Product Details

• Actors: Paul Thompson, Patty Cassaza, Mindy Kleinberg, Lorie Van Auken, Kristen Breitweiser
• Directors: Ray Nowosielski
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Disinformation
• DVD Release Date: September 12, 2006
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000GYHRHO
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,128 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "9/11: Press For Truth" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The political becomes personal in 9/11: Press for Truth, which examines the World Trade Center attacks from the perspective of the families who lost loved ones. Written and directed by Ray Nowosielski, the documentary draws partly from Paul Thompson’s website-turned-book, The Terror Timeline, and much of the commentary comes from Lorie Van Auken, Patty Casazza, and Mindy Kleinberg, three of the "Jersey Girls." Along with Kristen Breitweiser, the 9/11 widows have become activists in its wake. As Casazza says, "We all had questions...and wanted answers." The primary one was: How could this happen? Interestingly, two of the women voted for Bush. Casazza adds, "Even though he should have been our biggest advocate, he turned into one of our biggest adversaries." Together with eight other spouses, parents, etc., they form the Family Steering Committee and lobby for an independent commission, which comes to pass, but fails to deliver the goods. The widows find more useful information in Thompson's timeline, which he compiled using material in the public domain (Thompson also appears in the film). The style of 9/11: Press for Truth couldn't be more conventional--talking heads, television footage, omniscient narrator, relentless score--but the personal approach makes it a valuable addition to the rapidly-growing list of 9/11 documentaries. The point is, to quote Patti Smith, "people have the power"--people like the Jersey Girls, Paul Thompson, and all the other ordinary citizens who have kept pressure on our elected officials and the news media to dig deeper and work harder. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description

The Coverup Exposed By The 9/11 Families

"They lied, they all lied." --Patty Casazza (one of the "Jersey Girls")

"We don't know the whole story, not at all" -- Lorie Van Auken (one of the "Jersey Girls")

"9/11 was the biggest 'don't ask-don't tell" --Sally Regenhard, lost Firefighter son.

"Press for Truth" is an astonishing portrayal of the lengths our public servants will go to protect themselves from any accountability. --Scott Horton, Antiwar.com

Although independent investigations began within weeks of both Pearl Harbor and the Kennedy assassination, the same was not true of the attacks of September 11th. Most are unaware that formation of the 9/11 Commission was strongly opposed by many in Washington, including the Bush administration. It was only due to pressure from the 9/11 families, led by a particular twelve calling themselves the Family Steering Committee, that, fourteen months after the attacks, the first hearing finally began. These twelve remained active in monitoring the Commission’s investigation, providing a list of hundreds of specific, well-researched questions to the Commissioners. In the end, the 9/11 Commission Final Report failed to answer seventy percent of them.

In 9/11 PRESS FOR TRUTH, five of the most prominent members of the Family Steering Committee, including interviews with three of the "Jersey Girls," tell their story for the first time, providing the most powerful argument yet for why 9/11 still needs investigation. Adapting Paul Thompson's definitive Complete 9/11 Timeline (published by Harper-Collins as The Terror Timeline), the filmmakers stitch together rare, overlooked news clips, buried stories, and government press conferences, revealing a pattern of official lies, deception, and spin.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pointed and Relevant, Misses Some Big Points, October 5, 2006

By	Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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I've taken a strong interest in serious DVDs recently, and have a list of serious DVD's that I recommend. This is one of two 9/11 DVDs that I am reviewing, the other, is Aftermath, Unanswered Questions from 9/11.

I have five pages of notes. A few key aspects of the film:

1) Over and over, Bush, Cheney, and Rice seen as liars and hypocrites simply by playing their past statements on television against reality.

2) Movie opens with the wall of notes and photos of the missing--for those that don't get out to see the real world; this is precisely the kind of wall that appears in areas devastated by genocide or a major natural disaster.

3) The movie speaks of the 2 hour delay in getting fighters up, and appears completely unfamiliar with "Crossing the Rubicon" which documents the anti-terrorism exercise being played out that day with Dick Cheney in charge. My bottom line: the entire cover up is about protecting Dick Cheney from being derelict in both ignoring terrorism and intelligence from day one, and possibly being malignantly culpable in using his operational control of the government (including the President's movements) to *allow* 9/11 to happen as a pretext for war.

4) The 4 widowed mothers, the Jersey Girls, are compelling in indicting the Attorney General and the FBI for grotesque ineffectiveness and inattention, to include constantly changing the FBI people assigned to the 9/11 investigation.

5) The widows are compelling in suggesting that the incompetence of the Bush-Cheney Administration is a great threat than terrorism The reality is that the Bush-Cheney Administration is *very* competent at pursuing its own malignant objectives against the public interest.

6) The movie does well at documenting how no skyscraper has ever fallen to fire, in showing how both towers came down perfectly as if by planned pre-placed demolitions, and how WTC 7 (the home of the Secret Service and the CIA) also game down perfectly despite not being hit. I am not a fan of conspiracy theories, often suggesting that given a choice go with incompetence over conspiracy, but I do believe that Dick Cheney in particular has lied to the public, to the 9/11 Commission, to Congress, and that he must be held accountable.

7) Republicans spent 100 million according to the movie (I remember only 50 million) on investigating Clinton-Lewinsky, and assigned only 3 million, later grudgingly raised to 14 million, to the 9/11 investigation. That says it all.

