Movie scene, shot, or sequence featuring the WTC that you'll remember most. (1 Viewer)

[Steve Christou]

It has to be King Kong (1976) for me too, since the climax of the movie has Kong climbing the WTC and than leaping from one building to the other, a memorable showcase for the WTC, I'm one of the few fans of this movie, a guilty pleasure, although I can't see myself watching it now after what happened.

 

[David Lambert]

Well, I've never been a big fan of the 1976 version of King Kong; it just (for me) doesn't hold a candle to the original.
But my wife is 11 years younger than I, and has never had the benefit of seeing the original. She saw and loved the remake, and has been asking for me to get the DVD for about a year. As there were other things she wanted more, I convinced her to hold off until we ran into it cheaper than the $24.99 Paramount-standard price tag.
Yesterday I was in Best Buy to pick up a kid's DVD as a gift for the birthday of my best friend's little girl today. While there, I thought about this thread and realized that I ought to pick up King Kong for Stephanie, before some fool takes it out of print or something.
Well, the two copies that BB had sitting on their shelf forever were both gone.
Went to CC; none. Hit 3 stores at the mall; nope. Came home and checked Amazon, DVDEmpire, DVDPlanet, etc. Noone had it listed as in-stock.
Called around to stores all over town. Finally, at 7:30, found a MUSIC store near downtown that had 3 copies in stock for $19.95 each. They were open till midnight, and offered to hold it for me.
I got there and picked it up at almost 9PM. But, my wife loves that I went out of the way to get it for her before it became hard to find. It seems like this title will disappear overnight...probably turning up on eBay pretty quick.
In fact, out of curiosity I just went and checked eBay. No current auctions for it. I checked completed auctions:

• 1 completed 9/07 for $15.17
• 1 completed 9/09 for $17.50
• 1 completed 9/11 (started 9/4) for $20.50
• 1 started 15:14 PDT 9/11 and completed with "Buy It Now" within 4½ hours for $15.00

Is the last one someone trying to profit from the tragedy? I don't think so; the seller has LOTS of DVD (and other) auctions going on simultaneously, and looks like a dealer of some sort. I'd guess it's a coincidence, especially with the low "Buy It Now" price.
My guess is that this will change quickly.
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DAVE/Memphis

Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/...ocs/000565.htm

 

[David Lambert]

Oh, and back on-topic:
The Muppets Take Manhattan...it's even the highlight of the "Scene Selections" on the DVD!

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DAVE/Memphis

Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/...ocs/000565.htm

 

[Keith_R]

I think that scene in "Die Hard" with the helicopter getting blown up right by the building, Also still in "Die Hard" the scene where John jumps off of the roof and the roof blows up behind him. I know these two scenes are not at the WTC but they resemble the WTC a lot. I'm not sure about it but I also think "Die Hard 3" has a shot with the WTC in the background. I'm pretty sure it's safe to say the "Die Hard" movies will always sort of bother me from now on just because of the subject matter and at least one was shot in New York. I'll still watch them though so the Terrorists that did this don't get me down.
-Keith-

 

[David Lambert]

I looked at Die Hard III's opening sequences, and found a brief shot of the WTC in it...at least the North Tower (with the antenna).
Also the WTC is briefly visible in the scenes at the end of X-Men, where Wolverine and Sabretooth are fighting atop the Statue of Liberty. Also, the WTC is represented earlier (DVD Chapter 19) when they are using the circular 3-D map to demonstrate to the X-Men what Magneto's plan is for the gathering of world leaders.
Yikes; more films about terrorists. Sigh. At least in the movies, the good guys always win.
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DAVE/Memphis

Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/...ocs/000565.htm

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

The WTC is shown very prominatly in Die Hard with a Vengeance for a brief moment anyway, after McClain and Zeus split up from the cab they were driving, theirs a shot where Sam Jackson is driving the cab and for some reason I could never figure out, he's looking up through the windshield at the towers right before the obnoxtious yuppie gets in.
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"How can I heal, when I can't feel time?"
Leonard from Memento

 

[Peter McM]

At least in the movies, the good guys always win.

Don't worry, David, we'll win in real life, too--I'm certain of it.
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"For Montagar, forever!"

