World Trade Center (film)

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World Trade Center
"World Trade Center" Promotional Poster
Directed by	Oliver Stone
Produced by	Moritz Borman Debra Hill Michael Shamberg Stacey Sher
Written by	Andrea Berloff
Starring	Nicolas Cage Michael Peña Maggie Gyllenhaal Maria Bello Stephen Dorff Jay Hernandez Michael Shannon
Music by	Craig Armstrong
Cinematography	Seamus McGarvey
Editing by	David Brenner Julie Monroe
Distributed by	USA Theatrical and Worldwide DVD/Video Paramount Pictures Non-USA Theatrical United International Pictures
Release date(s)	August 9, 2006 (in USA) September 29, 2006 (in UK)
Running time	129 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$65,000,000
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

World Trade Center (aka World Trade Centre) is a dramatic film based on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers of New York City, released by Paramount Pictures on August 9, 2006.

The movie was directed by renowned director Oliver Stone and stars Nicolas Cage, Michael Peña, Maria Bello, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The MPAA rated it "PG-13" for "intense and emotional content, some disturbing images and language."^[1]

It is billed as an uplifting story about everyday New Yorkers helping one another amid a cataclysmic tragedy, and is the first theatrical motion picture to deal with the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11 and the heroic efforts of countless rescue workers and regular citizens. The film received generally favorable critical reception. Many of the re-created scenes at the Twin Towers were filmed at Playa Vista, California.

1 Overview
2 Critics response
3 Awards
4 Controversy
5 Factual inaccuracies
6 Trivia
7 Box office
8 DVD/Blu-ray Releases
9 Interviews
10 See also
11 References
12 Notes
13 External links

[edit] Overview

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Nicolas Cage as John McLoughlin

Michael Peña as Will Jimeno

Maria Bello as John McLoughlin's wife, Donna

The true story of Port Authority police officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, who, while patrolling in Lower Manhattan, New York City on September 11, 2001, heard a loud thump.

Back in their police station, an effect similar to an earthquake knocks everything about. As all of the police officers return to the station, they see the TV, and find that one of the massive twin towers of the World Trade Center has been hit by a plane. Sergeant McLoughlin assigns many of the officers to assist in an evacuation attempt of the (still undamaged) South Tower, and they proceed to the Port Authority Bus Station.

When they arrive at the site of the World Trade Center, they see many disturbing things, including one of the first victims jumping out of the tower to their death to escape the flames. As Jimeno drops off their police equipment in 5 World Trade Center, officers proceed to get safety equipment and, walk into the concourse of the World Trade Center, between the two towers. The group consists of McLoughlin, Jimeno, Dominick Pezzulo, and Antonio Rodrigues (A-Rod).

The wives and families of McLoughlin and Jimeno are gradually introduced, unaware of their husbands' and fathers' fates.

An officer, named Chris Amoroso, runs along to tell them of the other events such as the Pentagon being hit by what they believed to be a missile, and the South Tower being hit by another plane. As the group prepare to enter the North Tower, the buildings begin to rumble. Looking around, McLoughlin realizes that the South Tower is collapsing onto them, and their only chance of survival is to run into the service elevator shaft. Chris trips and doesn't have time to get up. A-Rod isn't able to get to the shaft in time. McLoughlin, Jimeno and Pezzulo manage to escape the huge amounts of dust and rubble flying down from the South Tower. But as the rubble continues to crush the elevator shaft, the three are knocked out.

As the group wake up, Pezzulo realises he can free himself, and manages to go nearer to Jimeno in the rubble, who, along with McLoughlin, have survived the collapse of the South Tower. As Pezzulo gets optimistic that they will live, the rumbling starts up again, as the North Tower is now collapsing as well. Although Jimeno and McLoughlin are unharmed, Pezzulo is fatally wounded and, after firing his gun up through a gap in the rubble to try to alert rescuers to their position, dies.

After Jimeno and McLoughlin spend hours under the rubble, luckily two United States Marines, Dave Karnes and Jason Thomas, who are searching for survivors of the tower collapse find Jimeno and McLoughlin and call for help to dig them out.

Their families are called and told that their husbands have walked out of the rubble in perfect health, but this is wrong, in fact, they are both in danger of dying. When they arrive, they are told that their husbands are in hospital and they rush to meet them. McLoughlin's family manages to find him just before he is pulled into the operating room to be put in a medically induced coma.

Two years later, as they attend a celebration to receive an award for courage, their families are happy again that the two officers, McLoughlin and Jimeno, survived the biggest terrorist attack in US history.

