While others were running out of the towers, these brave souls were running into them to save people.
World Trade Center is about three stories. First is the story of John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, second is the story of Donna and Allison, and finally of the rescue of the trapped men.
The world was holding it’s breath after it was announced that Oliver Stone would be helming a movie about 9/11. Thoughts pulled back to the conspiracy laden JFK, but it must’ve been a collective sigh of relief that he produced such an exceptional and moving film.
We all know that happened on September 11, 2001. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Center and the buildings collapsed. John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) is the veteran port authority officer that leads a small group of men into the towers to help rescue those inside. Two of those men are Dominick Pezzulo (Jay Hernandez) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena). They’ve barely arrived when the first tower collapses. John yells that they should run towards the elevator shaft as the building is coming down around them. Both John and Will end up buried alive tons of rubble.
McLoughlin and company go into the building to rescue others
The two men form a bond as they wonder if they’ll make it out of this situation alive. Meanwhile, as the country reels from the attacks, John’s wife Donna (Maria Bello) and Will’s wife Allison (Maggie Gyllenhaal) are wondering if they’re husbands are alive. People come to New York to assist in the recovery and search for survivors.
One of those is ex-Marine Dave Karnes (Michael Shannon) who feels that God has called him to assist in the efforts. He and Sgt. Thomas (William Mapother) find Will and John and bring help to get them out of the rubble. The rescue effort is put into full force to try and free the men from the hellish 20-foot deep hole that they’ve been buried in.
World Trade Center is about three stories. First is the story of John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, second is the story of Donna and Allison, and finally of the rescue of the trapped men.
I think that many people may have been shocked when it was announced that Oliver Stone would be helming this picture. They had visions of a JFK-esque film about 9/11 that would cover all sorts of conspiracy theories (and there are many of those as a quick search of the internet will prove). However, Stone has crafted a fine film that focuses not particularly on the events of 9/11, but on the people that were caught up in the events of 9/11.
On the accompanying documentary (on disc 2 of the commemorative edition) you learn that Stone had committed himself to telling the real story and involved many of the people that were part of the events covered in the film. He even rewrote or redid certain scenes when the script did not match how the consultants recalled events (sometimes to the smallest degree, though some bits still had to be changed for dramatic impact).
The four leads (Cage, Pena, Bello, and Gyllenhaal) are expertly cast and play their parts to perfection. Jay Hernandez gives them excellent support, amongst others. There were even times that I was shocked to later realize that a particular actor was playing a role. I was either caught up in the movie or the dark setting threw me off, but I didn’t recognize Stephen Dorff or Frank Whaley until later in the film. I tend to think that I was caught up in the picture, but their performances were also of high quality. Actually, I can’t think of anyone that was of poor quality but it would take too much space to give everyone a mention. Fine work all around.
Jimeno faces the flames of the pit
World Trade Center has been released in three different editions. First is a one-disc widescreen edition, second is a fullscreen edition, and finally this two disc commemorative edition. The commemorative edition presents the film in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.
Disc one contains a commentary by director Oliver Stone, and a second commentary by Will Jimeno, and his rescuers Scott Strauss, John Busching, and Paddy McGee. There are also 17 minutes of deleted or extended scenes with an optional commentary by director Oliver Stone.
Disc two contains several excellent documentaries on the film. The first is called “The Making of World Trade Center.” It runs 53 minutes and can be watched in sections or you can watch it with the “play all” feature. It has interviews with Oliver Stone, Will Jimeno, John McLoughlin, producer Stacey Sher, producer Michael Shamberg, screenwriter Andrea Berloff, producer Moritz Borman, executive producer Donald Lee, Jr., Scott Strauss (NYPD ESU), Allison Jimeno, Nicholas Cage, Michael Pena, Jay Hernandez, Maria Bello, Donna McLoughlin, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Charlie Gargano (PAPD), Detective Thomas McHale (PAPD), Scott Fox (FDNY), Joseph Esposito (FDNY), Arnold Grant (PAPD), Kevin Feeley (PAPD), Stephen Dorff, Inspector John Kassimatis (PAPD), director of photography Seamus McGarvey, costume designer Michael Dennison, Michael Shannon, Sgt. Jason Thomas (U.S. Marines), composer Craig Armstrong, supervising audio editor Wylie Stateman, World Trade Center survivor Thomas Canavan, John Rice (PAPD), and Jim Moran (PAPD).
“Common Sacrifice” runs 54 minutes and chronicles the rescue of McLoughlin and Jimeno as well as their recovery. “Building Ground Zero” runs 25 minutes and is about the production design to recreate the events of 9/11. “Oliver Stone’s New York” runs 24 minutes is an interview with Stone about his upbringing in the big apple as well as his ideas as a director. “Q&A with Oliver Stone” is a 13-minute excerpt from the David Lean Lecture Series (hosted by Mark Kermode) from September 6, 2006. Finally, there’s the theatrical trailer, 5 TV spots, and a photo gallery.
World Trade Center is a fine film. Those that thought Stone would focus on conspiracies need not be alarmed. He’s crafted a film about the men that survived a horrible ordeal. In fact, I think that it harkens back to films from the golden age of Hollywood.
The heroes work to rescue the stranded at the World Trade Center
There were only 20 people that survived the collapse of the towers and McLoughlin and Jimeno were the 18th and 19th. The film tells the story of how human beings can rise to the occasion to overcome staggering odds as well as help out their fellow human beings. Oliver Stone has crafted a fine film and one that paints a moving portrait of one of America’s darkest hours.
World Trade Center (Two-Disc Commemorative Edition) is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a Jan. 29th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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