United 93 (film)

Plot

At dawn on September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda members Ziad Jarrah, Saeed al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Nami, and Ahmed al-Haznawi pray in a Newark, New Jersey hotel before boarding United Airlines Flight 93, bound for San Francisco. Among the passengers are Tom Burnett, Todd Beamer, Jeremy Glick, Richard Guadagno, Louis J. Nacke II, Lauren Grandcolas, and Mark Bingham. Air traffic controllers lose contact with American Airlines Flight 11 which diverts toward New York City while United 93 is delayed due to heavy air traffic. ATCs realize that Flight 11 has been hijacked after hearing Mohamed Atta transmitting. United 93 is cleared for take off and passes New York. Flight 11 then crashes into the World Trade Center's North Tower and United Airlines Flight 175 is also hijacked, crashing into the South Tower.

As United 93 reaches its cruising altitude, and passengers are served breakfast, Jarrah hesitates to start the hijacking. An ACARS message is sent from First Officer LeRoy Homer's wife, asking if he is fine, followed by a warning of the WTC attacks and to beware cockpit intrusion. After Nami unsuccessfully urges Jarrah to attack, an impatient Haznawi prepares an artificial bomb in the lavatory. Ghamdi nods at Nami and grabs flight attendant Deborah Welsh at knifepoint as passenger Mark Rothenberg is stabbed and mortally wounded by Haznawi. As Haznawi and Nami force the passengers to the back of the plane, Ghamdi fatally stabs both pilots, but not in time to prevent them from transmitting a mayday call, and slits Welsh's throat as Jarrah takes the plane's controls. Grandcolas (an emergency medical technician) tends to the dying Rothenberg as the hijackers jubilantly react to the success of the WTC attack. Nami berates Grandcolas and sends her back. Jarrah redirects the plane towards Washington, D.C., with the intention to crash the plane into the United States Capitol, as flight attendants Sandra Bradshaw and CeeCee Lyles find Rothenberg is dead. Bradshaw sees the hijackers moving the pilots' and Welsh's bodies and the passengers overhear this.

American Airlines Flight 77, which has also been hijacked, crashes into the Pentagon, and FAA National Operations Manager Ben Sliney decides to shut down all U.S. air space and ground all flights. On United 93, passengers learn of the other attacks from family members via airphone. Realizing the hijackers are on a suicide mission, Burnett, Bingham, Beamer, Glick (a former judo champion), Guadagno, Nacke, Grandcolas and others form a plan to retake the plane, with assistance from Bradshaw, Lyles and the flight crew, gathering weapons. They learn that passenger Donald Greene is a licensed pilot and passenger Andrew Garcia is a former air traffic controller. As the group plan, Haznawi and Nami anxiously realize that they are losing control of the situation and Jarrah and Ghamdi grow agitated, as they are twenty minutes away from D.C. and cannot speed up. Passenger Christian Adams, attempting to counsel appeasement, is restrained by the passengers. The passengers pray and make final calls to loved ones.

After Beamer urges the group to take action, stating, "Let's roll", the passengers charge a stunned Haznawi, and subdue him. As Nami, Ghamdi and Jarrah panic, Bingham kills Haznawi by bludgeoning his head with a fire extinguisher and Nacke declares the bomb a fake. Jarrah violently rocks the plane to disrupt the revolt as Nami attempts to keep the passengers at bay with a serving cart, Mace and a extinguisher, but the passengers persist and overpower Nami. As Glick kills Nami by snapping his neck, Jarrah and Ghamdi dishearteningly realize that they will never reach their target, and argue whether to crash the plane rather than cede control, as the passengers batter the cockpit door with the cart. Despite's Ghamdi's efforts to hold the door with an axe, the passengers weaken the door off its hinges. Jarrah puts the aircraft into a steep dive, just as the passengers breach the cockpit. The passengers and two remaining hijackers fight with the controls as United 93 inverts and crashes into a Shanksville, Pennsylvania field, killing everyone still alive aboard. Title cards state that authorities were only given the order to shoot down hijacked planes after United 93 had crashed, and that airspace was closed until further notice. The final card reads, "Dedicated to the memory of all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001".

