an incredibly sensitive subject in an entirely appropriate manner: with subtlety and understatement.

The actors look like real people and talk like real people talk. There are no dramatic exclamations. Even the signature "Let's roll" line is stated almost in passing without any special significance being brought to it. The movie was utterly convincing in portraying how real people would have responded. There were no Bruce Willis or Wesley Snipe types amongst the passengers; they were ordinary folk in extraordinary situations, responding the best way they could.

Kudos to the filmmakers for not allowing this to become an overwrought melodrama. Instead, we saw a glimpse into the confusion and pain of people in the middle of the events of 9/11. Because it was understated, because it felt real, the impact was much stronger and gut-wrenching.