America: A Tribute to Heroes

Syndicated throughout the world to raise funds for the families of persons deceased or injured after the horrific bombings of September 11, this tele-special raised an exobernant amount of money for such a noble cause. It demonstrates Hollywood's quick response to the tragedy, and a extremely wide range of actors and musicians are featured. Teary eyed Chris Rock, Halle Berry, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, and Lucy Lui are among many who reveal the many personal experiences of those killed or suffering as a result of the day of tragedy. World-reknown musicians are also featured, either covering or performing original numbers in an attempt to uncover some sense amidst the travesty, Neil Young for instance performs an captivating - even if sacrilegious - version of "Imagine". In the finale, the wide range of actors and musicians sing the American Anthem.

This TV special is a true honor to watch as actors and musicians gather to show homage to those who died in the wake of terrorist attacks on America. The actors give shortened asides to describe the firefighters, policemen and innocent civilians who were involved in the catastrophic event of September 11, 2001. The various singers pour out heart-felt songs that eerily describe the terrorist act. Worth noting, Bruce Springsteen steals the show with his rendition of "My City's in Ruin".

This is by far one of the best concerts I have ever seen. The way everyone came together for America is by far outstanding. I would give this movie a 1000 if I could, but I can only go up to 10!!! The best performances were by Mariah Carey (actually the best one in the concert) and Celine Dion whose performance of "God Bless America" was truly awesome!!!

America: A Tribute to Heroes (2001)

There's really no reason to put a star rating on this tribute show that was done so closely after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. I didn't watch most of the show when it originally aired but watching it nearly a decade later you can still feel the sadness, power and emotion. A number of celebrities speak to the camera as they try to raise money for victims of the families and they share stories about some of the people who were lost on that tragic day. One of the most heartbreaking stories is about a man who could have escaped the building but instead decided to stay with his crippled friend who wasn't able to escape. They both ended up dying together. The tributes are incredibly touching but I guess one of the main reasons to watch this document all these years later are for the musical performances and we've got some pretty strong stuff here. Bruce Springsteen starts off with an incredibly powerful version of "My City of Ruins" and we also get strong performances from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on a reworked version of "I Won't Back Down" and Billy Joel with "New York State of Mind". Another strong performance comes from Paul Simon on "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and the entire cast gathers around Willie Nelson to close the show with "America the Beautiful". Perhaps the most touching moment came from Neil Young who does an unforgettable version of John Lennon's "Imagine". I've always felt this classic song was butchered by everyone other than Lennon but Young was able to do a remarkable job with it.

I understood the premise for the special. And for a time I could see. As things progressed this became more and more depressing. At a time when America needed to mourn the loss of so many and prepare for a long drawn out war Hollywood could only give us sappy. This should not have been just a depressing "I'm an actor and I care" special. It should have let America know that things were going to be alright again. This let the country know all is lost, for we can never show resolve. What could have been a message to the world that America will not stop being the country they wish they were in, was nothing but a weepy feel sorry for ourselves ego-fest. Bob Hope performed to soldiers in battle and was able to make them laugh and feel better, it is a shame that in this politically correct age we cannot see as well. Maybe this wouldn't have been as bad were it not for the performances. Two stick out as ludicriuse(sp). Neil Young singing John Lennon's masterpiece 'Imagine' was quite possibly the greatest cover mistake ever. Lennon was a legend and Young is...well nobody has figured out that he isn't any good yet, and to sing that song that bad should be a crime. He would have been better off reworking the only song he ever wrote that was good 'Ohio' for the WTC. The other performance that sticks out was Limp Bizkut doing 'wish you were here' by Pink Floyd. This was not near as bad, and was quite good. The only problem was watching knowing that Pink Floyd was probably sitting at home with nothing better to do and would have done a better job. True we have not had to mourn like this before and had to start somewhere, but they should have done a dry run on maybe a single channel in Zaire to test the response before being on every channel in the greatest country in the world.