Customer Reviews

WTC 9-11-01 Day Of Disaster

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

In this video, Steve Spak, an accomplished fire photographer, arrives on the scene of Ground Hero just after the towers collapsed. Steve probably would have been among those killed if he had been at work on 9/11, but he was home due to the birth of his daughter.

This DVD shows previously unseen footage of the FDNY's heroic efforts to fight the fire in 6WTC; it also shows the fire raging in 50+ stories of 7WTC. The 7WTC fire in and of itself might have been the largest fire in FDNY history! Throughout the video, you hear FDNY radio communications, and Steve provides narration at the appropriate moments, yet he allows the pictures of the stunning scene unfolding before you to do most of the talking.

I highly recommend the video, it's American History occuring live before your eyes on West Street, in New York City.

This video showed images that I saw through a firefighter's eyes as a fire lieutenant in the FDNY on 9/11. The video is gritty and captures the images and sounds of ground zero shortly after the collapse of the twin towers. If you want a feel of what it was like to be there as a first responder, this video is for you.

The sad reality of 9/11 is that, some people don't feel when they watch videos relating to the sad event. Images of the fallen towers plagued the covers of our newspapers and our hourly news programs for months straight. The sad reality is that you will find people who no longer care about this historic event. It is fortunate that there are people like Steve Spak, who was able to capture each breath taking glimpse of the aftermath of this terrorist attack on out free country. I believe that Mr. Spak preserved a moment of history that is not shown on our news stations and newspaper covers. He has captured what you will be showing to our future when they ask us "Where were you on September 11, 2001?" or "What was it like?" One may never understand that soon we will be confronted with a generation that was not around for September 11, 2001 and it is up to us to explain how the world was forever changed on that beautiful blue sky day. This is why I purchased the video and this is why I recommend for every family in the United States to own their own copy. It is worth every penny to purchase Steve Spak's blood, sweat, tears and spirit.

As a captain of a Rescue Squad, I can really appreciate the footage of this DVD. Some of the reviewers who don't understand the DVD from our perspective cannot give fair comment. The DVD shows what the rescuer's had to endure after the complete collapse of 2 of the tallest buildings in the world! I cannot imagine how I would have reacted, If my unit was at the scene. The DVD was filmed immediately after the collapses of the Twin Towers. The radio transmissions are crisp and clear to me, You could hear the Maydays! from trapped firefighters and the fact that the 2 water mains feeding lower Manhattan were damaged! This video shows incredible fires burning throughout the site. I have watched numerous videos about 9-11-01. Some of the footage on this DVD, I have not seen before. My hats off to the photographer for a job well done. This is a great tribute to the Fire Service. Thanks, Steve

Steve Spak's Day of Disaster is one of the most important records of the events of 9/11 yet released. His film picks up where the Naudet brothers leave off.

The scenes are raw, unedited and for any documentarian or history buff, that's the beauty of this piece. Uninterrupted by interviews made up of the opinions of others, Steve Spak begins to record the carnage as he approaches the red zone, not long after the North tower collapsed. As he walks into the mysterious cloud, the true horror of the event unfolds, as fire radio communications and sounds of the moment serve as the narrative tool.

A long standing friend of the FDNY, a very familiar face at Queens' Rescue-4 and former NYC EMT, Spak's film offers a first hand account from the firefighters' and rescuers' point of view. He arrives at a point when emergency workers are regrouping, salvaging equipment from destroyed rigs, and trying desperately to make order out of chaos.

As Steve walks closer and closer toward the debris pile, he comes upon a firefighter, shocked and coughing up the product of the collapses. With him is a suited gentleman, thoroughly covered in the thick white paste, who reveals that he's a physician -- a department physician. In the next scene, two lone FDNY paramedics load their gurney with supplies, then disappear into the dust cloud.

At Building 6, the Customs House, Spak comes upon the remains of firefighting rigs, which shortly before had been part of the rescue effort. Twisted and contorted, many with their engines still operating, these unmanned rigs tell the most important story of the moment -- that many good men, New York's Bravest, are gone.

It is gems of imagery like this one that become the thread for Day of Disaster, and the reason why this film should be in every 9/11 collection. It's raw and gritty but never gruesome and someday, some network executive will finally understand that the most effective way to tell the story of those first hours is to permit the viewer to be part of those first arriving rescue teams unencumbered by a narrative track by someone who was never there.

Steve Spak was there. And history will remember him and Day of Disaster as the Pearl Harbor documentary of our generation.

This video has incredible footage that i had never seen before. The action and the video showing destruction surpasses any other WTC video I have ever seen. I highly recommend this video

There is no doubt that the attack on the World Trade Center was one of the most photographed events in history. Few photographers have been able to capture the action and events of that day from a firefighter's perspective. Steve Spak has accomplished this. Arriving minutes after the second tower collapsed, Steve shadowed operating firefighters and emergency personnel and documented firefighting and rescue operations immediately following the collapses. This is powerful, close-up footage that few people, other than those at the scene, experienced. Steve has recorded history and trhe events of that terrible day.

As I watch the footage on this DVD, I get the feeling that I am watching a war zone. The scenes of destruction and the raging fires in lower Manhattan are tough to take. I still find it hard to believe that this really happened to our great city. I don't recall having seen footage thats on this DVD on any of the news networks. As the fires are raging you hear radio transmissions, "There is no water in parts of lower Manhattan due to the damaged water mains" You also hear the chilling radio transmissions of firefighters trapped calling for "Maydays"!
After watching this DVD, I felt sad and angry. It brought back the feelings I had immediately following 9/11. I recommed this DVD to anyone who has an interest in 9/11/01,

As with most people, especially those who have any connection with the FDNY, time has yet to dim the pain and emotion associated with the events of September 11, 2001. Therefore, when looking at Steve Spak's DVD, "9/11/01-Day of Disaster", one appreciates Mr. Spak's accomplished talent. Viewers are witness to exceptional images which outline in stark reality the horror of the worst attack on our soil.
Steve Spak is a member of the Fire Bell Club of New York and has been photographing FDNY operations and apparatus for more than 25 years. As Spak explains, had it not been for the fact that he was home with his wife and new baby, surely he would have been at "ground zero" when the towers came down. He credits the arrival of his second daughter as saving his life.
This DVD is dedicated to the victims of 9/11 and we are admonished to remember and never forget 9/11.

This video has incredible footage of the aftermath of the collapses of the Twin Towers which I never saw on TV. I guess the media was kept out of the scene following the collapses. Listening to the fire department walkie talkie, which the videographer recorded while capturing this incredible footage, was numbing. The video shows spectacular fires in numerous buildings. The destruction shown is overwhelming. I highly recommend this video to anyone, who has an interest in the events of 9/11/01.