United 93

[amycat412]

I am going to a screening of this movie next Tuesday... I'll let you know how it is.

[macallan25]

I think the situation is a little bit different......actually I think it is not even close.

Originally posted by KillarneyRose
I don't think enough time has passed to be making a movie about 9/11. But then, I didn't think enough time had passed between what happened to our troops in Somalia and "Blackhawk Down" being made, either.

[valkyrie]

The good thing is that people who think this movie shouldn't have been made at this time don't have to see it, and the people who want to see it can.

[AchtungBaby80]

Originally posted by KillarneyRose
I don't think enough time has passed to be making a movie about 9/11. But then, I didn't think enough time had passed between what happened to our troops in Somalia and "Blackhawk Down" being made, either.

Me, either. That's why I will choose not to see it, but I know other people do not feel the same way and that's fine with me.

[Dionysus]

9/11 and flight 93 aside, the 90's was kind of a long time ago. Some of us were only kids then.

[bluefish81]

I saw the preview for this when I went to see Thank You for Smoking. I was a bit surprised to see it being previewed before Thank You... since most of the other previews that I saw were comedies. The preview alone made me cry, I'm gong to have to wait for video or bring an entire box of tissue to the theatre to watch United 93.

[texas*princess]

I don't think I could watch it. I couldn't even watch the entire trailer when it came out last week.

There's always the question of "how soon is too soon?" when movie producers want to make a movie about a tragedy, but I really don't think this one should have been made at all. This personally affected thousands of people and their families and even for those that didn't lose loved ones during 9/11, it's just so hard to have to relive everything you saw on the news... at least for me.

[ASUADPi]

I want to see it.

Like PM_Mama00 said, whether we like it or not, 9-11 is a part of history. 5 years ago you had kids who weren't old enough to understand what the hell happened, that's not the case now. Whether we like it or not, it's already in the history books. This is probably a current event that is taught to high schoolers (depending on each states particular standards). As much as people need and want to mourn it, we need to teach it.

If it's not obvious by what I've said, I'm a teacher. My BA is in History. I plan on teaching History next year. I plan on getting my MA in History. So for me, being this History buff, I don't see a problem with it (the movie).

Yes, there are going to be people who aren't ready for this movie. I get that. There are going to be people who probably demand a boycott of it. Again, that's fine.

As a country, I don't think we will ever be over 9-11. The United States changed the day the towers fell. We can't change that.

The good thing about this movie, is that no one is being forced to see it.

[KillarneyRose]

Originally posted by macallan25
I think the situation is a little bit different......actually I think it is not even close.

Really? Aside from the obvious, how is the basic idea different? (Not being snarky; I'm really interested to know what you think)

[ASUADPi]

Although I'm not macallan25 I'm going to take a guess that it's because the events of Somalia occured in 1993 and the movie was released in 2002, 9 years after the event. Plus, Somalia wasn't a quote on quote surprise attack.

Not to do a hijack, but all of the raids prior to this one the military did at night (it was actually stated in the movie the concern about going in broad daylight when the Somali's were all high on 'cot'). So, that in essence was an issue. The second issue is the fact of Wolcott's Black Hawk being shot down, had the copter not been shot down, I'm sure the men would have made it out of 'The Mog' relatively unscathed, but because it went down, it was now a rescue mission, which caused more lives to be lost. Yes, we lost men, 17, but they killed over 500 Somali, our casualities could have been considerabley worse.

Not that I want to diminish what happened in Somalia, by any stretch of the imagination, but comparing Somalia to 9-11 is like comparing apples to oranges.

We know 9-11 was a surprise attack. We lost nearly 3000 lives, a huge majority of them civilians. If 9-11 needs to be compared to anything it needs to be compared to Pearl Harbor.

I don't think any of these movies based on historical facts are easy to make, no matter the time frame. Hell, on my Pearl Harbor directors cut special edition DVD, there is a special feature talking to the survivors of Pearl Harbor and they still get chocked up about it, and it will be 65 years this year. Does that mean the movie shouldn't have been made? No, people will always have strong feelings about it. The same goes for 9-11.