Cast

Crew

• J. J. Johnson as Captain Jason Dahl
• Gary Commock as First Officer LeRoy Homer Jr.
• Polly Adams as Deborah Welsh
• Trish Gates as Sandra Bradshaw
• Opal Alladin as CeeCee Lyles
• Nancy McDoniel as Lorraine G. Bay
• Starla Benford as Wanda Anita Green

Passengers

• Christian Clemenson as Tom Burnett
• Cheyenne Jackson as Mark Bingham
• David Alan Basche as Todd Beamer
• Peter Hermann as Jeremy Glick
• Corey Johnson as Louis J. Nacke, II
• Daniel Sauli as Richard Guadagno
• Richard Bekins as William Joseph Cashman
• Michael J. Reynolds as Patrick Joseph Driscoll
• Peter Marinker as Andrew Garcia
• David Rasche as Donald Freeman Greene
• Chip Zien as Mark Rothenberg
• Erich Redman as Christian Adams
• Kate Jennings Grant as Lauren Grandcolas
• Simon Poland as Alan Anthony Beaven
• Trieste Kelly Dunn as Deora Frances Bodley
• Jodie Lynne McClintock as Marion R. Britton
• Marceline Hugot as Georgine Rose Corrigan
• Rebecca Schull as Patricia Cushing
• Ray Charleson as Joseph DeLuca
• Tom O'Rourke as Donald Peterson
• Becky London as Jean Headley Peterson
• John Rothman as Edward P. Felt
• Libby Morris as Hilda Marcin
• Denny Dillon as Colleen Fraser
• Susan Blommaert as Jane Folger
• Tara Hugo as Kristin White Gould
• Lorna Dallas as Linda Gronlund
• Masato Kamo as Toshiya Kuge
• Liza Colón-Zayas as Waleska Martinez
• Olivia Thirlby as Nicole Carol Miller
• Leigh Zimmerman as Christine Snyder
• Joe Jamrog as John Talignani
• Chloe Sirene as Honor Elizabeth Wainio

Hijackers

• Khalid Abdalla as Ziad Jarrah
• Lewis Alsamari as Saeed al-Ghamdi
• Jamie Harding as Ahmed al-Nami
• Omar Berdouni as Ahmed al-Haznawi

[[Herndon, Virginia]]

• Ben Sliney as himself
• Rich Sullivan as himself
• Tony Smith as himself
• Tobin Miller as himself
• Michael Bofshever as John White

[[Eastern Air Defense Sector]], (NEADS), [[Rome, New York]]

• Patrick St. Esprit as Major Kevin Nasypany
• Gregg Henry as Colonel Robert Marr
• Karen Kirkpatrick as Major Dawne Deskins
• Major James Fox as himself
• Staff Sergeant Shawna Fox as herself
• First Lieutenant Jeremy Powell as himself

[[Ronkonkoma, New York]]

• Peter Pellicane as Paul Thumser
• John E. Smith as Dave Bottiglia
• Curt Applegate as himself

[[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]

• Scott Tourin as Peter Zalewski
• Thomas Roberts as himself
• John Moraitis as John Reilly

[[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]]

• Daniel Fraser as John Werth
• Morgan Deare as Tom Cloud

[[Newark, New Jersey]]

• Greg Callahan as himself
• Rick Tepper as himself

Production

The film was the first Hollywood feature to draw its narrative directly from the September 11 attacks of 2001. Passengers were portrayed in the film mostly by professional but relatively unknown actors. (Tom Burnett, for instance, is played by Christian Clemenson, who has since appeared on Boston Legal and CSI: Miami). Additionally, several participants in the real-life events portray themselves in the film, including Thomas Roberts, Tobin Miller, Rich Sullivan, Tony Smith, James Fox, Shawna Fox, Jeremy Powell, Curt Applegate, Greg Callahan, Rick Tepper, and notably FAA operations manager Ben Sliney. Sliney was initially involved in the film in an advisory role. He was then cast in a small role as an air traffic controller. Later, Greengrass offered him the opportunity to play himself, which he accepted. The roles of one of the flight attendants, the two pilots, and many other airline personnel were filled by actual airline employees.

During production, the actors playing the crew and the passengers of the flight were put in separate hotels from the actors portraying the hijackers and ate their meals separately, ostensibly to create an air of antagonism in the film between the two groups. The set itself was built so that it moved the way the actual flight did. During the filming, many of the actors actually got injured, and the blood visible on their faces during the revolt scene is authentic. Finishing the very first take, Jamie Harding, who played al-Nami, became so overwhelmed that he was sobbing.

Filming took place from October until December 2005, on a 20-year-old reclaimed Boeing 757 formerly operated by MyTravel Airways, at Pinewood Studios near London. The cockpit was built by Flightdeck Solutions. The location was chosen both for its financial incentives and to shield actors from unwanted public scrutiny they might have received in the United States. Action was filmed with handheld cameras, chosen for their versatility on the close-quarters sets and to create a sense of immediacy. Exterior airport sequences were shot on location at Newark Liberty International Airport, while interiors were shot back in England at London Stansted Airport. A few scenes were also shot in Washington, D.C. and Boston. Additionally, an opening sequence set in Afghanistan was shot in Morocco, but it was cut from the film before release.

