9/11 (2002)

A real life documentary following the events of September 11 from an insider's view, through the lens of James Hanlon and two French filmmakers who were in Manhattan that one day.

Directors:

James Hanlon, Gédéon Naudet

Writers:

Tom Forman, Greg Kandra

Stars:

Tony Benatatos, Jamal Braithwaite, Steve Buscemi

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tony Benatatos	...	Himself
Jamal Braithwaite	...	Himself
Steve Buscemi	...	Himself in TV Broadcast
Joe Casaliggi	...	Himself (as Joseph Casaliggi)
Robert De Niro	...	Himself - Host in TV Broadcast
James Hanlon	...	Himself
Gédéon Naudet	...	Himself
Jules Naudet	...	Himself
Joseph Pfeifer	...	Himself
Tom Spinard	...	Himself
Dennis Tardio	...	Himself

Storyline

On September 11, 2001, filmmaker James Hanlon and Jules and Gedeon Naudet were filming a documentary on a rookie New York City firefighter when they noticed a plane overhead. That plane would hit the World Trade Center. They rushed immediately to the scene. James Hanlon and the Naudets filmed throughout Sept. 11 and the days afterward from the firemen's perspective, as it became clear to them that this was the only known footage from inside the Twin Towers that day.

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Plot Keywords:

french | new york city | september 11 2001 | firefighter | documentarian | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA France

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

9/11

Filming Locations:

FDNY Engine 7 Ladder 1 - 100 Duane Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS, Goldfish Pictures, Reveille Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 128 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Remarkably, the firehouse featured in this documentary lost no lives, although the firefighters and cameramen were separated into three groups. Some were among the first firefighters on the scene.

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Goofs

When firefighter Tony Benatatos is angrily commenting about the attack on the Pentagon, the clock above him reads exactly 9:30. The attack on the Pentagon did not occur until 9:37.

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Quotes

[Capt. Tardio is inspecting Tony's uniform]
Capt. Dennis Tardio: You have an iron at home?
Tony Benatatos: Actually I do not, sir.
Capt. Dennis Tardio: You don't?
[Another firefighter jumps into the shot]
Firefighter: Probie in a lot of trouble. Take two.

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Alternate Versions

An updated cut of the film was shown in the UK on September 3rd 2006 for the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

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Connections

Featured in September Clues (2007)

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Soundtracks

Work to Do
Written by O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, and Rudolph Isley
Performed by The Isley Brothers

User Reviews

The greatest mistake ever filmed

Incredible documentary captured all the frenzied chaos and misery which loomed over NYC on that fateful morning of September 11th. Intense, personal, and completely riveting, 9/11 is perhaps the greatest documentary ever made by accident, which kind of gives it an even greater appeal. Up until that morning, filmmakers Gideon and Jules Naudet had been following around a New York firefighter team, concentrating specifically on one new recruit in a little piece they were shooting dealing with the rigorous training to become a fireman. Out with the team that morning filming yet another simple routine cleanup, Jules lifts his camera up to the sky just in time to record one of the only known images of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center, and from there a simple documentary was no more.

Viewers are given a first hand account of what it was like to be in and around ground zero, as the amazing group of fire-fighters and one profoundly bewildered cameraman attempt to navigate this disaster. Without hesitation, Naudet follows these automatically programmed heroes into the tower while it's entire support crumbles around them. The raw fear of an unknown, impending doom lurks with more viability then any fictional production could ever fathom as we watch less and less become audible and visible for those trapped inside. Nearly as memorable is older brother Gideon's candid capturing of an entire city in the throngs of a larger and more palpable fear then anything they had collectively witnessed. By the time we get to see the second tower collapse, as the cameraman shields himself from apocalyptic debris, we should all but be rinsing the dirt off ourselves from the amazingly up-close footage captured.

Obviously the filmmakers deserve only as much credit as being in the right place at the right time to document such an extraordinary event, though one can only admire the two brothers in their extraordinary adaptation to such an event; in a few desperate minutes we witness them become like the firemen they document- only instead of saving lives they knew they had to save footage, even if it cost them their own safety.

After viewing 9/11, and seeing that it came out in 2002, I feel much more resentment towards Oliver Stone's recent rendition, the big budgeted World Trade Center. Many had criticized the film for ignorantly narrowing down the focus to those two survivors trapped in rubble, and although I enjoyed the movie just fine for the small and sentimental Hollywood focus it brought, 9/11 all but renders his film completely obsolete. Not only will this utterly gripping footage remain the only definitive collection from that day, but the sublime transfer of motives midway ensures that this documentary has all the heart and character needed to never sensationalize the event again.