United 93 (film)

United 93 is a critically acclaimed 2006 docudrama written and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11, 2001 attacks. The film attempts 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. According to the filmmakers, the film was made with the full cooperation of all the families of the passengers. Four Years On, a Cabin's-Eye View of 9/11 January 1, 2006 New York Times article

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. September 11 plane drama to open NY film festival March 29, 2006 Reuters article Several family members of the passengers aboard the flight attended the premiere to show their support.

The film opened nationwide in North America on April 28. 10% of the gross from the three day opening weekend were promised towards a donation to create a memorial for the victims of Flight 93. A Dark Day Revisited April 10, Newsweek

Production notes

The film is the first Hollywood feature to draw its narrative directly from the September 11 attacks. Passengers were portrayed in the film by mostly professional, if unknown, actors (Tom Burnett, for instance, is played by Christian Clemenson, who has appeared on Veronica Mars). Roles of flight attendants, pilots, and other aircraft personnel were filled by actual airline employees. Some participants in the real-life events play themselves, notably FAA operations manager Ben Sliney. In an interview for UK magazine Attitude, casting consultant Lee Dennison revealed that stand-ins for the hijackers were used until two weeks into filming and the actors playing them were kept separate from everyone else in order to cultivate more on-screen tension.

The dialogue, which was mostly improvised during rehearsals Greengrass held with the cast, was based on face-to-face interviews between actors and families of those they portray. 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). Much of the dialogue uses technical authenticity rather than theatrical embellishments, such as talk about if a plane has "Squawked 7500"

Filming took place on a 20 year old reclaimed Boeing 757, formerly operated by MyTravel Airways, at Pinewood Studios near London, England. The location was chosen both for its financial incentives and to shield actors from unwanted public scrutiny they might have received in the US. The Day They Hijacked America April 28 2006 The Guardian Action was filmed with handheld cameras, chosen for their versatility on the close-quarter sets and to create a sense of immediacy.

The title was changed from Flight 93 to United 93 in March 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." MPAA Film Ratings . Universal Pictures appealed this rating, but it 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 (94% "Cream Of The Crop") on Rotten Tomatoes, earning it a "Certified Fresh" title. Critics Peter Travers of Rolling Stone and critic Michael Medved both gave it their rarely awarded '4-star' ratings. It received 'Two Big Thumbs Up' on Ebert & Roeper.

Initial screenings ended with a closing credits line, "America’s war on terror had begun". This was replaced in the release version with, "Dedicated to the memory of all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001", A Flight to Remember April 18, 2006 The Village Voice as the initial ending was viewed by many as insensitive to the passengers.

Historical background

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..

Plot

Much of the film is about the tracking of all four hijacked flights by air traffic control. It also shows involvement of the United States Air Force, which sends F-16s to the area without permission from air traffic control. It has difficulty obtaining permission to shoot down aircraft. Before armed F-16s can arrive there are two unarmed F-16s in the area. It is argued they could attack by flying into the target, with the pilot escaping with his ejector seat.

In addition the film shows the events on Flight 93, from before boarding to just before impact on the ground. The film depicts the hijackers' devotion to Islam. It shows hesitation and some disagreement among the hijackers on the best moment to start their action. They take control of the plane using knives and threatening with a bomb. In the cockpit they put a photo of the United States Capitol, their target, on the dashboard.

The hijackers do not prevent the people from making phone calls. Hearing about the crashes into the WTC, the passengers and crew understand that if they do nothing their plane will also be crashed into some building, killing them and people on the ground. Thus they decide to fight the hijackers. One of the passengers can fly a plane (though he has not flown this type), and they hope he will be able to fly it after they have overpowered the hijackers. They wonder if the bomb is real or fake, but start by overpowering the man with the bomb, which turns out to be fake (clay has been used instead of explosives; the audience is aware of this already, having seen the hijacker assemble it in the plane's lavatory). The cockpit is forcefully entered by ramming a trolley into it. During the struggle the plane crashes, in a field, not on the hijackers' target. The film ends just before impact.

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. Universal Will Not Pull 'United 93' Trailer, Despite Criticism April 4, 2006, New York Times One theater in Manhattan unilaterally pulled the trailer after audience complaints.

The Iraqi-born, London-based actor Lewis Alsamari, who plays a 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. 9/11 film actor refused visa for US premiere April 21, 2006 The Times

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. Former Site of United 93 Universal Pictures Message Board''

Many Muslims and Muslim American organizations like CAIR worry that United 93 may stir-up more anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. In Scottsdale, Arizona on April 29, 2006 three young Muslim women wearing head-covers were verbally attacked by a middle-aged couple who indicated to them that they had watched the movie. After asking the young women if they were Muslim, the couple told them "Take off your fucking burqas and get the fuck out of this country. We don't want you in this country. Go home."Some Muslim communities concerned 'United 93' creates anti-Islam sentiment May 10, 2006 The California Aggie

The film has also been criticized for its portrayal of German passenger Christian Adams. Of all passengers on the plane, only Adams is portrayed as counseling appeasement. Sunday Times critic Cosmo Landesman mused, "Surely one of the passengers didn't phone home to point out that there was a cowardly German on board who wanted to give in?""A terrifying flight back in time" June 04, 2006 The Times Critic John Harris suggested in a Guardian blog, "there will surely be all kinds of cries about old European surrender monkeys, the US's contrasting backbone etc."Skating on thin air May 25, 2006 http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk, accessed June 11, 2006 The Guardian reports that Silke Adams, the Adams's widow, is "believed to have refused to cooperate on the film, saying that the memory of her husband's death was still too raw" and states that "so far there is no evidence to suggest that Christian Adams did not support the other passengers, or refused to storm the cockpit." United 93 'surrender monkey' defends role in film The Guardian (June 7, 2006)

Factual inaccuracies

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-damaged World Trade Center. However, according to the official 9/11 Commission, the plane did not 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. Assuming the 9/11 Commission's representation of the flightpath is correct, New York City would have been north of the plane all the time while it would have been visible to the passengers - on the right side of the plane, which was travelling west. If any of the passengers had been able to see New York, it would have been the passengers of the right side of the aircraft.

The final shot in the film shows only the hands of the passengers struggling with the hijackers for control of the plane. This is a departure from the 9/11 Commission's account of events. The Commission concluded that there was no evidence that the passengers managed to enter the cockpit and that the flight recorder data showed that the hijackers remained at the controls before the plane rolled onto its back, but they must have judged that the passengers were only seconds from breaching the cockpit and overcoming them.http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch1.htm

Like the 9/11 Commission Report, the end credits state that the plane crashed at 10:03. However, Cleveland Air Traffic Control reported that Flight 93 went out of radar contact at 10:06 and FAA radar records note a time of 10:06. Seismologists recorded an impact at 10:06:05, give or take a few seconds.

References

External links

United 93 - Official Movie Website
United 93 - The Movie (Unofficial site)
Hijacking the Hijacking, the problem with the United 93 films By Ron Rosenbaum, on Slate.com
Investigating ‘United 93’: Researching and Honoring a Catastrophe: Part I by Uri Lessing
Investigating ‘United 93’: Researching and Honoring a Catastrophe: Part II by Uri Lessing

2006 films Drama films September 11, 2001 attacks Films based on actual events Films set on an airplane | American films | English-language films

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