Flight 93
Last month, in recognition of the 8th anniversary of 9/11, I reviewed the film United 93. As good as that film is, it's not the only movie about that fateful flight, nor in my opinion, is it the best.
These days it seems that the best crews are actually working in television, and the made for TV movie Flight 93, a joint production of A&E and FOX is a good example. It tells the exact same story as United 93 taken from the same sources, and also told in a dramatic narrative style, but with a bit more impact. It's a shame that far fewer people have actually seen this TV version of the story.
As I've said, both are good "films", but Flight 93, which is technically not a film because it was shot on HD Video instead of 35mm Film like United 93, has more dynamic camera work. Perhaps it's the size difference between the film camera and the HD camera, but even though both were shot primarily hand held, the angles, tight shots and pans are more daring and interesting in Flight.
Additionally creative choices and edits were a bit sharper with Flight. For example, within the first few minutes of the film we know the names of the hijackers, and most of the key passengers, thanks to the great idea to include a series of tight shots on the boarding passes as passengers boarded the plane.
Flight 93 also includes lots of details throughout that weren't shown in United 93, including some that were perhaps whitewashed from United (whether this was intentional to avoid controversy, lawsuit, for creative reasons, or to lionize all the innocents, or just an accident of choice in the editing room, it still has an impact) for example, the fact that the pilots of the commercial aircraft had received a warning against possible cockpit intrusion, but chose to open the door anyway.
While none of these little things – a shot here, a detail there – makes much of a difference on it's own, taken together, they add up to a more dramatic story.
If you're the type that views only movies shot on film as "quality", and eschew anything video – yeah, you'll probably like United 93 better. But if you can enjoy HD video just as much (and with a story this engaging, how couldn't you?) I'd recommend Flight 93 between the two.
Last month, in recognition of the 8th anniversary of 9/11, I reviewed the film United 93. As good as that film is, it's not the only movie about that fateful flight, nor in my opinion, is it the best.
These days it seems that the best crews are actually working in television, and the made for TV movie Flight 93, a joint production of A&E and FOX is a good example. It tells the exact same story as United 93 taken from the same sources, and also told in a dramatic narrative style, but with a bit more impact. It's a shame that far fewer people have actually seen this TV version of the story.
As I've said, both are good "films", but Flight 93, which is technically not a film because it was shot on HD Video instead of 35mm Film like United 93, has more dynamic camera work. Perhaps it's the size difference between the film camera and the HD camera, but even though both were shot primarily hand held, the angles, tight shots and pans are more daring and interesting in Flight.
Additionally creative choices and edits were a bit sharper with Flight. For example, within the first few minutes of the film we know the names of the hijackers, and most of the key passengers, thanks to the great idea to include a series of tight shots on the boarding passes as passengers boarded the plane.
Flight 93 also includes lots of details throughout that weren't shown in United 93, including some that were perhaps whitewashed from United (whether this was intentional to avoid controversy, lawsuit, for creative reasons, or to lionize all the innocents, or just an accident of choice in the editing room, it still has an impact) for example, the fact that the pilots of the commercial aircraft had received a warning against possible cockpit intrusion, but chose to open the door anyway.
While none of these little things – a shot here, a detail there – makes much of a difference on it's own, taken together, they add up to a more dramatic story.
If you're the type that views only movies shot on film as "quality", and eschew anything video – yeah, you'll probably like United 93 better. But if you can enjoy HD video just as much (and with a story this engaging, how couldn't you?) I'd recommend Flight 93 between the two.