Customer Reviews

Why the Towers Fell - An Exclusive Investigation into the Collapse of the World Trade Center

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I was so glad to see this out on DVD. I purchased the VHS after the attack and the treatment of what happened is handled very well. The emotion of the chief engineer is real and puts a personal perspective on the events that permanently changed his life as well as the lives of countless Americans. This is a good supplement to the excellent American Experience episode regarding the Towers history. This was needed for the nation as well as the world to see why the impossible was possible. This is factual and includes candid, but not cruel criticisms of the flaws from the beginning of the project.

This is an excellent presentation of just what was going on structurally inside these two great buildings when exposed to incredible stresses. While each tower was designed and constructed to physically withstand a direct impact by contemporary large aircraft (based on previous experience with the Empire State Building), the architects weren't visionary enough to plan for even larger planes in the future, Fully Fueled, crashing and Burning with all of that fuel inside these structures. Simple thermodynamics in 20/20 hindsight. But the world wasn't so f---ed up when these were designed. This program puts forth the investigative facts (FEMA Report), as officially gathered, and presents them to the viewer without bias (or emotion, which is a little eerie). I recommend this for the sober-minded. If you want Conspiracy, look elsewhere. Highly recommended, even today. -MH

As a software engineer with a strong interest in science (especially physics), I've always enjoyed Nova and respected their objectivity no matter what field of science they focused on. After reading both FEMA's report and the 9-11 Commission report (which includes additional information, not included in FEMA's report, that actually contradicts the theory put forth in this documentary), I began getting very interested. Mainly because their explanations are not only improbable, but in some case, physically impossible. When I found the NOVA DVD, I immediately ordered it hoping to finally have a sound, believable scientific explanation as to why the Twin Towers and WTC Building 7 collapsed that day. Now, having watched it, I feel an uneasiness I can't really describe.

Not only did NOVA parrot the FEMA explanation, but because of the omission of verifiable evidence that contradicts the official theory (example below), the misleading presentation of simple evidence (example below), incorrect facts (example below) and the introduction of uncorroborated, unsourced information (example below), I can safely say that at best, this is an illogical and very unscientific look at the 3 tower collapses that took place on 9/11 and at worst, purposely deceptive misinformation aimed at hiding something that the government doesn't think we Americans can handle. There are points in this DVD where Eagar says things that would actually be roll on the floor laughable if he wasn't a M.I.T. professor trying to scientifically explain how the towers collapsed.

Even more disturbing is the fact that most people who view this "documentary" will get the impression that the theory described is the same theory the 9/11 Commission provided to explain the collapses of the 3 WTC buildings. In fact, this theory was so easily eliminated as possible by physicists, engineers and anyone that took a high school physics course that even the NIST (who wrote the report used by the 9/11 Commission) said it was wrong. Here is a quote from the NIST:

[NIST's findings do not support the "pancake theory" of collapse, which is premised on a progressive failure of the floor systems in the WTC towers... Instead, the NIST investigation showed conclusively that the failure of the inwardly bowed perimeter columns initiated collapse and that the occurrence of this inward bowing required the sagging floors to remain connected to the columns and pull the columns inwards. Thus, the floors did not fail progressively to cause a pancaking phenomenon.]

So, if the NIST, the 9/11 Commission, the government and independent researchers are in agreement that the "pancake" or "progressive collapse" theory described on this DVD is not plausible then what is the official explanation for the complete collapse of the 3 WTC buildings? That's the problem... there isn't one. To date, the NIST hasn't offered an explanation for the collapse of WTC building 7 and their investigation on the collapses of WTC buildings 1 and 2 only focuses on the factors that led to the initiation of collapse and not the sequence of events that led to the complete collapse. By limiting their investigation, it gave them a way to avoid some of the same issues ignored by this film.

[1 example of the omission of evidence: The 911 Commission Report claims the tower collapsed in approximately 10 seconds -- examining any of the video evidence available, anyone can confirm this is accurate but it was actually closer to 10.5 seconds. Anyone familiar with physics - or math - can use a well known equation to determine that the fastest possible time it would take for one of the towers to collapse in a vacuum would be 9.2 seconds - and that is with no air resistance and definitely no resistance from pancaking floors. If you count for acceleration, that means each of the floors with a 1,300 ton capacity had to be weakened to a point where they provided no more resistance than air would. This is impossible and for some reason wasn't addressed on this DVD when I don't see how it could be ignored.]

[1 example of the misleading presentation of evidence: Eagar explains the weak link to be the angle clips that held the floor trusses in place making it seem like clips and bolts were the only things holding the trusses in place when in reality, every 160 inches, the perimeter wall was attached to a 24x18 inch metal plate that was covered with studs and embedded in a concrete slab. In addition a pair of 6 foot steel bars lined with studs were welded to the plate and to the adjacent trusses. These bars were also set in the concrete slab. So, even if the angle clips and therefore the truss weakened to the point of failure, the concrete slab would've still supported the truss. Even assuming the concrete slab provided the least support possible, the truss could not have possibly fallen as indicated by the animation on the DVD and the PBS website. All one has to do is look at any of the many books available on the construction of the towers (preferably one written before 9-11). This is another area where the theory presented in this DVD contradicts the 9/11 Commission report.]

[1 example of incorrect facts: At 1 point the narrator says "Brian Clark, one of only four people to get out from above where United 175 hit the South Tower". The NY Times identified 18 men and women who got out from above where United 175 hit in the article "Fighting to Live as the Towers Died" on 5/26/02.]

