United 93 (2006)

Director:

Paul Greengrass

Writer (WGA):

Paul Greengrass (written by)

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

September 11, 2001. Four planes were hijacked. Three of them reached their target. This is the story of the fourth.

Plot:

A real time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.

Plot Keywords:

Hijacker | Airplane Hijack | Tense | Passenger | Mass Murder

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 22 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

J.J. Johnson	...	Captain Jason Dahl
Gary Commock	...	First Officer LeRoy Homer
Polly Adams	...	Deborah Welsh
Opal Alladin	...	CeeCee Lyles
Starla Benford	...	Wanda Anita Green
Trish Gates	...	Sandra Bradshaw
Nancy McDoniel	...	Lorraine G. Bay
David Alan Basche	...	Todd Beamer
Richard Bekins	...	William Joseph Cashman
Susan Blommaert	...	Jane Folger
Ray Charleson	...	Joseph DeLuca
Christian Clemenson	...	Thomas E. Burnett, Jr.
Liza Colón-Zayas	...	Waleska Martinez
Lorna Dallas	...	Linda Gronlund
Denny Dillon	...	Colleen Fraser

Also Known As:

Flight 93 (USA) (working title)
United 93 (USA)
Vol 93 (France)
Flug 93 (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Vuelo 93 (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
Ptisi 93 (Greece) [el]
Tissa 93 (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Uçus 93 (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
United 93 (Finland) [fi]
United vol 93 (Canada: French title) [fr]
Vôo United 93 (Brazil) [pt]
Yunaiteddo 93 (Japan) [ja]

MPAA:

Rated R for language, and some intense sequences of terror and violence (appeal planned).

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

France | UK | USA

Language:

English | Arabic | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Norway:15 | Hong Kong:IIA | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:15 | Italy:T | USA:R (certificate #41676) | Spain:13 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Brazil:14 | Ireland:15A | Iceland:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Philippines:R-13 | Sweden:15 | Singapore:M18 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

Trivia:

The United 93 flight crew is entirely portrayed by real pilots and flight attendants, some of whom actually work for United Airlines.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The UPS airplane shown on the tarmac at Newark Airport is painted with UPS's new logo, which was not introduced until 2003.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ahmed Al Haznawi: [subtitled Arabic] Ziad. It's time.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV)

A powerful, tasteful and important film...

I saw this at a special screening. I have not stopped thinking about it since. A emotional and powerful film that I will remember forever. I can't fault anyone who doesn't want to see this film. But please put to rest any fears that this film was made purely to turn a profit and serves no purpose.

For all those who were afraid that this film would be exploitive, propaganda filled Hollywood schlock, I'm sorry to say that could not be farther from the truth.

Though for the most part I'm still at a loss for words I'll do my best to give you a short and sweet overview.

Paul Greengrass has done the seemingly impossible by making a Hollywood film about this subject everyone is afraid to touch, but made it in such a way that it's hard to find fault, despite everyone's initial misgivings. No 'rah rah' patriotism. No veiled political stances. No cartoonish villains. No making the enemy sympathetic. Just a brilliantly executed look at what did happen and what 'might' have happened on that fateful day.

What makes it more effective is that all throughout you don't recognize any of the actors. They may as well be "real people". You're never thinking to yourself, 'oh that's Nicolas Cage', conscious of the fact that it's acting. And come to find out, many of the air traffic controllers and military personnel are playing themselves! This makes it all the more real and draws you in and takes you back to that day.

And when the passengers decide to fight back? There's no swelling of violins or slow motion shots. They don't have a rallying cry or 'lets do it for Uncle Sam' type speech to motivate everyone. No, these passengers were reacting spontaneously to the situation as it played out and were acting on their survival instinct. You can't help but think how you would react in that situation and makes it all the more compelling and powerful.

I won't say this film is for everyone. It IS hard to watch at times. But I'm so glad I did see it. Very cathartic in a way. And trust me, this film couldn't have been done in a more professional, classy way. This feels genuine; of course they are going to 'profit' off it, but you get the sense that the filmmakers and everyone involved poured their hearts into this project and did this to tell a story. A more dignified and heroic story I don't think I've ever seen.