"9/11" -- CBS -- March 10 (1 Viewer)

[Carlos_E]

Also just finished watching it. Very moving. That bonding that firefighers showed in the documentary is special. Those kind of bonds one shares with family and loved ones makes life meaningful.

Thank God Tony (the probational firefighter) made it. I was chering when he walked back to the fire station towards nightfall on September 11 after it seemed he had died.

Overall, an incredible documentary.

Carlos

 

[Brian Ford]

I must admit I was very impressed by the presentation. While I figured it might just contain some footage the destruction from the ground level, in reality it was so much more. From the introduction of the nine-month project to the aftermath, you get a very good perspective of what happened before, during and after the tragedy.

It almost was like a staged countdown. We see these playful and fun firefighters and the ever more downhearted Tony for about three months time and then everything goes to !@#%. The rush to get to the site. The swarming of firefighters on the ground level. Tony taking calls and pacing around like a madman at the station. The brothers both in harms way and worrying about each other. For an event that had already taken place, one that I was sure I knew quite a great deal about, this special threw most of my thinking out the window. You had to make a command center, then think of how to evacuate the people for at least forty floors at the top, at least 70 floors up, while taking out the fire, without the aide of the 98 (now) non-functional elevators. The second plane hits, people are jumping out, you have to setup a second command center and then… The building crumbles.

One thing the documentary did well was illustrated how damaging the actual tower collapsing on itself really was. While we mostly just saw civilians running from clouds of heavy smoke and dust when this happened, here we see blackouts, exits being buried and cut off, the thickness of dust, and how badly it took a toll on the men we had just seen moments before who were perfectly fine.

This leads to the utter confusion and the waiting and hoping that your best friend/brother is still alive. You feel you have to escape, save yourself, and then you pause and think that you must save someone else at the same moment. This all leads up the dirty, gritty and ugly aftermath of the cleanup.

The “commercials” worked more like simple interludes, the intro/outro by Robert De Niro were satisfactory, most the foul language was actually kept in, and we now have faces to go along with those who were lost in the attack. I would say this was an all around important documentary.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I just watched this special, and as I type this, I can feel 9/11 all over again. Just as I was getting too comfortable with life again, I see this special and it instantly took my mind back 6 months.
Watching the footage of when the attack started, it was almost as if I had never seen it before, watching that fireman trying to pull up that cover in the street, and then listening as you could hear the first plane coming in as the camera panned up. At that moment, you could almost FEEL what it was like to see first hand as the plane vanished inside and you could hear a bystander yell "Oh shit!"
This is the most intense piece of videotape i've ever sat through, and thinking about it, Christ, how could this have happened to us!?
I am so glad that everyone from Ladder 1 company made it back alive, but was also sad at the thought of the work they had ahead of them. It's funny, in a lot of ways, the sheer magnatude of 9/11 had never really hit me as close as it did tonight, six months later. Seeing what it was like inside, reliving it from the inside and the outside really got to me.
I taped this as well, and it's definatly a keeper.

 

[Stephen_L]

I also just finished watching the 9/11 special and I was deeply moved by the events of that day and the fire company the film makers followed. Watching these brave men facing an almost imcomprehensible disaster with cool courage and professionalism was an inspiring sight. For me a most moving portion was when the film-making brothers found each other after the catastrophe and embraced. One of the firefighters told them "Yesterday you had one brother; now you have fifty"

One word of warning. There are many harrowing moments in the documentary. They are not cheap or sensational, but the events themselves are very terrible. The sound of bodies striking the glass awning of the tower, and the look of realization on the firefighters faces as the Tower they are in is starting to collapse is something I will not soon forget.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Whoa, just finished most of the documentary to this terrible chapter in our history. Some of the footage is just incredibly brave and sad. I got chills all over again as I watched the madness and chaos caused by this heinous terrorist attack, and the courageous efforts of the NYFD to try and save as many people as they could. It was simply amazing to have this account of history caught on tape, and be able to relive the horror of uncertainty and despair, and finally relief for those who made it through this ordeal.

My hats off to the NYPD and the NYFD for their heroism and their courage under such unbelievable circumstances. I don't think I'll be watching this tape once I'm done with it. It's really too disturbing to watch over and over again.

No matter what anyone else says, life is precious, treat it that way.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Well I certainly hope they do go forward with a DVD release of this documentary, probably one of if not THE most important documentaries in American history. The presentation was touching and respectful.

