I thought the documentary by the 2 French brothers was very good and a real tear jerker, to be sure. I thought it was sensitively done and am glad to have been given the opportunity to see inside the towers as they were under attack.

In a letter to the editor of the NYTimes in today's paper, someone complained about Jules Naudet's decision to avoid filming the death and suffering of the people he saw at the WTC. This person said "As soon as he made the courageous decision to film all that he could, rather than flee the scene, the decision to allow the personal horrors of that morning to disappear with the passing of our generation was not his to make."

Did anyone else see the special? I totally disagree with this writer to the NYTimes. I think it was a very humane and ethical decision not to film people on fire, etc.

Anyway, it is a nice film and it is a miracle that none of the fire fighters from company 1 were lost that day.

Yes. I watched that tribute, and it did make me cry a little. It was such an emotional program. You really begin to understand exactly what these figher fighters were going through during 9/11 and in the days to follow. It was a very touching program.

I agree with you wholeheartedly, Bernard. There's a huge difference between documenting history, and voyeuristically indulging in other people's agony. I understood the reality of the suffering of the occupants of the buildings just as well with the humane self-restraint and respect for human dignity exhibited by the cameraman.

I enjoyed the special, but not as much as I was expecting. I think they should not have exerted as much effort to remove the unprecedented horror. I don't want to see burning bodies, or body parts, but this was a little too sterile, considering the magnitude of the attacks. I think that anything that was being shown on, say, Sept. 12th, should have been fair game here. I think it's what we (our country and the world) need at this point.

The media stopped showing footage of even the planes hitting the buildings on September 14th or 15th. That was probably good for me, and everyone, for a few months. A sense of normalcy in many areas (including the economy) has been allowed to take hold. But now is probably a good time (six months later) to get the reality back out there, on the airwaves. We should once again see those planes hit the towers, and see people jumping from those upper floors (not hitting the ground). And see those menacing flames protruding from those ugly, gaping, unnatural "holes" in the towers. I think the media has an obligation to start showing those horrific "facts" once again. If not now, then very very soon.

That perspective from the lobby of Tower 1 was incredible, and very revealing. You could see a lot by just examining the faces of all those poor guys. And the sound of the neighboring tower falling is something I will never forget. And the awful silence afterwards, and darkness. Unbelievable.

Rick, if you mean perhaps something like "long shots", they might have added another dimension of horror, but I certainly wouldn't want to see very much of it and from my perspective it wasn't necessary. In fact, during the special I was afraid we would see actual falling bodies and I was always braced and ready to look away because I know it would have made me sick to my stomach. I'm glad they didn't show this. And certainly, I wouldn't want to see any close-ups. (I have a hard time imagining myself as a camera man and focusing on a burning body, I just couldn't. Something in me would say "this isn't right--get a quick glimpse if necessary, but either help out or film something else." But of course, I'm neither a journalist (nor were the Frenchmen) or cameraman.)

I am relieved not to see the accidents replayed in the media. I saw them a whole lot the first week of the catastrophe, I know what the crashes looked like and don't need or want to see them again--at least not for a long while (a year at least).

Bernard wrote:



Bernard,
I don't want to seem nit-picky. But this is very important to me. 9-11 was not an "accident" nor were the incidents plane "crashes." The were terrorist attacks perpetrated by evil people who wielded control of commercial jets carrying civilians to target more civilians. There was nothing accidental about it.

penny

Yeah I was touched, anyway you can see the movie in these forums, some guy has it in his sig.
www.s4.invisionfree.wewontforget.com

Documentary mentioning Fahrenheit 9/11

Loose Change Video about 9/11