United 93 (film)

United 93
Directed by	Paul Greengrass
Written by	Paul Greengrass
Produced by	Zakaria Alaoui, Mairi Bett, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lloyd Levin
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	2006-04-28
Language	English

United 93 is a critically acclaimed 2006 docudrama written and directed by Paul Greengrass that attempts to chronicle events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11, 2001 attacks. The film aims to recount with as much veracity as possible (there is a disclaimer that some imagination had to be used), in real time, what has come to be known in the United States as an iconic moment of heroism. The film was made with the full cooperation of all the families of those onboard.

The world premiere of United 93 took place on April 26 at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, a festival founded to celebrate New York City as a major filmmaking center and to contribute towards the long-term recovery of lower Manhattan. Several family members of the passengers aboard the flight attended the premiere to show their support.

The film opened nationwide in the United States on April 28, 2006. 10% of the grosses from the three day opening weekend were promised towards a donation to create a memorial for the victims of Flight 93.

Production notes

The film is the first Hollywood feature to draw its narrative directly from the September 11 attacks. The dialogue, most of which was improvised during rehearsals Greengrass held with the cast, was based on face-to-face interviews between actors and families of those they portray. Action was filmed with handheld cameras, chosen for their versatility on the close-quarters set and to create a sense of realism. The film is cast with several non-actors (actual flight attendants and pilots play roles). Some participants in the real-life events play themselves, including FAA operations manager Ben Sliney.

Filming took place on a reclaimed Boeing 757 at Pinewood Studios near London, England. This was partly due to financial incentives but it also meant that the actors were kept away from any intense public scrutiny that they may have received in the US.

The title was changed from Flight 93 to United 93 in March of 2006, to differentiate it from the A&E film Flight 93. Shortly thereafter, the film was given an 'R' rating by the Motion Picture Association of America for "language, and some intense sequences of terror and violence." . Although Universal Pictures appealed this rating, the appeal was rejected.

The film was released in US cinemas on April 28th, 2006. It opened second in the weekend box office behind RV, but netted a slightly higher per-screen average. It registered a 91% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes, earning it a "Certified Fresh" title.

Almost none of the passengers in the film are referred to by their names. Their identities remain anonymous, emphasizing the group effort over any individual heroics (and also portraying the fact that strangers on an airplane would not know one another's names). The final shot in the film shows only the hands of the passengers struggling with the hijackers for control of the plane. Initial screenings ended with a closing credits line, "America’s war on terror ha[d] begun". This was replaced in the release version with, "Dedicated to the memory of all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001".

Historical background

Main article: United Airlines Flight 93

United Airlines Flight 93 was a Boeing 757-222 flight that regularly flew from Newark International Airport (now known as Newark Liberty International Airport) in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport continuing on to Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan, on a different aircraft. On September 11, 2001, the aircraft on the flight was one of the four planes hijacked as part of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was the only one of the four planes that did not reach its intended target, instead crashing near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, about 150 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.. This was apparently because crew and passengers, alerted through phone calls, attempted to subdue the hijackers. The hijackers are thought to have crashed the plane to keep the crew and passengers from gaining control. It is believed that pilot LeRoy Homer, flight attendants CeeCee Lyles and Sandra Bradshaw and passengers Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett, Andrew Garcia, Jeremy Glick, and Richard Guadagno, among others, fought back against the hijackers.

Controversy

After the trailers for the film began circulating in cinemas, there were calls for Universal Pictures to pull them, due to the upset and surprise caused to some audience members. One theater in Manhattan unilaterally pulled the trailer after audience complaints.

The Iraqi-born, London-based actor Lewis Alsamari, who plays the lead hijacker in the film, was denied a visa by US immigration authorities when he applied to visit New York City to attend the premiere, despite having already been granted asylum in the United Kingdom since the 1990s. The reason given was that he had once been a conscripted member of the Iraqi army - although this was also the grounds for his refugee status after his desertion in 1993.

The official internet forum for the film was shut down as of May 3, 2006, previously available on Universal's website. No word has yet come from Universal as to why the board was removed from their server.

George W. Bush said in a television interview with CNBC that the events depicted in the film constituted "the first counter-attack to World War III." The president made the comments admitting he had not yet seen the movie. This interpretation of the film and the events it portrays is certain to be controversial.

Factual inaccuracies

The 9/11 Comission's map of Fligh 93's flighpath.

In the movie, a short time after takeoff, the pilots make a left turn and note that the passengers on the left side of the plane will be able to see the New York skyline. The passengers look out the left windows, and see the New York skyline, along with a perfect view of the not-yet-destructed World Trade Center. However, according to the official 9/11 Comission, the plane never did take a turn to the left, circling around downtown Manhattan. The plane made an immediate left turn after takeoff, but this would not have allowed the passengers to see New York - they would have seen New Jersey. If any of the passengers would have been able to see New York, it would have been the passengers of the right side of the aircraft. Template:Endspoiler

See also

• September 11, 2001 attacks in arts and literature
• The Flight that Fought Back
• World Trade Center (film)
• Stairwell: Trapped In The World Trade Center

External links

• United 93 - Official Movie Website
• United 93 at IMDb
• United 93 at Rotten Tomatoes
• "Brokeback 93" (Boston Indymedia, May 2006) - Political left opinion article
• "United 93: Too Soon, or Too Shite?" (The eXile, May 2006)
• United 93 - The Movie (Unofficial site)
• September 11 Films at the Tribeca Film Festival - About.com
• United 93 - The Movie online ad (online advertising archive)