[1 example of uncorroborated, unsourced info: At one point Eagar says "The only people I know who weren't surprised (that the towers collapsed) were a few people who've designed high-rise buildings" but he never mentions who. I've have done hours and hours of searching through news reports and websites but have not found any high-rise architects claiming not to be surprised by the collapse (I even emailed NOVA - nova@wgbh.org - but have not received an answer).]

I tried to provide a few examples above since I am giving this DVD such a harsh review (deserves a 0) but there are pages worth. On top of that, they're not even hard to spot. Any American that has access to this DVD has access to enough information to completely discredit this DVD and any investigation it's based on. Hopefully, this joke of an investigation along with the woefully inadequate NIST investigation will make some others as mad as it has made me. I have a right to know the truth of what happened on that day, regardless of what the federal government thinks.

This is a very nice documentary it explains in details why the two WTC actually fell. It is full of Engineering facts, however, it has some interviews with some of the September 11 survivors who were very close to the major events. Also an interview with the WTC architect who in my view lost two loved ones. I would recommend this documentary for every one, it has allot of footage of the September 11 attack which makes it a collectable item for those who want to capture all the moments they can.

I saw this program originally on my local PBS station when it aired. It technically shows how and why the towers fell. Why the second tower that was hit by a plane fell first, how the towers stood strong then, without warning collapse, and the heartache the building's architech felt watching the towers get attacked and then collapse from his office a couple of blocks away from Ground Zero. Very well done 60mins. of TV that answers alot of questions people might have or rumors that people might have heard. Highly reccomended to purchase with "9/11 - The Filmmakers' Commemorative Edition." Which is an inside view with very exclusive footage from the first plane hitting to footage INSIDE the North Tower as the South Tower fell! WE WILL NEVER FORGET

Having seen a few of the 9/11 features that have been released (and some have been quite good), I would have to say that 'Why the Towers Fell' is superior across the board. The fact that it's a NOVA production probably has a lot to do with this. The main premise of the story is that it follows a team of engineers who begin searching for clues that help to explain why the towers fell. The viewer learns by watching this the role that the jet fuel had in the spreading of the fire, as well as how the damage to the building's core impacted the different time frames and manners which the two towers collapsed. With this there are interviews with several structural engineers who give their insights, as well as interviews with three survivors (one of whom escaped from above the crash site in tower two) and their stories.
In addition to the interviews, the film contains a brief history of the building of the World Trade Center, and learn that at the time they had considered the buildings could withstand the impact of the largest jet at the time.

If you only purchase one video/dvd about 9/11, this is the one. Powerful, educational, and sensitive to it's material, this is not to be missed.

This video was on the money. The two conspiracy BYU Buffs have to be kidding! The Software engineer knows little of Hardware engineering and Hubble needs to loosen up on his imagination. There was no conspiracy. The buildings and subsequent buildings all collapsed as a result of the overwhelming destruction and weight of the upper portions of each building. The fact that the two World Trade Center buildings collapsed EXACTLY the same way is more than enough proof that there was a structural problem and could not possibly have been a bunch of collaborators setting explosives in all the right places to pancake each building in the same manner. The other buildings were collateral damage from the enormous impact and complete molecularization of both buildings. If they pried open their eyes they would have noticed the rather normal collapsing of these adjacent buildings much like what occurred to buildings during WWII bombing raids. AND---Imagine all those collaborators in total silence till this day!!!

I watched this movie when I was just starting to research 9/11 and it answered NO questions of why the buildings fell. It gave a bunch of theories and almost everyone interviewed were shocked themselves that the buildings fell and voiced that opinion frequently.

The people that produced this documentary are traitors to America.

INVESTIGATE 9/11!!!

(Full disclosure: I was an NYPD officer that day, lost two NYPD buddies and my brother-in-law) Did not find this terribly informative and actually quite boring. In lieu of this DVD I would HIGHLY recommend the "A&E- Investigative Reports" version, if it ever becomes available.

This is a great program. It explains in purely technical terms what happened to the buildings and why on 9/11. Sometimes the only way to come at such an enormous tragedy is to take just one piece of it. In its own oblique, indirect way, this is one of the most poignant documents I've ever seen about that fateful day. By leaving emotion out of it, it actually invites more emotion. The interview with the building's architect is the perfect example - he does not break down, or play for our sympathy, but you can see in his eyes that he will be haunted by his decisions for the rest of his days. Like all such things, it's easy to see now with 20/20 hindsight all the factors that created disaster.

The people on here slamming this and going on about their "research" (yeah right) are, I'm guessing, part of the growing number of idiots who have decided to take this terrible event and twist it into a ridiculous conspiracy. This really bothers me, and I'm as left-wing liberal anti-George Bush as they come. These people are just sad. The pancaking of the floors is not a "theory", it's a fact we all saw with our own eyes in real time. Don't let these people start doing to 9/11, what the holocaust deniers are still doing sixty years on. It's an insult to the dead. Not to mention to our collective intelligence.

In the meantime, if you want to see an excellent documentary breaking down EXACTLY what happened moment by moment, this is the film for you. Personally, it's the only 9/11 doc I want to own. Something about this dispassionate examination of the collapse I find almost as heartbreaking as the sheer loss of life. Let's face it, we mourn those buildings as well as the victims. It's also just good solid HISTORY with a capital H. Ignore the idiots.