I think what we need to remember is that the producers had/have the support of the families, to tell their loved one's story. Yes, 95% of it will be dramaticized because no one will ever know what really happened. All we know is the phone calls that were made. Those just give us a glimpse into what happened. And for me personally, I consider those people on Flight 93 heros. They knew about the other planes, they knew what was going to happen to them. They knew they were going to die. And they decided to take them down before they (the terrorists) could kill hundreds of other innocent lives. I really hope this movie honors them!

[macallan25]

Originally posted by KillarneyRose
Really? Aside from the obvious, how is the basic idea different? (Not being snarky; I'm really interested to know what you think)

The 1993 Battle of Mogadishu that occurred during Operation Restore Hope resulted in the death of I think 18 Army Rangers and Delta Force combined. On the other side, we killed around 500 - 1000 Samalian Guerillas and injured around 3000-4000 civilians and small fighting units. Our losses were insignificant, allthough it was a large price to pay for an operation that should never have taken place. The outcome caused our then Secretary of Defense to step down and it caused a dramatic change in how the US would conduct foreign policy in 3rd World Countries.

Now, I was very young when the Somalia conflict occurred, so I can't comment on the rammifications of the outcome, but I would venture to say that it didn't affect the lives of Americans nearly as much as 9/11, in which thousands of Americans died right in front of our eyes. This is even without mentioning the reports, conflicts, stories, etc. etc. that followed.

To me the movie Black Hawk Down wasn't at all inappropriate. If it upset anyone with its release it was more than likely Somalians.

I guess I am trying to say that, to me, the lasting affects that 9/11 has had on all of us is far greater than 18 American Soldiers getting killed in action. If anything, I think the lasting affects that the Battle of Mogadishu would have on people would come in the form of displeasure with the breakdown in policy.

I think most people went to go see Blackhawk Down to be entertained, mayble learn a little something, but nonetheless, to be entertained. I can't even imagine thinking that if I do choose to see United 93. I would kind of compare it to seeing Passion of Christ. Didn't have entertainment in mind when I sat down for that one.

[xo_kathy]

Originally posted by SydneyK
And, OTW referenced the A&E movie... I cried when I watched that, too. But then, once I started thinking about it, I thought, "This is doing nothing but helping terrorists know how to do a *better* job next time." They'll know the ways people found to fight back, and they'll minimize those options.

Am I the only one who is surprised that the government isn't trying to keep this information to themselves? Who knows, maybe they are, but it doesn't seem like anyone's doing anything to keep this info quiet, and it seems to me like it shouldn't be available to those who will take advantage of it.

Sorry, but I think this is a little silly. Terrorists don't need our re-enactment of an attack to help them figure out how to do it better next time. Not to sound crass, but 9-11 was a pretty brilliant plot in terms of logistics. It was huge and we were completely surprised (for the most part). Osama may be a whack job, but he's smart. He and his cronies don't need any help planning their next attack. Unfortunately, it's probably already figured out...

All that said, the movie doesn't bother me at all. I won't pay $10 to see it in the theatre, but I may rent it On-Demand when it's out that way. Just to save money, not for any big moral reason.

And why isn't there any discussion about the new Oliver Stone movie (I think it's Stone) with Nicolas Cage that's coming out soon? Are the same people going to be updet by that, or because it's big names they'll be okay with it?

[valkyrie]

I'm really upset that they keep making movies that suck, but that doesn't make it stop.

[xo_kathy]

Originally posted by AXiD670


Which movie is that?

World Trade Center (it IS an Oliver Stone movie)

From IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469641/

[ASUADPi]

Originally posted by xo_kathy
World Trade Center (it IS an Oliver Stone movie)

From IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469641/

I have to say, just by looking at the credits, I'm looking forward to this movie. I really like Maria Bello (ER and Coyote Ugly baby!).