2,821 people perished in the Twin Towers attacks, and only 20 people were pulled out alive. McLoughlin and Jimeno were numbers 18 and 19.

[edit] Critics response

The recreated New York City skyline featuring, prominently, the World Trade Center

The film garnered much critical acclaim, with a 71% fresh reading at the website rottentomatoes.com.

Positive reviews:

Richard Roeper: "One Of The Best Films Of The Year."
Time: "A powerful movie experience, a hymn in plainsong that glorifies that which is best in the American spirit."
The Philadelphia Inquirer: "A humanist movie of enormous empathy."
The Arizona Republic: "Stone has made the most important film of his long career."
New York Daily News: "One of Stone's most powerful movies."
New York Post: "An expertly crafted, respectful piece of inspirational film-making."
Detroit Free Press: "'World Trade Center' is beautifully acted down to the smallest role."
Entertainment Weekly: "A tribute to those who died. It's a scrupulous and honorable film"
Good Morning America: "A true story of courage and survival that you would never expect."

Mixed reviews:

San Francisco Chronicle: "Stone does justice to the real-life people, but the story is limited in scope and impact."
Variety: "Lovely and touching moments but proves a slow-going, arduous movie experience."
Chicago Tribune: "A comfortably unsettling drama."
The Wall Street Journal: "A mediocre disaster movie."

[edit] Awards

Best Picture - Online Film Fans Awards
Best Movie - The Resources of Sheboygan Club
Best Director, Oliver Stone- Online Film Fans Awards

[edit] Controversy

Jeanette Pezzulo, the widow of Port Authority police officer Dominick Pezzulo (who died on 9/11 and is played by Jay Hernandez in this film), has expressed anger with this film and feels it is wrong McLoughlin and Jimeno participated in the production. She's quoted as saying, "My thing is: this man died for you. How do you do this to this family?".^[2] Staten Island resident Jamie Amoroso, whose husband also died during the rescue operation, has also expressed her anger over the film and said she does "not need a movie" to tell her "what a hero" her husband was.^[2] Baltimore detective Ken Nacke, whose brother Louis died on Flight 93, said he would not be going to see the film. He criticised its producers for not involving enough of the survivors' families in its production, something he said did not happen with United 93 director Paul Greengrass, who collected the blessings of all the victims' families before shooting his controversial film (although it has been reported that the widow of United 93 victim Christian Adams refused to cooperate in the making of that film. See United 93 Controversy). He added: "I met a couple of people who lost relatives and had approached the producers and weren't allowed to be involved, and I think it would be disrespectful to them if I went to see it."^[2]

The Port Authority police officers who are played by Cage and Peña, John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, and their wives, played by Bello and Gyllenhaal, were involved with the production and continue to support the film. McLoughlin's wife Donna has said: "We got involved because we felt it needed to be done accurately. We wanted to do the right thing and I think the filmmakers wanted to do the right thing too."^[2]

There were initial concerns this film would examine 9/11 conspiracy theories because director Oliver Stone is known for examining similar theories in his films (JFK in particular), and some 9/11 conspiracy websites are promoting the idea that the film does contain hints of the conspiracy. Stone and the producers, however, have said the film is a simple dedication to the heroism and sadness of the day with little-to-no political themes.^[2]^[3]^[4]

The Los Angeles Times reported that 9/11 conspiracy theorists were boycotting the film and were disappointed Stone didn't make a JFK style conspiracy film.^[5] "Was Stone used by the Illuminati as an unknowing pawn to whitewash the 9/11 conspiracy theories to the masses?" wondered author John Conner.^[6] Syndicated radio hosts Jack Blood and Alex Jones also expressed similar views that many in the 9/11 Truth Movement were expecting Stone to give them a voice and felt let down.^[5]

[edit] Factual inaccuracies

View of the smoking World Trade Center from a bus full of police officers heading to the building

When the officers got to the World Trade Center, only the North Tower was on fire. Judging from the time it took for them to be notified, prepare, and travel to Downtown, by the time they got there, the South Tower should have already been hit.