The film was released in the United States on April 28, 2006, and opened second in the weekend box office behind RV, but it netted a slightly higher per-screen average.

Initial screenings ended with the closing credits line "America's War on Terror had begun". This was replaced in the release version with "Dedicated to the memory of all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001".

There were calls for Universal to pull the film's trailers from circulation in cinemas, due to some audience members feeling startled or upset by the film's subject matter. The studio did not heed that call, although one theatre in Manhattan voluntarily pulled the trailer after audience complaints.

The Iraqi-born, London-based actor Lewis Alsamari, who plays Ghamdi, was reportedly denied a visa by United States immigration authorities when he applied to visit New York City to attend the premiere, despite having already been granted asylum in the United Kingdom since the 1990s. The reason reported to have been given was that he had once been a conscripted member of the Iraqi Army — although this was also the grounds for his refugee status after his desertion in 1993. Other sources say that he applied late for his visa and that it was not denied.

Historical accuracy

Main article: United Airlines Flight 93

The timing of the events is changed for dramatic effect, with Jarrah making his final call to his girlfriend from the airport lounge, whereas he made it from his hotel room, and Mohamed Atta's “we have some planes” transmission being determined before Flight 11 crashed into the WTC; it actually happened after. In an interview, Ben Sliney said that Greengrass exaggerated other details for dramatic effect, such as he and various controllers swearing and shouting when in his recollection most people spoke quietly.

The film suggests the hijacking taking place 46 minutes after takeoff, was on hesitation on the part of Jarrah, to the dismay of his fellow hijackers. The hijackers' intended target is unknown, but the film depicts Jarrah taping a picture of the United States Capitol on the yoke.

The cockpit voice recorder tape from United Flight 93 has never been made public; a transcript was made public after the film was completed, shedding more light on what actually happened in the final 30 minutes before the plane crashed. Some parts contradict the filmmakers' choices in terms of some dialogue and specific aspects of the event. The film depicts the pilots, Jason Dahl and LeRoy Homer, being killed immediately during the hijacking. This was based on documentary evidence from the 9/11 Commission Report which indicates that at least one passenger reported in a cell phone call seeing two people, possibly the pilots, lying dead or injured on the floor outside the cockpit after the hijacking. Though Dahl is shown sending out the mayday call, Melody Homer claimed to recognise her husband as the voice of the mayday hailer. Due to the then forthcoming Zacarias Moussaoui trial, Jason Dahl's wife Sandy Dahl was unable to tell Greengrass what she believed really happened regarding her husband. Some statements made by the terrorists in the cockpit voice recorder transcript, as well as moans heard in the background inside the cockpit,

The film depicts the passengers killing Haznawi and Nami before breaching the cockpit and fighting Jarrah and Ghamdi for the plane's controls before the crash. There is some controversy between some of the family members of the passengers and the investigative officials as to whether the passengers managed to breach the cockpit before the plane crashed. The 9/11 Commission Report concluded that "the hijackers remained at the controls but must have judged that the passengers were only seconds from overcoming them", while many of the passengers' family members, formed impressions from listening to the audio recordings, that the passengers did breach the cockpit and struggled with the hijackers for the controls.

Portrayal of Christian Adams

There was some question over the film's portrayal of German passenger Christian Adams, who is portrayed as counseling appeasement, to the point the passengers restrain him when he tries to warn the hijackers, despite the absence of any evidence that he acted in this manner. It was reported that Adams's widow did not cooperate with the filmmakers due to the emotional pain. Critic John Harris suggested in a Guardian blog, "there will surely be all kinds of cries about old European surrender monkeys, the United States' contrasting backbone etc." Erich Redman, who portrayed Adams in the film, has stated he did not intend to portray Adams as cowardly but as a man who "never made rash decisions and everything he did was always well-considered".

Reception

Critical response

United 93 was one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2006. James Berardinelli, Roger Ebert, Michael Medved, and Peter Travers all awarded it full marks on their rating scales, with Ebert calling the film "masterful and heartbreaking" and saying that it "does honor to the memory of the victims". Travers termed it "one of the most moving films of the year", in Rolling Stone. The film holds "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews, and an average rating of , with the consensus: "Potent and sobering, United 93 treats the subject matter with respect, never resorting to Hollywood aggrandizement." Calling it "gut-wrenching and surprisingly probative," The A.V. Club includes it on a list of "Great Films Too Painful To Watch Twice."

