So what did you think?
I enjoyed it. It had a lot of behind-the-scenes stories I had not yet heard.
Well, it wasn’t what I expected. I mean, the filmmakers were “inside” but for reasons that should have been obvious to me before I watched, they weren’t anywhere but the lobby. It was thus less revealing than I thought. I didn’t get a sense of what it was like for the firefighters who were rescuing people one-on-one. It amazed me how cut off they were, how little they knew of the situation, such as not knowing the first tower had collapsed! It’s funny to think that sitting in my office 750 miles away I had more information than they did.
BUT… it was moving, and interesting, and I’m glad they showed it. Not that I needed reminding, but it did remind me that it was awful even if you weren’t there. I feel really tense and cramped because I was wound up so tight watching it. And I’m glad they didn’t edit the language.
I didn’t get to watch it. Was it done tastefully? Some of the survivors and family of the victims expressed concern about CBS exploiting the disaster.
It was done fairly well, IMHO. The story centered around the crew who took the video of the first plane hitting the tower; they were chronicling the life of a rookie in the FDNY and his station, and the story of the two filmmakers.
My impressions? The most unnerving thing was the sound of bodies hitting the lobby roof (jumpers from the top floors) and the cringe each fireman made as they hit. There was more profanity than an NFL game, mostly from the firefighters reactions- and none of it was bleeped. The filmmaker who was caught in the drop of the North tower outside hid behind a truck, and it was eerie to see the dust and papers bury him. They didn’t even know the south tower had collapsed, as someone noted.
No rhetoric, no finger-pointing, no mention of the terrorists, politics, or anyone’s decisions. It was a story of survival, and horror.
I had no desire to watch it, although I heard the filmmakers being interviewed on NPR a few days ago. They stated that they didn’t want to show the utter horror of burning bodies, etc…they focused primarily on the firefighters. The overall impression I got was that, despite the horror of what happened, it was tastefully done.
Personally I feel that it’s just too early to air it. Perhaps in a year’s time, but not now…it’s still too fresh in our collective memories.
I was crying like a baby all over again. I missed the first half-hour or so of it, but what I caught was very well done and I think tastefully so. I would have liked to have seen more of what the outside world looked like as they were driving to Ground Zero on the day after. I liked that they didn’t edit out the profanity, it made things more real. The thing really got me was the look on the fire chief’s face as they were standing in the command post inside Tower One and they heard the roar of the other tower collapsing. You could tell that they knew something had gone horribly wrong, but they didn’t know what it was. I hope that they put the film out on video soon.
I missed it, and I really wanted to see it. Damn work. 
I liked it. I had been a bit wary previously, but after watching it I was impressed by how tasteful and non-sensational it was. My overall impression is that the filmmakers created a very successful tribute to the firemen and rescue workers.
The first bit was the footage of the rookie fire guy prior to 9/11. I’m so glad they included the routine stuff in the firehouse. As they flashed the various dates on the screen – June, July, etc, I found myself dreading the countdown to 9/11.
One of the most emotional parts for me was the fireman who said that going in, they thought they were going to put out the fire. It summed up for me a big part of that day – just trying to deal with everything as it came, and that horrible realization that things were snowballing too fast.
Part of that was the tone of disbelief you could hear in the voices. Even the commanders were saying things like “A second plane hit the other tower” and you could tell by their voices, and the looks in the eyes of the people around them, that they were thinking “A second WHAT hit the WHAT? That’s just not really happening, is it?” but still doing their jobs.
Not like anyone needed any reminders, but it was good to see something that focused on the firemen and showed them as real people.
I was impressed with it.
I was REALLY impressed that CBS had the balls to keep the profanity in there. I think it really gave a better sense of the situation and what they were going through at the time.
It is important to remember that it wasn’t really a documentary of the attacks but was rather shot by a guy making a documentary following around a rookie firefighter.
Gave you a different perspective AND brought back feelings you haven’t felt in about six months. I think showing the footage was the right move.
I’m glad they showed it. While it is important for people to get back to their normal lives, it is also too easy sometimes to become detached.