Commentators have pointed out a number of factual inaccuracies in the film, particularly concerning the rescue effort. The film has been accused of not providing a fair portrayal of the character and motives of rescuer Dave Karnes, a pivotal character in the film who did not cooperate in the making of the film. The film also inaccurately portrayed Jason Thomas, who joined Karnes in the rescue, as white when he was really black. The film's producers realized the mistake only after production began, and apologized to Thomas, whose identity had not been widely known for years after September 11. Also, on the DVD commentary, Oliver Stone refers to Jason Thomas as Mike Thomas.^[7]

Critics of the film say it inaccurately identified the rescuers who worked to free Jimeno and McLouglin, failed to accurately convey the time required to dig the men out, and that it understated the dangers posed to the rescuers. Among other things, the film failed to properly acknowledge the role of paramedic Chuck Sereika. Contrary to as depicted in the film, Sereika began treating and extricating Jimeno a full 20 minutes before officers from the New York City Police Department's Emergency Services Unit arrived.^[8]

When Jimeno is dealing with the tourists outside the bus terminal, the shadow of the first plane is cast on the E Walk of The Westin New York at Times Square. This cannot be true, since both the E Walk and The Westin were under construction at the time and opened in October 2002.

There is a brief scene set in Hong Kong, where locals are stunned by what they see happening in New York on TV. The background clearly shows that it is daytime. However, when the 9/11 events occurred, it was night time in Hong Kong.

Before the collapse of the Tower, Jimeno and McLoughlin are shown walking across the main concourse shops with the rest of the firefighters, the mall shows Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream being a store when in reality it was a kiosk.

In the beginning of the movie, there was a scene showing a 2 train of R46s approaching an elevated scene. Not only were the cars wrong, but the division as the R46s are for the "B" Division or BMT/IND (the lettered lines) while the 2 train is part of the "A" Division or IRT (the numbered lines). In September 2001, the 2 consisted of R142s and Redbirds. A later scene shows the interior of an empty R46 train and through the windows, one can see the train rising for underground to elevated tracks. This was more accurate as it appears the train is where the Culver Line rises from underground to elevated between Carroll Street and Smith-Ninth Streets or between Church Avenue and Ditmas Avenue. The Culver Line is served by the F train, which uses the R46s.

Although this film takes place in 2001, many cars on the street are of newer model years. Examples include versions of the Lincoln Town Car, Honda Element, and Chevrolet Express not introduced until 2003, and a 2004 or newer Dodge Durango and Mazda 3. The RCN truck resembles the company's image from 2004

In the opening scene there is a reference to a home run Derek Jeter hit that Saturday. However, Jeter did not hit a home run in that September 8th game against the Boston Red Sox.

In the beginning was a view of the streets with a crossing sign. However, that type of electronic sign (the one with the hand for "Don't Walk" and the person for "Walk") was not installed until December 2001. At the time of the attacks, the old signs with the words were still in use.

[edit] Trivia

This is the first Oliver Stone film to receive less than an R rating since "Seizure" in 1974.
Moviegoers gave the picture an "A-" overall in CinemaScore.
Won the 'Best Picture' and 'Best Director' Award at the Online Film Fans Awards held on Monday, October 23, 2006.
It was thought that news of England's thwarted Islamic terrorist threat on the Thursday before the film opened would have an effect on its opening weekend box-office numbers. However, it had no noticeable effect on business due to its lack of direct emphasis on terrorism, and would earn $18,700,000 in the first weekend.
The real-life John McLoughlin and William Jimeno appear in the end of the film at the barbeque.
According to DVD commentary by Will Jimeno, Sergeant John McLoughlin has since been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Box office

On opening weekend it gained approximately $18,730,762 in the U.S. and Canada.
As of Wednesday, October 25, the film has made $70,278,893 at the North American Box-Office.
World-wide the film has taken in over $161,000,000.

[edit] DVD/Blu-ray Releases

The Region 1 DVD was released on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 with the Region 2 release following on Monday, January 29, 2007. A special 2-disc set was also released, which includes the following bonus features:

DISC ONE

Commentary by Oliver Stone
Commentary by Will Jimeno and rescuers Scott Strauss, John Busching and Paddy McGee
Nine deleted/extended scenes with optional audio commentary

DISC TWO

A three-part making-of documentary
A two-part "Common Sacrifices" featurette
Q&A with Oliver Stone
Theatrical Trailer
5 TV Spots
Photo Gallery

A 3-Disc Deluxe Edition was produced exclusively for Target stores. The third disc came with "In Their Own Words," a 75 minute series of interviews, including survivors John McLaughlin and Will Jimeno, their spouses, and other survivors and rescuers.

A two Disc Blu-ray version is also available with more features than that of the 3 disc Deluxe Edition DVD set.

DISC ONE

Commentary by Oliver Stone
Commentary by Will Jimeno and rescuers Scott Strauss, John Busching and Paddy McGee
Nine deleted/extended scenes with optional audio commentary.

DISC TWO