Customer Reviews

WTC - The First 24 Hours

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This piece is very effective, doubly so because it doesn't attempt to editorialize...we don't have narrators reading portentous hyperbolic melodramatic drivel, no manipulative music trying to tell us how to feel...what we have are stark, live-audio-from-the-site images, covering the first 24 hours after the explosion. The confusion, the eerie silence, the destruction...the images do the talking, not self-involved filmmakers...it all builds to a solitary firefighter, searching for survivors, standing on a huge pile of rubble, calling out "is anybody there", only to be answered in silence. That image, disturbing in both its simplicity and the horror it speaks volumes about, was a brilliant editorial choice as a conclusion...no music or editorializing needed, thank you. This is a historical document, pure and simple.

This video does what most of the others do not (except for the French/CBS "9-11"), and that is portray what the city looked and sounded like in the hours following the collapse of the towers.

It needs to be acknowledged that this shows ONLY the physical aftermath of the disaster. This does not capture any of the stories behind those who were there, or those who witnessed the attack. There is no portrayal of the emotional aftermath.

At the time the video was shot, there was already a "lockdown" on the city. Thousands of people like me, who escaped the WTC and walked home, were unable to take public or private transportation back to Manhattan for at least 48 hours. Technically, the streets of Manhattan were open north of Canal Street, but no car service was willing to take me from Brooklyn to Manhattan for fear of not being able to leave Manhattan once they got there. And full subway service from Brooklyn to Manhattan was restored only on Thursday, 9/13.

So this video shows us what those who remained in lower Manhattan would have seen and heard - and that was dust and silence, respectively. That might be boring to those who expected this to portray more of the attack or the detailed activities and words of the rescue and recovery workers. However, this documentary keeps all other people at a distance from the camera. I wonder if that was intentional, but in any case, the effect is that this video makes you feel as if you have just dropped into the WTC neighborhood, and you are free to walk around and view the destruction at ground-level. The video takes up to areas that were under heavy police security, such as the shattered Winter Garden at the WFC (World Financial Center). It takes us to a Health Club on Rector Street. It takes us to West Broadway, Vesey Street, Church Street, Broadway, and Fulton Street, to name a few. If you live in NYC or know the area, this video will give you a quick tour of the streets that surrounded the WTC's 16-acre footprint.

I find it refreshing and wise that this video does not have narration, music, interviews, montages, or any politicians promoting themselves (Rudy!) or any flag-waving. I think I'm in the minority when I say this, but I feel that most of the DVD's on this event are somewhat exploitative and feature music and narration that intends to provoke an emotional response, which I feel is somewhat manipulative. If TV commercials tell us what to buy and how to live, what do we do when a news documentary tells us how to feel? And some news organizations have used this as a PR vehicle. That CNN "America Remembers" DVD is virtually a self-promotional product for the network. And HBO's "In Memoriam," while featuring a lot of excellent material, still features segments that belong to the world of TV Commercials, not documentaries. The interview with Giuliani looks like something he would produce if he ever ran for national office. The documentaries on the towers (NOVA, Discovery Channel) have been first-rate. And the "9-11" documentary has the best of everything - story, drama, the timeline of that day, and the "you are there" feel.

However, this short video has the best videography. There are some shots here that are as good as any photograph. The collapse of what was my building, 1 WTC, is captured better here than in all the videos and news footage I have seen. And the sound of the crowds below shrieking was just as I remember it. The "sunrise" shots of the WTC's steel facade (the exterior "lattice") are also memorable here. If you are looking for a video that just captures how the neighborhood looked and sounded after the attack, this is the video you want.

This is a good film about the aftermath of the WTC collapse. It was not nearly as bad as some reviewers have made it out to be. The audio and video quality of the material is great. Speaking for myself, I actually liked the fact that this particular 9/11 film had no commentary & music. What you see is what you get, and unfortunately, this video is in the like-it-or-leave-it catagory. This program is definetly not for everybody. If you can't stand watching a real-life caught-on-tape video without narration & music, then you will not like WTC - First 24 Hours. As for me, my main complaint about the film is that it wasn't long enough. The film is just 47 minutes and should've been longer and had more footage of the actual attacks themselves. Oh, well, it was still a decent film. In the very first scene, you get to see the explosion of the second plane crashing into the South Tower, and you see two people jumping from the North Tower on the right side of the screen. Then it shows both towers collapsing from the same camera angle. Then from there, it's nonstop footage of the aftermath. You'll see how Manhatten was transformed into a nuclear winter; buildings fluttered with debris, the streets caked in white ashes and paper, damaged buildings, crushed cars & trucks, and 3 billion pounds of concrete, rubble, and steel covering the WTC site.

