9/11: 10 Years Later

This has to be the most detailed views of that day but this one is unique because it is through the eyes of a NY City Firefighter. THe film makers became members of the FDNY family having spent months with them, joking with them and living through the most horrific event in our country's history. I find the events experienced by Jules & Gedeon to be awe-inspiring because they show the emotions of the first responders in their film. No where else is the emotion of these heroes visible than on their own faces - something that this documentary displays. The men in this documentary are true heroes, doing their job without regard to their own safety.

Sadly, I cannot find the "Ten Years Later" version to watch and/or purchase anywhere. IF anyone can find it, please post it here.

In most disgraceful way - feeding on died fireman - following "official story" with Muslim terrorism. Authors did not even try to ask, unanswered for 10 years, uncomfortable questions. Instead they took Robert De Niro to legitimize and spin mourning behind dead bodies of innocent heroes. There are no doubts for biggest mystery in the history of United States of America. No explanation of "vaporized" plane in Pentagon, no tears for "passengers who took back plane from terrorists" and crashed it at the middle of nowhere with very little to none wreck on crash site... And there are no answers, explanations or even questions to hundreds of "magic coincidences" that happened 9/11 ... self collapsing WTC 7... Yes America - YOU CAN! - believe in propaganda and give BIG YES to prolong so called PATRIOT ACT. It was one of your famous presidents who said "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety".

I have seen this documentary a couple of times, and have been equally spellbound and touched both times.

Film makers Gedeon and Jules Naudet and James Hanlon happen to be on New York's Engine 7, Ladder 1 firehouse in Lower Manhattan, just next to the Twin Towers, making a documentary about the firefighters. They are filming on 9/11 and are suddenly captured and capturing the events very much in the middle of everything.

This documentary not only catches the chaos and horror of the event up close, but also takes its time to let the firefighters talk about their experiences. The bad ones of the fire, the effort to get into and up in the buildings, the falling bodies, the collapses and the whole catastrophe itself. But also the relief of meeting colleagues after the collapses where all firefighters of the firehouse miraculously survived (their words, not mine).

The event, the aftermath and the whole effort of looking for survivors and cleaning up is covered very close and very touching - not to mention the interviews made with the men years later, where the deeply rooted traumas still effect their lives. The film also covers another aspect of the event: the health problems that the firefighters suffer because of the dust and smoke that they were exposed to during their work on September 11th 2001. It has a slight tendency to become sentimental towards the end, but nothing bad and nothing over the top.

I certainly don't enjoy seeing this terrible event rolled out again or hearing the stories of the many horrendous experiences, but as a documentary this gets as close to both the people and the incident as it's possible. The footage from the day itself shot with a shaken camera through a lens covered in dust from the fire and the collapse is just amazing – fascinating and terrifying at the same time.

Altogether a well made documentary.