Stone's WTC
I even took a nap yesterday afternoon so I would be prepared to go out to the movies last night.
(By the way -- $9.25 to see a film at Hunt Valley. Geeeeeeezzzzz!!)
Anyway, good film -- not great -- Cage excellent again, and there are some awesomely frightening depictions of the WTC cave-in. I was scared, felt the onset of claustrophobia . . . But, I gotta tell ya, I yawned about three-quarters through. Not sure why. I appreciate the little-story-within-the-massive-story approach, having taken that route myself with columns on a lot of major news stories..... But I guess I wanted more, and expected more -- because the trailer was so good. I anticipated a broader sense of what the day meant and how this story-within-the-story reflected that. This film is too much like Ladder 49 to be a film about the day that changed America.
Technically speaking, it would have been nice to see more detail in the actual rescue, for instance. How did the second responders snake and climb their way to the trapped first responders? Stone skips a few beats here.
Sound effects are awesome, but music numbingly minimalist.
Maybe the problem is that no film about 9/11 will ever be able to match the emotion that took place among all of us on that day. Maybe it's impossible to top the real thing.
Still, the film is a tribute. Regard it as nothing more than that. It's a fine homage to those who sacrificed and went through hell that day -- and to all who still go out there, still stand firm on the thin line between danger and disaster and the rest of us living our lives.
Comments
Good points. I saw it the other day and I wasn't overly impressed, but I didn't think it was horrible either. I wish he built up the characters a little more since I barely knew them, but I think Stone did a great job setting up how calm and regular that fateful day started. Can't make up my mind if I liked this movie more or less than United93 (like in the theatrical sense...I could never actually say I like the tragedy).
And $9.25...for a matinee??
Posted by: Bryan | August 13, 2006 10:46 PM
Good points. I saw it the other day and I wasn't overly impressed, but I didn't think it was horrible either. I wish he built up the characters a little more since I barely knew them, but I think Stone did a great job setting up how calm and regular that fateful day started. Can't make up my mind if I liked this movie more or less than United93 (like in the theatrical sense...I could never actually say I like the tragedy).
And $9.25...for a matinee??
Posted by: Bryan | August 13, 2006 10:46 PM
AMC Fridays before noon are $4.00. i didn't like the movie, i thought the plot line and focus was some how to narrow given all that transpired that day.
Posted by: rita | August 15, 2006 6:08 AM
'World Trade Center' omits Black soldier
Following disasters of historically epic proportions like the attack on the
World Trade Center, there are bound to be countless tales of self-sacrifice,
heroism and triumph. Some stories, like those told in the movies Flight 93
and Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, premiering Aug. 9, are made into
blockbusters for the world to see.
Such is the tale of United States Marine Corps Sgt. Jason L. Thomas--in
spite of the fact that his story and the one told in World Trade Center are
one in the same.
The morning of Sept. 11, 2001 Jason L. Thomas, an African-American student at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of City University of New York, heard about the attack after taking his daughter to his mother's house in Queens so he could attend classes. He decided to go into the city and provide assistance at Ground Zero. He ran out to his car, put on his uniform and shot to the city.
After a delay in Queens, which Thomas credits for keeping him away from the
collapse of the South Tower, he attached himself to a police convoy and made
it to the site within moments of the fall of the North Tower. At Ground Zero, Thomas immediately began to help by fighting fires,
establishing triage sites to help the injured and assisting with the overall evacuation.
Shortly thereafter, Thomas and another person at the scence, Marine Staff Sgt. Dave Karnes decided to begin a search and rescue mission of the area and were the persons who found the main characters that the film is based on in the rubble.
In the film, however, they were
rescued by Dave Karnes and PFC Dave Thomas; a composite character,played by William Mapother, a white actor, who is meant to represent Sgt. Thomas.
World Trade Center producer Michael Shamberg said that they knew about Sgt.
Thomas's role in the rescue, but were unable to find him when creating the film. He said producers didn't discover Thomas was a Black man until after they had started the movie. He also said that in spite of the fact that the film was co-written by McLoughlin and Jimeno was consulted for authenticity,
no one ever asked them for a physical description of the man who helped save
their lives.
"Frankly, we goofed--we learned when we were filming that he was an African-American", said Shamberg. We would change it if we could. I actually called him and apologized, and he said he didn't mind. He was very gracious about it.
Shamberg also apologized for another African-American officer, Bruce
Reynolds, who was also portrayed as white in the movie. Sgt. Thomas, meanwhile, didn't learn the film was about his story until he saw the unmistakable image of two marines peering into a whole at Ground Zero
during a commercial for the movie. He said that while he wasn't angry about how the film turned out, he does wish it could have been more realistic.
Full story in The New Pittsburgh Courier
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/articlelive/articles/35730/1/World-Trade-Center-omits-Black-soldier/WTC-movies-unsung-hero.html
Posted by: Garland | August 17, 2006 8:45 AM