If you're expecting a historical document about the actual attacks themselves, then don't watch WTC - First 24 Hours. In Memoriam - New York City - 9/11/01 is the one that you would want to see. It shows footage of the attacks, people jumping, interviews, the pandemonium, the collapse, and the aftermath.
WTC - First 24 Hours doesn't document the actual attacks themselves, but rather, the aftermath. The footage speaks for itself.

I agree with what some of the other reviewers said. I bought it expecting what I found but ALSO expected to see the footage of the planes crashing, the buildings collapsing, the smoke plume rushing through the streets and people running. I wanted this to be a full capturing of the emotions I (and the whole country) felt that day that I could show my kids someday as a true historical record of a tragic event. Sadly, what I got was about 28 minutes of people walking through dust and debris covered streets. Save your money and wait for this one to be done right.

You see, this documentary does something that most network news channels are afraid to explore... it displays raw film with raw audio as recorded on-scene in real-time. No sugar-coated interpretations, although the average television viewer might find it difficult to think for themselves; to explore their own thoughts in the chilling silence. Around the city during and after the WTC event, you hear the planes, the crowds, the firefighters, the police, the sirens, car alarms, screams, footsteps, and... the silence. No voice-over commentators, no colorful on-screen titles, nothing but it.

As a police officer, this hits too close to home... The documentry is unbelievable. You are offered a first person view of all the events as they happen, and hear sounds that will haunt your mind. You get to see what true bravery is about and get a glimse of some of the unselfishness men of my profession, as well as firefighters display everyday. There is no background music and no narration which fits in perfectly..This is a must for all americans so that the worst tradegy in most peoples lifetime never is forgotten..

If I had remembered to read reviews on [an online internet store] before I bought this, I would have saved my money. There is zero human aspect here, devoid of voices or people. This video is really just a camera panning across building fronts, broken windows and ground debris after it was all over and no one was around. No chronology, no sensible order of footage. The only human contact is when the cameraman walks past a group of firemen, but they are just sort of standing around their firetrucks. As a viewer I din't feel I was participating, as a matter of fact I felt disconnected. Be aware that 90% of this footage is just panning the streets hours later and the next day. Absolutely silent with no one on the street. The helpless fear we felt that day is not expressed. This DVD is not worthwhile.

I purchased this DVD based on the high marks and excellent reviews given by the Sundance Film Festival, Judge P. Naugle, Michael Jacobson, and David Germain of the Associated Press. So glad I didn't miss this one. The filmmaker's talent for detail and image choices are incredible. There is no need for commentary or music - just hearing the filmmaker's breathing as he walks around the huge tire of the airplane found on a street corner is more than enough. I don't think this film was made to "entertain" its audience. What I got from it was based on reality and integrity. This film drew me in, making me feel as if I was the one walking down that street and holding that camera. What an impact.

Some documentaries serve great purposes and others simply fill in monetary voids. "The First 24 Hours" is a disappointment as a film, recording what is said to be the first "24 hours" after this horrific incident. The expanded version is less than ½ hour. We see the North tower smoking and then an off camera view of the flames of the second tower being hit. The rest of the film is a collection of montages of street scenes littered with debris, dust, papers, cars and misery. There are no spoken words, there is no music, there is nothing more than several cut views of the surrounding devastation. It would have been historically correct to try to film these terrible scenes in an artistic manner rather than a news film view. No matter. There are several other films that portray what really happened on that terrible day.

I highly recommend "In Memoriam, New York City, 9/11/2001" and "9/11 - The Filmmaker's Commemorative Edition". Nothing else deserves the respect of those that lost their lives that day or the families that will continue to mourn.

Although the opening segment of this film shows a couple of jumpers and one of the towers down, the vast majority of this is just shots of the devastation and the beginnings of the rescue and clean-up with no music or narration of any kind. The filmmakers may have thought both of those intrusive(and in some 9/11 videos they have been) but the absence of both here made this rather cold and unemotional, almost 9/11 as work of art. There is nothing here about what 9/11 did to people.