8) Paul Thompson is the real hero of this story, and his TIMELINE, which I have reviewed, is superb. See also my reviews of "Fog Facts" and "Lost History."

9) The movie excels at documenting all the warnings received by the US from specific governments at specific times, contrasting that with the televised lies by Condi Rice and Dick Cheney, as well as "deer in the headlights" views of George Junior. The movie overlooks the two walk-ins to the FBI, one in Newark and one in Orlando, prior to 9/11.

10) The July 2001 G-8 summit, and Bush's vacation home, had anti-aircraft defenses for the first time in history. At the same time John Ashcroft stopped flying commercial and on 9/11 a number of senior Pentagon people cancelled trips planned for that day. I have "LIARS" written in all caps three times at this point in my notes.

11) The most compelling point made by the movie is that if the government had shared this information with the public, then all three planes might have been protected by the passengers, as was the case with the third--passengers armed with knowledge did what the Pentagon and White House could not or would not do.

12) Sy Hersh's work is featured, and overall this movie suggests that the Taliban was created by the Pakistani intelligence service, and that Bush is a real hypocrite for honoring Pakistan while declaring war on all those who support and harbor terrorists. Hello? The money trail clearly connects Al Qaeda and Pakistan, in sharp contrast to the lies told about Al Qaeda and Iraq.

13) The movie ends very powerfully, first with a total condemnation of the corporate media that "went along" and would not even run BBC stories by Greg Pabst, stifling both dissent and investigative journalism.

14) Bottom line: they all lied, now we need to know WHY they lied. 9-11 is the biggest don't ask don't tell in history, with no answers, no accountability.

These four widows, and honorable people like Sy Hersh, Paul Thompson, and Greg Palast, deserve respect from all of us--they are doing precisely what Thomas Jefferson would have wanted them to do, saying as he did, "A Nation's best defense is an educated citizenry." In my view, terrorism is the least of our problems. The capture of the federal government by corporations is the real enemy.

Edit of 16 Oct 06: View this with "Loose Change" (second edition) which is unfortunately not sold via Amazon.

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily the Most Devastating 9/11 Documentary Thus Far, October 18, 2006

By	Anthony Ian "anthony_ian" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

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This movie is to 9/11 what the BBC's "The Men Who Killed Kennedy" series was to JFK--that is, after you see it, you will never again believe the "official" story about what happened. You will be left with question after question after question.

Forget fringe movies like "Loose Change," which undercut their own message by jumping to conclusions and engaging in wild, baseless speculation in many scenes.

This movie puts the 9/11 Timeline to devastating use, completely blowing out of the water the idea that we had no real warnings prior to 9/11. It also shows what a sham the 9/11 commission was--a modern day Warren Commission--and you'll be floored when you see who was put in charge of it (remember the original choice? That's right: Henry Kissinger).

The reason this movie works so well is that it doesn't ask and answer questions for you, as "Loose Change" did--just lays everything out right in front of you, and you will be floored.

Easily without a doubt the golden standard movie for all those who are interested in the REAL story of what happened on 9/11.

You will never be more distrustful of government, after watching this.

Brilliant.

59 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars intimately human look at the central issue of our time, September 13, 2006

By	cvairag (Allan Hancock College) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Independently made films now seem to be one of the few ways in which Americans can get closer to the facts about what's going on. Although I am in utter disagreement with the other reviewers: 1) most of the so-called "conspiracy theories" are not bunk and should not be dismissed without a deep and respectful hearing. The perjorative, randomly applied, "catch-all" term "conspiracy theory" is quite loosely thrown around by people who simply do not know what they're talking about and wish to sound like they do. For instance: "Loose Change" IS a heavily researched film that every American should see. 2) "Farenheit 911" was NOT the 'partisan' effort that facsist pundits in the employ of corporate media interests wanted and succeeded in getting most Americans to believe it was so that they would not see it. In reality, "Farenheit 911" was an enormous work of ART and a courageous act of patriotism (one only wishes every film, especially this one, was as well wrought).
That off my chest - 911 / Press For Truth powerfully tells the story of the realizations which have arisen since the terrible tragedy of that day through the perspective of family members of a number of those who died in the targeted structures.

Their experience highlights:

1) The U.S. government was specifically evasive and NOT interested in getting to the truth of what happened and in fact
blocked and stalled the inquiries of the bereaved American citizens.

2) The much delayed 911 Commission was a "whitewash" - avoiding all tough questions - specifically holding NO accountability - and headed by politically partisan figures.
(Nicely shown by the film is the dissent of one of the few non-partisan commissioners, Max Cleland, the triple Vietnam War amputee, who was later mysteriously defeated for re-election in Georgia through what is now widely suspected to be voting machine fraud.)

3) Paul Thompson's celebrated, but not widely enough known, 911 Timeline revealing a definite link between Al-Quaeda and Pakistan military and government intelligence - and a extensively detailed exposition of Osama Bin Laden's mysterious escape from Tora Bora.

4) The recognition that we much need some sort of public (not corporate), non-partisan oversight of the media. Like a national press accountability day?)

5) It's time we start making judicious treatment of those who have innocently suffered most (in deference to those with the most money and/or power) in our country - THE PRIORITY.

There is more here - much more - and YES - EVERY AMERICAN VOTER SHOULD SEE THIS FILM. But, please try to view it with an open mind. Isn't it time for America to get out of the patriarchial quietism of the 'Bill O'Reilly mode of denial' and finally begin to grow up into the stature of the true world leader this great nation could and should be?