I think it's important for the rest of us outside NYC to share with New Yorkers as much as possible. It's not a morbid curiousity but rather a desperate need to share and bear some of the emotional burden. Usually when someone goes through something this tramatic half the difficulty afterward is CONNECTING with anyone because they truly can't know.

So I think these sorts of things are our attempts to make that connection and share those emotions so NYers aren't forced to carry them by themselves.

Personally I want that day to remain vivid in my mind the rest of my life so that I never take anything for granted again, including the freedom and safety of myself, my community, and my country.

One note about the docu - it's also wonderful to see the international flavor in the city during the attack. It so exemplifies the true diversity of NYC and shows that the attackers weren't just attacking America, but all the free peoples of the world. In that way you can feel the bond with those other countries and know that the US isn't in this by themselves in the least.

I got the same vibe at the US Grand Prix last year in late Sept. So many foreign visitors sharing our country with us and it just felt good to live in a place that is so inviting to so many other cultures.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

At what time are they going to turn on the twin shafts of light tonight?

 

[Tino]

9/11 was a repectful, terrifying, heartwrenching account of that horrible day. Here in the NYC area, the wounds from that day are still very fresh. I watched the incredible documentary last night, and had nightmares as a result.
As I said to Seth, as bad as the rest of the country feels, it is so much worse here. You can still feel it in the air. I regularly work in lower Manhattan and was actually near the WTC on 9/10, 24 hrs. before the real nightmare began. I saw those towers that day for the last time, and as always, admired their beauty. To think now that a day later, so many people murdered, those towers destroyed, still almost bring me to tears.
Watching the documentary, I was reliving that day again and it was tough. The bravery shown by these firefighters and police and emergency workers should serve as an example to how the human spirit excels when seemingly, and literally, the world is falling apart all around you.
Bravo to the young French filmakers who made this documentary. It is respectful in every way and does not exploit at all.
I will NEVER forget 9/11. I truly hope the world doesn't either.

 

[Mike I]

I also agree that the CBS 9/11 documentary was shown with the utmost respect for the victims of this insane act of murder....That being said, watching the whole thing again and see the towers collapse was just as horific and shocking as when I saw it on TV on Sept 11th..I can certainly understand why people ,especially those so much closer to this tragady did not want to view the program

 

[Dennis Reno]

The lasting impression the broadcast left with me is the sounds. I couldn't get them out of my head last night nor this morning. The screams of the women when they first enter the building. The sounds of bodies hitting outside. The roar of the tower(s) collapsing. And then the utter silence that follows. Very haunting.

I thought it was incredible that when the commander(?) called in (right after the first plane hits and you are riding inside of the fire truck heading towards the WTC) he made a comment regarding the fact that the plane appeared to steer right into the building. When something traumatic happens usually people get facts mixed up. His (and the rest of the firefighters) calm and collected handling of the events that transpired is truly amazing. My hat is off to the men and women who quietly go about their business as police officers, fire fighters, EMS techs, etc. It really gave me a new found respect for those professions.

 

[Andres Munoz]

Just as I imagined, this was one of the hardest things I've had to do in recent memory: to re-live all those horrifying moments.

I never realized until now just how much in shock I was during that first week. I remember watching the news all day long, every day during that week and it was like I was watching a movie. I was like in a dream state.

But last night, for the first time since 9/11 happened, I cried like I haven't cried in a while. I think I just let everything out of my system for the first time in 6 months.

That documentary just put me right there once again. The sounds of debris and bodies falling and landing, the heat, the smoke and most terrifying of all, the deep rumbling of the towers coming down and the cloud overtaking everything in its path. Everything came back and it was just too much and I had to let it out.

I was glad that everyone from that firehouse made it. At least that was some good news in the middle of so many bad ones.

 

[Brian Sanger]

Last night's 9/11 special was more than a fantastic, tasteful documentary to me - it was therapeutic, as I'm sure it was to many others. I will not pretend to know what it's been like to have lost a loved one in that terrible attack, because I did not. But that doesn't mean it hasn't effected me in ways I never imagined. Ever since the attacks I've had this nasty edge to me. Lack of patience, uncharacteristic outbursts of anger. Friends and family have expressed concern to me about it and I've told them they're crazy. I never really put two and two together until last night when I sobbed for nearly two hours watching 9/11. From what I recall, it was the first time I'd ever cried about the attacks. I'd been shocked, stunned and angered about it, but hadn't shed a tear. I watched that special last night with a knot in my throat and my heart racing from beginning to end. Just thinking about the loss of life. The images of the fireman in the WTC and thinking about how any family members watching the special were only now seeing the final moments of their husband/father's life. And it was amazing to me how much I had forgotten - or blocked out - about that day already.
Edited out politcal comment, lest it sidetrack this thread and lead to its closure. I hope you all understand what is acceptable to be discussed in this thread. -- The admins.