 

[David Lambert]

Peter, my wife read what I had posted and said the exact same thing. Don't worry about me...I'm just a tad depressed as you can imagine. More, I'm pissed as hell, so there's no contest as to which emotion will win out.
Back to the "scavenger hunt" for scenes with the WTC, here are a couple:
* Moonstruck's got it on the DVD's cover art; bottom left.
* Armageddon has a shot 5 min's 38 sec's into the DVD (Criterion, anyway)
* Meteor looks like it has the WTC on the front being smashed by a, um, meteor. I don't have this disc yet, and the cover art is a bit ambiguous...can anyone confirm?
I guess I'd like to compile a list of films that have shots of the WTC. To serve as a record that the place existed; it was up for less than 30 years.
If some foolish people decide to use it as a list of films to avoid, because of unpleasent memories, then that's their choice. Mine is to look on the Twin Sisters and rejoice on their simple architechure and my own childhood memories of waiting in the car out front for my dad to get off work and come out of one of those buildings...he worked in each one at different times, starting from when the first one opened in 1973, I think it was.
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DAVE/Memphis

Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/...ocs/000565.htm

 

[Mark Ward]

Armageddon.... After the first bout of asteroid strikes show an injured, smoldering but still standing WTC. Just make you feel uncomfortable that you actually enjoyed watching a movie that includes so much destruction.
Mark.
[Edited last by Mark Ward on September 16, 2001 at 06:28 AM]

 

[TonyD]

meteor
from dvdempire.com
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"who needs padding when you can have quality over quantity? more isn't always better." just my 2 cents on post count padders.-----
[Edited last by TonyD on September 16, 2001 at 08:46 AM]
[Edited last by TonyD on September 16, 2001 at 08:48 AM]

 

[Michael Reuben]

Memo to John Williamson:
quote: I mean are we going to avoid anything and everything that even features the 'WTC' in them for even a fleeting shot!?! My point of veiw is this, when a loved one dies, you don't stop looking at photographs of them and throw them away, or erase them from them do you?[/quote] No, obviously not. But, with all respect, I think you're asking the wrong question.
If somone has suffered the loss of a loved one through a sudden, violent and gruesome death, would you walk up to them and thrust a picture of the deceased in front of their face?
I doubt it.
That's the perspective from which filmmakers and TV producers are reevaluating their work, past and present. Many people in this thread have indicated their instinctive understanding of the problem by noting that they'll have trouble watching certain films again, at least for a while.
The WTC was an integral part of my personal landscape for decades. I didn't work there, but I dined there, visited people in offices there, oriented myself in my daily landscape according to the position of the twin towers, shopped in the concourse, changed trains in the station below, and sat in the plaza on beautiful fall and spring days to admire the scene. The place was an integral part of my life that has been abruptly ripped away, along with the thousands of innocent souls who perished there.
It is painful, physically painful, for me to see the image of the WTC now. It's like the famous Hitchcock example of showing the audience a bomb beneath a table while two people sit there talking baseball. You're no longer listening to the conversation; you're jumping up and screaming, "Do something! You're in danger!!"
In time, that feeling will fade. At least I hope so. But not this year, and probably not next. Assuming I'm not a complete aberration among New Yorkers (and others), I think it's appropriate and decent for Hollywood to consider how its images, past and present, might affect me as an audience member. (It's also good business; you don't want to risk losing millions of paying customers.)
One other note: In the past few days, I've noticed an increasing number of HTF contributors featuring images of the WTC in their signature, presumably as an act of tribute and pride. But I haven't noticed any members from the immediate region doing so. Maybe that tells you something about the rawness of our feelings.
M.
[Edited last by Michael Reuben on September 16, 2001 at 11:59 AM]

 

[Kenneth Cummings]

Well I might upload my signture from another board that prays to the fallen. And on a horrible bit of irony, the episode of Simpson with the WTC was on the day of the accidnet, according to the TV listening. But since Fox News was over the channel at that time, it didn't air, gladly. I liked that episode, but not right now. And I'm betting Collateral Damage and Big Trouble will probaby ended up the same fated as O, being delayed a couple of years and coming out randomly.
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Support the DVD release of the Disney Afternoon for her.

 

[TimW]

The other night Close Encounters of the Third Kind Was showing on tv. The movie that was to be played after was Superman. Instead of Superman, however, Close Encounters.. was played again.

Hmmmm.
I'm wondering if Superman was pulled because the WTC is featured prominantly in a few of shots. (flybys and skyline stuff)
It's strange to think that the WTC was only really a few years old when Superman was being filmed. I think they were completed in '73.
I hope studios don't start editing films to mask the WTC in order to potentially "shield" us from the pain. If anything, I think it's important to keep them there so that every time we view the film we might be reminded of our current feelings and how important it is to keep the WTC in our hearts as a tribute to not just America, but american capabilities and ingenuity. Those were some TALL buildings!
Tim

 

[Patrick McCart]

The saddest thing is that the studio has put filming of Algebra II on hold in light of the recent tragedy. Just as well though, the first one was boring and the sequel's script was strictly "by the numbers."

