United 93 (2006)

Director:

Paul Greengrass

Writer (WGA):

Paul Greengrass (written by)

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | History

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A real time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.

Plot Keywords:

Passenger | Flight | Terrorist | September 11 2001 | Hijacker

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 21 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Flight 93 (USA) (working title)
United 93 (USA)
Vol 93 (France)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

France | UK | USA

Language:

English | Arabic | German

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | USA:R (certificate #41676) | Germany:12 | Ireland:15A | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Italy:T | Singapore:M18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Hong Kong:IIA | Sweden:15 | Norway:15 | Argentina:13 | Philippines:R-13 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Australia:M | Iceland:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Denmark:15 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

There are no indications that the German passenger Christian Adams really acted the way he did in the movie. The story of the only European victim trying to stop the others from attacking the terrorists is fictitious and not based on any recordings or phone calls made in the plane.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The United Logo at the Gate is the new United Logo. It was not United's Logo in 2001.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in 2007 MTV Movie Awards (2007) (TV)

The last 15 minutes will leave you speechless

There are two reasons why people go to the movies. They either go to be amused, entertained or distracted from the pressures of the real world; it's called escapism. The other is to learn, experience, educate, inform and face what our world is all about. Films like Schindler's List, Black Hawk Down, Saving Private Ryan, All the President's Men, and this week another film joins that list; Paul Greengrass' visceral and heartbreaking United 93. Some say it's too soon for a film about 9/11 to come out, but I disagree. I think this film is a bold and important reminder of why we're still fighting to this very day, and it puts us up close and personal with our very enemy; face to face. I don't think I've had such a profound and sober movie going experience like this since I saw The Passion of the Christ, and when the film was over how did the audience react? Applause.

United 93 is shot entirely with hand-held cameras to perfectly capture the realism of the events that happened that day. The film was written and directed by British filmmaker Paul Greengrass, who's previous films include 2004's blockbuster hit The Bourne Supremacy and the critically acclaimed 2002 docu-drama Bloody Sunday, and every frame of his vision is unflinching, intense and heart pounding from it's quiet beginning to it's nerve-wracking and stomach turning finale. The film is never exploitive of the events of 9/11 and always remains respectful to the memories of those on board that fateful plane.

Everybody knows the story, and everybody knows how it's going to end, but that never stops the film from being suspenseful. The film is pretty much void of any character development, and the film never, not even for a second feels like a movie, it looks like a documentary. And I'm sure the way Greengrass has captured the shock, confusion, chaos and panic of that morning is how it must have gone down. The cameras cover the action from all perspectives; from the National Air Traffic Control Center, airport towers, regional air traffic stations, and a military command room where soldiers try to figure out if and when they have the authority to shoot down a necessary target in order to protect Washington. One of the amazing things about United 93 is its casting. The casting of the film includes a number of real life United pilots, stewardesses, air traffic controllers and military personnel, many of them actually playing themselves. The cast of passengers are a group of largely unknowns, which lends great respectability and reality. We are seeing these people for the first time, with no previous knowledge of them as actors and it only works in their favor.

The film opens quietly with several hijackers going through their morning rituals, reading aloud from the Koran; praying to God and kneeling on the floor of their hotel room and then packing their things to head to the Newark airport. And from there we are introduced to several different air traffic controller technicians and we watch as they discover that two planes have been hi-jacked and eventually discover that they've hit the World Trade Center. These scenes are heartbreaking and feel somewhat surreal. But it's not until United flight 93 takes off that the towers are hit and the plane is up in the air when the terrorist's plans are set into motion.

The final fifteen minutes of United 93 will leave you speechless and paralyzed, as a group of passengers plan to attack and over throw the terrorists and try to take back the cockpit. It's intense, violent and overwhelmingly inspiring. The film is a well done memorial, dedicated to those who were killed on September 11th, and I truly believe that the film was done with the utmost respect to those involved and with amazing passion and sensitivity to "get it right". Director Paul Greengrass does get it right, and I honestly believe that it would have been impossible for it to have been done any better than it is here. United 93 is absolutely amazing, and to see a better or more important film this year seems very unlikely, and I think this film should be required viewing for all Americans, but when they feel that they are ready for it, because this is as real as it gets. This film is responsible film-making of the highest level and the experience is both sobering and cathartic.