United 93 (2006)

A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on September 11th, 2001 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.

Director:

Paul Greengrass

Writer:

Paul Greengrass

Stars:

David Alan Basche, Olivia Thirlby, Liza Colón-Zayas

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 29 wins & 54 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

On September 11, 2001, two American Airlines and two United Airlines domestic U.S. flights are hijacked by terrorists. After the collision of two planes against the World Trade Center and one against the Pentagon, the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 decide to struggle against the four terrorists to take back the control of the airplane.

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Plot Keywords:

passenger | plane | flight | terrorist | september 11 2001 | 

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Taglines:

September 11, 2001. Four planes were hijacked. Three of them reached their target. This is the story of the fourth.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, and some intense sequences of terror and violence (appeal planned)

Details

Country:

USA UK France

Language:

English Arabic German

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

United 93

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The pins on Trish Gates's uniform are actual airline pins that belonged to flight attendant Sandra Bradshaw. Her husband, Phil Bradshaw, donated them to replicate her uniform for the film. Gates was a flight attendant for United Airlines shortly before participating in the film.

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Goofs

When the hijacker rolls the plane to knock the passengers off balance, one of the flight attendants falls to the floor at the rear of the plane. In the next shot, she struggles to get up in first class. A few scenes later, she is back at the rear of the plane, getting up.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

The very last line of closing credits states that the movie was "not sponsored by, or in any way affiliated with, United Airlines."

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movies Told in Real Time (2017)

User Reviews

Gut and heart wrenching...

I was one of the people who said I wouldn't go see this movie because I felt they were capitalizing on a national tragedy and the trailer gave me nightmares. But, my curiosity got the best of me when I read several positive quotes by numerous critics outside the US. So, I picked up a ticket for the 2:00 show.

There truly are no words to describe the power of this film. The cinematography is excellent, albeit a little unsteady with the shaky lens thing going on. I found that the film very much followed the reports in the 9/11 Commission's book, as well as numerous others. They stuck to the facts and didn't add in any glorified scenes that weren't warranted. You saw the mass confusion as the various air traffic control centers tried to make sense of what was going on. You saw the events on the plane unfold as we think they did that morning. You saw ordinary Americans, scared and frightened, band together and try and keep that plane from hitting another target.

Do we know exactly what was said between people on the planes? No. But there are survivors who had messages from loved ones on their answering machines and people who talked to them that day. The film is a little violent for my tastes, but no more so than any 'Blockbuster' fictional hit out there right now, and this is reality as we know it. Any discrepancies are not for me or you to decide, as those secrets are buried in Pennsylvania.

When it ended, I've never seen a more still theater. You could hear people breathing as they pulled themselves together. This is something that happened to our nation, and while it shouldn't take a movie to make people remember, maybe it does. Maybe we have forgotten or chosen to ignore what happened that day, falling to politics and quick to accuse people who didn't prevent it. Maybe we are against this movie because it makes us uncomfortable, as all meaningful things should. Who knows? Not I.

But, I do know that United 93 was done in a tasteful, respectful manner, and many of the families affected on 9/11 supported its release. Who are we to say otherwise? See the movie and then make your judgment call. You may find yourself surprised, just as I did.