yogijb
102 minutes of my life that I'd like back.When this aired on a french-language tv station (translated as "102 Minutes That Changed The World"), I quickly looked up an original version to stream and came across the 15th anniversary edition of this documentary.The footage is simply not interesting. We still see the burning twin towers and people running all over the place, but not even footage of the actual planes that hit the towers. Also, they sometimes cut to a clock, trying to put the footage in a chronologic order, but the clock gets shown with even 1/100 of seconds, as if they ever could line up the footage that precise (most of it overlaps, so, more than anything, it chops up the full length in chapters).Even more so: for the 15th anniversary edition, it cuts out to do some interviews with people that were indirectly impacted (either lived nearby or that have lost a family member) while they are looking back with the interviewer. Hardly interesting and cuts what little energy the documentary had to begin with.It's footage from 9/11, so it's hard to remain unaffected looking at this for nearly 2 hours. But...
If you're looking for more impressive footage: find a different documentary. If you're looking for something more educative: find a different documentary.
If you're looking for something concise: find a different documentary.This is the least interesting 9/11 documentary out there.
flavia_cj
For me this is the best documentary about 9/11 until today. Other documentaries make analysis more cold and rational about the attacks, and has its great importance, of course, but this one is 100% immersive because it shows the point of view of those who felt the terror in the skin, without the need for any narrator in the background explaining the events. This is the strength of this documentary: the images and the reaction of the people speak for themselves. It gives the sensation of fear, confusion and perplexity that the people were feeling. Even if you're not a North American, even if you live in another country far this tragedy, when you watch this documentary, you have the full feeling that was there that day. A very impressive and impactful documentary.
Antonio Cassone
I am literally in awe of this film. The dynamics are so extreme, the images not only heartbreaking and historic, but the definition of a tragic day that defines a generation. While difficult to take it all in, you can not take away from the heroes, the struggle people went through and the sheer collective overwhelming sense of panic and loss. It is as though you are there, but witnessing it from afar. I can see why this won all four of it's Emmy Awards, especially for the editing and sound editing and mixing - all of which are nothing less than top notch. One of the best made films of the year. This film captures the humanity as well as the force and power of science. When it tells you to move, you move. The pace of this is a phenomenal display of the events it shows. Bravo!
markgorman
Channel 4 has absolutely surpassed itself in screening this moving and extremely challenging documentary. For two hours, image after image took one's breath away as we saw real (but mostly very high quality) video footage of the twin towers collapse from 8.45 am until 10 29 am. Played sequentially with views from all angles including actually inside the towers it was heart stopping television.I think one thing that made it so powerful was its lack of commentary and opinion. It was not a political film, simply an unfolding of an event in something like real time. Some might say it was the extremest form of voyeuristic television but I thought it was a work of true skill and, indeed, art. I should make special mention of the constant but very subtle musical underscore, by Brendon Anderegg, which was quite beautiful. Someone call the BAFTAs. (And the Academy, and the Emmys.) Truly magnificent TV.
AD