9/11 can never be forgotten and we as a nation must do whatever is necessary to prevent a repeat attack. I don't know if that's possible, but I pray to God it is.

 

[Micheal]

I thought that the 9/11 special was done in very good taste. It was hard to watch but it is something that we should never be forget.
The rest of the post has been deleted since previous comment has been deleted. -- The admins

EDIT: I understand completely. Thanks.

 

[Larry Price]

John -

The "Tribute in Light" ceremony will take place at 6Pm tonite, and will be lit every nite until 11PM, through April 13th.

Although the documentary was well worth watching, I had trouble falling asleep last nite, which hasnt been a problem in several months.

 

[MickeS]

Most of you have already expressed very good how I felt about this documentary, so I'll comment on something less emotional and less important .
Is this the first network program to contain this many instances of the word "fuck", and even "motherfucker"? I felt it was totally appropriate not to bleep these words out, but I was surprised that they kept it in.
/Mike

 

[Micheal]

The "Tribute in Light" ceremony will take place at 6Pm tonite, and will be lit every nite until 11PM, through April 13th.

Does anyone know if they will air the opening ceremony on TV?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Dana Fillhart]

I watched the special last night, it was very moving, and horrifying, knowing those loud "blasts" nearby were not pieces of concrete or steel hitting the ground.

As to the tower-of-lights display tonight...

Every radio station kept saying the ceremony will be held "at dusk." Nobody was giving a specific time -- are you sure that it's 6pm? I brought my Sony Mavica to work today, so that after work I can take it down to the Jersey side of the Hudson River and capture the turning-on of the lights. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping to get a good spot by the river to do this. Later in the week I'll be going into the city to view the sphere that was set up this morning as a temporary memorial in Battery Park; I listened to it on the radio this morning with a lot of emotion.

 

[David Von Pein]

Post contents not appropriate for this thread, thus deleted. -- The admins

 

[Larry Price]

From Todays NYTimes:

March 11, 2002

EVENTS

Dedications and Moments of Silence

The following are among the events scheduled this week in New York City to observe the passing of six months since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack:

Monday

8:30 a.m. Dedication of "The Sphere" at Battery Park, Eisenhower Mall, near Bowling Green. The event is open to the public, space permitting. At 8:46 a.m., Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will begin the first of two moments of silence, for the times when the two towers were hit by planes, followed by the placement in a temporary memorial on Eisenhower Mall, of "The Sphere," the 15-foot, 45,000-pound steel and bronze sculpture that had stood in the plaza of the World Trade Center and was damaged in the attack. The ceremony will also include the ringing, at 9:04 a.m., of the New York City Fire Department bell to honor the dead.

8:30 a.m. New York City police officers will gather outside each of the precinct station houses around the city as the names of the 23 New York City Police Department officers killed in the attack are read aloud.

6 p.m. The "Tribute in Light," ceremony, at the southwest corner of Warren and West Streets, is open to the public, space permitting. The opera singer Jessye Norman will sing "America the Beautiful," and Valerie Webb, 12, whose father Nathaniel Webb, a Port Authority police officer, died on Sept. 11, will turn on the first switch to light the 88 bulbs installed at two locations near ground zero, which will fully illuminate after 20 seconds, creating two tall beams of light.

Tuesday

10 a.m. "Missing: Streetscape of a City in Mourning," a special exhibition of shrines and memorials to victims of the World Trade Center attack opens at the New-York Historical Society, 2 West 77th Street.

6:45 p.m. Service of remembrance and healing, at The Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive at 120th Street in Manhattan.

Thursday

5:45 p.m. Evening of prayer and healing at ground zero, St. Peter's Church, 16 Barclay Street.

 

[Brian Perry]

I thought it was very well done. It was really amazing that someone happened to film it.

It left me with a few questions. For example, how did all of the men from the featured firehouse make it out alive? Was it because they were all in the north tower? They were the first firemen at the scene, and I thought they would be the ones who had climbed the highest.

Another thing I wonder about is what would have happened if the towers had somehow stood a while longer. While more people would have escaped, think of the logistical nightmare -- a huge area of Manhattan would have to be off-limits while engineers and officials discussed whether to demolish the towers or attempt to repair them. I know it's a hypothetical question, but how long do you think it would have taken to make those decisions and carry them out?