Product Description

Flight 93 tells the stirring story of the brave passengers and crew aboard hijacked United Airlines' Flight 93 on September 11 2001. After learning of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon these ordinary civilians chose to fight back against the terrorists. The courageous revolt ultimately led to the deadly crash in a Shanksville Pennsylvania field just 20 air minutes from Washington. The passengers' actions likely prevented the plane from being used as a guided missile to destroy the U.S. Capitol or the White House.Based on fully annotated facts from the public record this heart-pounding movie includes the extraordinary communications that took place between the doomed passengers and their loved ones on the ground. It covers the horrifying scenarios discussed by U.S. military and government officials as they prepared to shoot down the plane if necessary. And it reveals the helpless efforts of other pilots in the air and air traffic controllers as everyone scrambled to understand events and react. Ty Olsson stars as gay hero Mark Bingham.System Requirements:Run Time: 90 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 084296409211 Manufacturer No: 40921

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19240 in DVD
• Brand: ALLUMINATION FILM WORKS LLC
• Released on: 2006-05-02
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: Arabic, English
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 89 minutes

Amazon.com
Three months before the much-publicized theatrical release of United 93, the same true-life tragedy was faithfully dramatized in Flight 93, an equally praiseworthy TV movie that was originally broadcast on the A&E network on January 30, 2006. The fourth plane to be hijacked on September 11th, 2001 – and the only plane that didn't reach its intended terrorist target – is the riveting subject of this film, which unfolds in real-time (similar but not identical to United 93), beginning with the terrorists' preparations and boarding of the ill-fated flight. We then follow the notorious events as they unfold, and from that moment on, it's nearly impossible to take your eyes off the screen. The intense drama focuses on the passengers who ultimately thwarted the terrorists – they include Tom Burnett (Jeffrey Nordling), Todd Beamer (Brennan Elliot), and Mark Bingham (Ty Olsson) – but as their counter-attack plans are being made, the action also reveals the chaotic nature of the ground response, from the White House bunker (where Vice President Cheney was moved for security) to Offices of the Federal Aviation Agency, Verizon headquarters (where in-flight calls were monitored), and United Airlines flight control, where pilots and terrorists alike could be heard throughout the terrible ordeal of the hijacking.

To his credit, director Peter Markle steers clear from any sense of exploitation (it helps that there was a five-year gap between the 9/11 tragedy and this respectable film); furthermore, both Markle and screenwriter Nevin Schreiner avoid the pitfalls of melodrama by keeping the action rooted in the facts as we know them. Speculation is necessary for some of the dramatic details, but Flight 93 benefits from a well-chosen cast of unknowns, which enhances our belief in them as ordinary citizens under extraordinary circumstances. As you might expect, several scenes are inherently unforgettable (up to and including the now heroic phrase "Let's roll!" as the counter-attack begins), and the authentically played emotions are further intensified by realistic special effects by Gary Gutierrez, who performed similarly laudable duties on The Right Stuff 23 years earlier, at the start of his visual effects career. Produced with the cooperation of surviving family members of those who perished on Flight 93, this well-made TV film handles difficult material with grace under pressure, and that alone serves as an admirable tribute to those brave passengers who gave their lives so that others could be saved. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

AN INTENSE, EMOTIONALLY-CHARGED RE-EENACTMENT!
"Flight 93" is a riveting, powerful television film that recreates the events of that tragic September morning, as forty brave passengers banned together to re-take their hijacked plane from terrorists who are hell-bent on crashing it into either the White House or the Capitol Building. Outstanding performances, breathtaking visual effects, and exceptional storytelling fuel the film's powerful presentation of the price that was paid on 9/11. I highly recommend it!
Movie/DVD Grade: A

a completely different flight
This fine A&E reenactment of one slice of the confusing events of September 11, 2001 succeeds in showing the combination of ad hoc citizen response and highly professional management that greeted the high-speed unfolding of those incomprehensible events.

The grippingly eerie music of the soundtrack frames the portraits of normalcy that open the film. Early on, we are shown the names of many of Flight 93's passengers when the camera focuses on the processing of their boarding passes by a Newark flight agent. From then on, we see them as real people who find themselves the protagonists of a seemingly unreal attack.

When it becomes clear that Flight 93 is 'obviously not planning on landing', the passengers - with the encouragement or acquiescence of grieving family on the ground - do what they have to do to 'regain control of the plane'.

Flight 93 suggests the possibility that orders were given - or would soon have been given - to take the flight down as it made its erratic way towards Washington. This reviewer - a frequent flyer - applauds discussion of this possibility and believes such action should be taken in the event we again find ourselves in this predicament.

Flight 93 is not an easy film to watch. Yet it is salutary to do so, for a moment to imagine the terror experienced by civilians caught in a war in the airspace above a peaceful land, to see that evil *and* fear coexist in the eyes of the people who do such things, and to remember that sometimes the most dire of circumstances squeeze heroism to the surface of quite ordinary lives.

A Stirring Tribute
On a bright September morning in 2001, four commercial airliners were hijacked by Arab terrorists. Three of them were deliberately crashed into buildings; two into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. The fourth airliner, United Airlines flight 93, was also scheduled to be flown into a building, possibly the White House or the Capitol building, but the heroic passengers aboard this flight fought back against the terrorists. Despite knowing that they were all going to die, these brave people banded together and managed to thwart the efforts of the terrorists.

The movie is shown through the eyes of the passengers of flight 93. Their flight begins normally, but once airborne, four Arab terrorists, who claim to have a bomb, succeed in breaking into the cockpit and taking control of the aircraft. The plane, originally bound for San Francisco, is turned around and is now heading east. The terrorists, armed whitn box cutters, have already killed one of the passengers and wounded several others. Some of the passengers, including Tom Burnett (Jeffrey Nordling) have begun making cell phone calls to their loved ones. It is during one of these that Burnett learns from his wife that the World Trade Center has been struck. Tom deduces that his plane is also intended to be used as a suicide plane to be flown into another building.

Some of the other passengers, including Mark Bingham (Ty Olsson), Todd Beamer (Brennan Elliott), and Jeremy Glick (Colin Glazer) develop a plan to charge the cockpit and overthrow the terrorists. In the meantime, Todd Beamer has called the Verizon center. The call is answered by Lisa Jefferson (Monnae Michaell). The conversation that transpires between the two strangers is both poignant and frightening, as Lisa is able to hear everything that is happening on the plane. Todd finally asks Lisa to recite the Lord's Prayer with him. Afterward, Todd utters the words that have become so famous to many; "Let's Roll".

Despite their heroic efforts, flight 93 crashed in a rural area in Pennsylvania, just 20 minutes away from the nation's capitol. The actions of these valiant passengers likely prevented the plane from reaching its intended target, widely thought to be the White House or the Capitol Building.

This excellent movie is a fitting tribute to those heroic passengers aboard flight 93. The acting is very good, and the story is retold with complete historical accuracy. Ty Olsson, Brennan Elliott, Colin Glazer, Jeffrey Nordling, Laura Mennell (Elizabeth Wainio), and April Telek (Lyz Glick) all give powerful and moving performances as the passengers and loved ones of flight 93. Also included in the film are actual communications between the passengers and their loved ones on the ground.

I highly recommend this heartbreaking and true story. Despite the numerous casualties suffered during the attacks of September 11, 2001, the toll would have undoubtedly been much higher if not for the efforts of these brave and unselfish people. This movie serves as a glowing tribute to those aboard the plane and their loved ones. Their selfless sacrifice will never be forgotten.