Was that REALLY necessary???
Matthew: That's the book. It's a really nice picture, too...
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P.S.: There's no P.S.

 

[Wes Ray]

I just remembered another one, and watched the video to confirm it. In Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Kevin McAllister takes polaroid photos from the very top of one of the towers, in a very long and beautiful (although painful to watch now) shot panning back to view the top of both towers.

 

[Craig_T]

-In Wall Street the opening shot of the film features the WTC Towers.
-In the opening shot of Working Girl the camera spins around the Statue of Liberty until it stops at a ferry headed for the WTC.
The Towers should ONLY be removed on NEW films and shows IMO. Besides, virtually every movie, TV show, video, commercial, etc. that features a wide arial shot of New York City since the early 1970s is going to include the WTC. Removing them from all old films and shows would not only be a ridiculously difficult task, I don't see what the point is of trying to pretend like they never existed. What the hell sort of a tribute is that?

 

[David Lambert]

I mentioned to a co-worker the other day about this thread. This morning I casually mentioned that the Crocodile Dundee movies were coming out on DVD today. He reminded me of this thread and pointed out that the WTC could be plainly seen in the film where he visits New York, when he's accidentally on his way to a drug house or something. It's been a long time since I've seen Dundee, so I'll just put this out there and ask for verification. As previously pointed out, I'm holding off on most DVD's this week because I spent this week's movie budget on supplies for Manhattan.
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DAVE/Memphis

Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/...ocs/000565.htm

 

[Wes Ray]

You are correct. I watched Crocodile Dundee today on VHS and it is indeed in the first shot of the film, as well as the first thing we see when Dundee comes over to America from Australia.
I also checked Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles since it took place in New York, and the very first shot of the film includes the World Trade Center towers. I'm sure there were many other films in which it's the initial establishing shot in. What a testament to such a great building that it's mere sight instantly tells the audience "hey, you're in New York" and not just some other generic, annonymous, fictional city.

 

[GaryEA]

If someone has suffered the loss of a loved one through a sudden, violent and gruesome death, would you walk up to them and thrust a picture of the deceased in front of their face?
I doubt it.

I'm going to respectfully but strongly disagree with you on that point.
While there are many here who are posting honest feelings of sadness in even looking at the Towers, there are others, like myself, that are counting the minutes until those Towers are rebuilt in one shape or form as a slap in the face of the bastards that did this in the first place and anyone who thinks that they can destroy this country. I hope this will happen, after all other considerations are taken care of. We have time.
Right now, this country is in a state of shock, depression, sadness and disbelief. But there is anger. Not blind rage but an anger that terror, as a concept turned justification, has destroyed not only many lives, which are infinitely more important that stone and steel, but symbols such as the New York Skyline.
So while we sort ourselves out, studios are adjusting their projects while networks are shuffling the programming, both in order to lessen the still deeply wounded by this horror. We do need this; we need time to heal, clear our heads, and exhale.
But I agree with John; they should remain in Spider-Man and any project that had shot the film prior to 9/11. This is not to shove a picture in the faces of the families of the victims. The people you speak about will always carry their own pictures, the images will always be etched into their minds.
If these films and television projects that already captured the skyline with the Towers, they should open with a simple "In Memoriam" title to pay respects and acknowledge everyone affected. The Towers will be there, if only for a moment, and then like life, the film will move on. All of us will be moved whether we see them in the skyline or if the film shows the gaping hole that remains.
Let's not get carried away with carving the Towers out of yesterday's images. Quite honestly; the idea offends me. We all know what the truth is and there are no pictures being shoved in people's faces.
We're better than that. And that's why we will win.
Let the Towers stand.
Respectfully,
Gary

 

[Max Renn]

I am not quite sure about that but I think we can see the first tower of the WTC still in construction in The French Connection.
It is in the sequence when the car is for the first time deposited on the NY quay from the boat, we then see the french journalist driving the car on the docks, free as a bird, then there is a shot with a relieved Charnier with his bodyguard standing at a place where we see a NY view in the background with a high tower with two or three cranes at the top as if it's being built.
When the movie was shot, I guess in 1970, the first tower had not been completed yet. Can anyone confirm that this is really the first tower of the WTC being built ?