Being a former New Yorker and having friends that are firefighters there, I had received an e-mail from one of them who said “No matter what you think you are seeing on TV, It is a thousand times worse”. This documentary helped me understand a little better what he meant by that.
It was good to see the background of how they got the footage of the first plane hitting (including all the HOLY SHIT! that was cut out). And the looks on the faces of the people watching that changed from totally puzzlement to utter terror when the second plane hit. That expressed it all.
But the shots of the World Trade Center taken the night of September 10th. That was so scarey.
I thought it was worth watching. I found the music to be overdone - too many wistful saxophone interludes - but I couldn’t find it within me to make a crack about the music to my wife while the program was on.
Other than that - pretty much what others said - the filming was more limited than I expected it to be, but what it had to share was powerful.
I cringed every time they noted the dates…June, then July, then September 10, then 8:30 in the morning…I wanted to scream, “No, stop, don’t keep going!” The bodies crashing into the ground…I had read an article in the paper that morning, so I knew what that sound was from the beginning. Then they explained it…and somehow that made it worse.
I’m glad they didn’t edit the language…it was appropriate, under the circumstances. Great courage on CBS’s part.
I wanted to tape it, but I understand CBS has the right to air it one more time, probably around Sept. 11. I plan to tape it and show it to my children when the get older.
I wanted to go out an hug a firefighter afterwards…
I watched it last night, missing the first half-hour.
I have to admit, although over the past 6 months I’ve read and watched most things about 9/11, I have not been able to get overly emotional, and have not cried. Until last night, that is. Steelerphan said it for me–the most unnerving thing was the sound of the bodies hitting the roof. That is when I cracked and cried for the first time since then.
I didn’t sleep well last night, because this stuck with me. Last night, it finally hit home.
I watched it.
The sound of the bodies hitting the ground was very disturbing.
The comments of one firefighter, about how bad it must have been up there that the better alternative was to jump made me cry. I was thinking the same thing six months ago when they showed some of the jumpers…how awful to have to make that choice; death by fire or by jumping?
I was pretty mixed on it. I don’t know that I needed to see a rookie fireman’s induction hijinks for the first thirty minutes when I tune in to view a show about the disaster. Edit please.
And like others have said, the sound of the bodies hitting was simply horrific. Never could I have imagined a sound like that. It’s just one more of the many terrible memories I’ll take to the grave from that miserable day.
Also, I expected to hear a little more from DeNiro. A bit at the start and even less at the end… was he simply a drawing card? Like they needed that.
I do agree it was pretty brave to show some of the things they did. I have a better sense now of the confusion that regined among rescue personnel that day.
Was anybody else bothered by the fact that they kept pointing out that it was “9/11 brought to you by Nextell”? I thought the program was done very professionally and respectfully except for that blatant corporate sponsorship. It rubbed me the wrong way. Nextell will never get any of my business.
Now see I was just about to give mad props to Nextell for paying for it to be shown with limited interruption (very limited!) and for the breaks to be amazingly tasteful. Network television is paid for by advertisers and corporations, if you don’t like that watch public TV. If you want to gripe, gripe about CBS requireing a sponsor for it rather than showing it out of the goodness of their hearts and taking a cut in their ad revenue.
I watched it, and I’m glad they aired it loosely edited. It needed to be showed just as it was. That was horrible and should never be watered down for any reason. I too was afraid it would be a big marketing ploy for CBS, but they showed it in good taste. Except for the “Brought to you by Nextel” which was out of place. I Learned a lot, and fully restored my anger at what transpired
Watched it, although I thought about stopping it midway through because I was a little more upset than I thought I’d be.
Have to agree that the sound of the bodies hitting was absolutely the worst–I never imagined it would be so loud. When the one cameraman went down and you could see the papers pressed against the lens, it was scary how long he stayed down. I mean, we know he survived because we had the tape, but still.
The thing that amazed me was the calmness of the people above the mezzanine level (the ones who had to exit a different way because they couldn’t go through the lobby). I don’t know about other people, but if I had been within sight of a door to outside, I would’ve jumped over that railing into the lobby and fled rather than wait in a long line to get out.