revere-7 Flight 93Last month, in recognition of the 8th anniversary of 9/11, I reviewed the film United 93. As good as that film is, it's not the only movie about that fateful flight, nor in my opinion, is it the best.These days it seems that the best crews are actually working in television, and the made for TV movie Flight 93, a joint production of A&E and FOX is a good example. It tells the exact same story as United 93 taken from the same sources, and also told in a dramatic narrative style, but with a bit more impact. It's a shame that far fewer people have actually seen this TV version of the story.As I've said, both are good "films", but Flight 93, which is technically not a film because it was shot on HD Video instead of 35mm Film like United 93, has more dynamic camera work. Perhaps it's the size difference between the film camera and the HD camera, but even though both were shot primarily hand held, the angles, tight shots and pans are more daring and interesting in Flight. Additionally creative choices and edits were a bit sharper with Flight. For example, within the first few minutes of the film we know the names of the hijackers, and most of the key passengers, thanks to the great idea to include a series of tight shots on the boarding passes as passengers boarded the plane.Flight 93 also includes lots of details throughout that weren't shown in United 93, including some that were perhaps whitewashed from United (whether this was intentional to avoid controversy, lawsuit, for creative reasons, or to lionize all the innocents, or just an accident of choice in the editing room, it still has an impact) for example, the fact that the pilots of the commercial aircraft had received a warning against possible cockpit intrusion, but chose to open the door anyway.While none of these little things – a shot here, a detail there – makes much of a difference on it's own, taken together, they add up to a more dramatic story.If you're the type that views only movies shot on film as "quality", and eschew anything video – yeah, you'll probably like United 93 better. But if you can enjoy HD video just as much (and with a story this engaging, how couldn't you?) I'd recommend Flight 93 between the two.

Michael_Elliott Flight 93 (2006) *** 1/2 (out of 4) A&E produced TV flick beat United 93 to be the first film to take on the subject but I'm really not sure which went into production first but I have to wonder how one company didn't sue the other. Both film (of course) take on the same subject but I was a little shocked at how close both screenplays were in the way the story was presented. The camera work was pretty much the same and both films center on certain aspects of the story and some of the scenes seem to have been filmed the same way. With that out of the way, I think this story is one of the greatest to ever deal with a group of heroes and I think you'd have to be unhuman for the story to grab you. This film does a very good job at telling the story even though it never reaches the brilliant level of United 93. This film here goes for more of an emotional punch as a lot of the film centers on the passengers calling home to their loved ones. One of the most emotional scenes is where one of the passengers comes to peace with the fact that he's going to die so he might as well try and save others on the ground. The performances are all very good, although some of the folks playing the family members go a little over the top.

hobblegott It was proved shortly after 9/11 that flight 93 landed and was evacuated to a NASA base and the supposed crash site had no debris from a commercial jet, no bodies, even the coroner was quoted as saying, "I stopped being coroner after 20 minutes. Til this day I've not seen one drop of blood. Not one." Your government lied about the entire 9/11 tragedy. In the courts of ancient Greece it was asked, "Who Stands To Gain?" or "Who Profits?" Study the facts and see who really stood to gain from 9/11! WWW.INFOWARS.COM WWW.PRISONPLANET.COM The Government needed a crisis to convince the people to willingly give up their liberty in exchange for safety. Now the painful facts are in. The dark forces of global government are funding, training and protecting terrorist networks worldwide. "911: The Road to Tyranny" documents the ruthless history of governments orchestrating terrorist attacks against their own people to scare them into total submission. In this brutal expose you will witness the birth of a global police state that surpasses Orwell's nightmarish vision. It's all here: the history of government-sponsored terrorism, the modern implementation of fear-based control and, most frightening of all, the New World Order's future plans. This is one film you cannot afford to ignore. The future of free people everywhere is at stake.

mixergirl01 I've just read through some of the reviews and am quite surprised at the number of people who feel this film was contrived or heavy-handed in its emotional manipulation. Having worked on the film, I can say with some authority that everyone involved, especially Peter Markle, tried very hard to keep the story as authentic as possible. Conversations were taken verbatim, transcripts from 9/11 were painstakingly researched and family members of the passengers were consulted. In my own opinion, I think the terrorists were portrayed with more sensitivity than in United 93...meaning they seemed more like misguided human beings than monsters. Though having said that, United 93 focused more on the event and Flight 93 spends more time with the passengers and families.Even in post-production copious jokes were made about a son giving his full name to his mother, but that in and of itself is a testament to the desire of the producer and directors to stay as true-to-life as possible. They could have simply rewritten the line but in the end decided not to.I don't know how to say whether this film is "good" or "bad." I think it tries to be a fairly even-handed account of a devastating event and for the most part succeeds.