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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.
Written by
Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
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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Motion Picture Rating
(MPAA)
Rated R for language, and some intense sequences of terror and violence (appeal planned)
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Did You Know?
Trivia
To make the movie as authentic as possible, director
Paul Greengrass cast a number of real-life participants in the events of September 11, 2001, to play themselves. The principal "real-life role" in the movie is
Ben Sliney, the FAA's National Operations Manager, who made the decision on 9/11 to shut down all air traffic operations in the United States. Sliney had just been promoted to the National Operations Manager position, and September 11, 2001 was his first day on the job. That explains the applause from the FAA flight monitors when he walks into the control center in Herndon, VA, at the beginning of the movie. Several officials who were with Sliney in the FAA control room on 9/11 play themselves, including
Tobin Miller,
Rich Sullivan, and
Tony Smith. In the scenes at Newark Airport, several air traffic controllers who were in the Newark control tower on 9/11, and who witnessed the air attacks on the World Trade Center, play themselves. At the air traffic monitoring centers in Boston, New York, and Cleveland, the air traffic monitors are all played by real-life air traffic controllers, including several who were at these locations on 9/11, and who monitored the hijacked flights. At the Northeast Air Defense Command Center (NEADS) in Rome, NY, most of the military personnel are played by real-life military air traffic controllers, including several people, notably Major
James Fox, who were at NEADS on 9/11. Also, on United Flight 93, the actors playing the pilots in the movie are real-life airline pilots, and the flight attendants are played by real-life flight attendants, some of whom work for United Airlines.
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Goofs
When Sliney is at the conference room at the FAA center in Virginia, a New York state flag is visible.
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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
Referenced in
The Jihad Couple (2007)
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Probably the best movie of the year! This movie handles the many different emotions it brings to the surface in a professional and technically proficient way - it is one of the most well-crafted "docu-dramas" I have ever seen. We sit in the plane with the heroes of that day, we watch it unfold from the perspectives of the flight controllers and NORAD, we feel the confusion, the torment, and ultimately, the victory in the end. It is a great commentary on the human spirit and a great achievement in cinematography and editing. Paul Greengrass has opened up a dialogue that hopefully will never stop - a positive dialogue about that horrible day.