The film has a score of 90 on Metacritic, where it appears on 39 critics' top 10 lists, more than any other 2006 film on the site, (although the 2006 film with the highest average score on the site is the re-released 1969 film Army of Shadows). The film was ranked No. 1 on 47 lists (the most of any 2006 film).

At the website Movie City News, which ranks 250 critics' lists and awards points for list-placement, United 93 ranks as the number one film of 2006 with a score of 917.5 points.

The film has been cited as a favorite by filmmaker John Waters, who presented it as his annual selection at the 2010 Maryland Film Festival.

Alex von Tunzelmann of The Guardian gave the film a grade of C, saying: "United 93 is superbly made and authentic in feel, but the choices it makes about what happened on the plane – and who gets to be the heroes – are open to question."

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

Top 10 lists

Only two films (The Departed and The Queen) appeared on more top 10 lists of the best films of 2006 than United 93, and no film received more #1 mentions:

• 1st – Empire
• 1st – J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
• 1st – Lawrence Toppman, The Charlotte Observer
• 1st – Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter
• 1st – Michael Sragow, The Baltimore Sun
• 1st – Mike Russell, The Oregonian
• 1st – Noel Murray, The A.V. Club
• 2nd – Claudia Puig, USA Today
• 2nd – James Berardinelli, ReelViews
• 2nd – Marc Mohan, The Oregonian
• 2nd – Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
• 2nd – Nathan Rabin, The A.V. Club
• 2nd – Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
• 2nd – Shawn Levy, The Oregonian
• 2nd – Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
• 2nd – Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
• 2nd – Staff, Film Threat
• 3rd – Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
• 3rd – Desson Thomson, The Washington Post
• 3rd – Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle
• 3rd – Scott Foundas, LA Weekly
• 3rd – Scott Tobias, The A.V. Club
• 3rd – Ty Burr, The Boston Globe
• 4th – Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter
• 4th – Rene Rodriguez, The Miami Herald
• 4th – Richard Corliss, TIME magazine
• 4th – Tasha Robinson, The A.V. Club
• 5th – Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
• 5th – Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club
• 6th – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
• 6th – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
• 6th – Stephen Holden, The New York Times
• 8th – Dennis Harvey, Variety
• 8th – Kevin Smith
• 8th – Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle
• 8th – Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter
• 9th – William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal and Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer named it among the top ten best films of 2006.

Accolades

United 93 received numerous awards and nominations from film critics and guilds. Ultimately, the film received two Academy Award nominations—Best Director and Best Film Editing—at the 79th Academy Awards, and six BAFTA nominations, including Best British Film, at the 60th British Academy Film Awards, winning two for Best Director and Best Film Editing.

|}

Home media

United 93 was released to DVD on September 5, 2006, in both widescreen and full screen. Also released was a 2-disc Special Limited Edition in widescreen. A Blu-ray Disc version was released on September 6, 2011. A second Blu-ray release from Universal Studios for the film was released on June 5, 2012, as a part of Universal's Universal 100th Anniversary releases. This version included the same Blu-ray Disc (same transfer and same bonus features) found in the first 2011 release in addition to a DVD and digital copy included in the pack with a brand-new sleeve that was not available with the previous release. Both Blu-ray Disc sets for the film are region-free.

References

References

1. (20 April 2006). "United 93 {{!}} Reviews".
2. "''United 93''".
3. "''United 93'' (15)".
4. "''United 93'' (15A)".
5. Barra, Allen. [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/6/2006_6_16.shtml "Historical Film: It's Time to See a Movie We Couldn't Bear to Go To"]{{dead link. (January 2018)
6. (October 2025)
7. Brooks, Xan (June 7, 2006). [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/jun/07/news.xanbrooks "United 93 'surrender monkey' defends role in film"]. ''The Guardian''.
8. (March 29, 2006). [https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060329/en_nm/leisure_attacks_dc "September 11 plane drama to open NY film festival"] {{Webarchive. link. (April 9, 2020 . [[Reuters]] article.)
9. (July 6, 2006). "''United 93'' (2006)". IMDb.
10. Boorstin, Julia. (January 8, 2006). "MSNBC". NBC News.
11. Smith, Sean. (April 9, 2006). "A Dark Day Revisited". [[Newsweek]].
12. Germain, David. (2006, April 29). FAA official plays self in ‘United 93’ Retrieved September 1, 2022, from https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2006/apr/29/faa-official-plays-self-in-united-93/
13. (April 9, 2006). "Let's Roll! Inside the Making of United 93".
14. Nancy Grace. (April 28, 2006). "Families of 9/11 Victims Praise 'United 93'".
15. (2006-05-21). "United 93". [[The Times]].
16. "Flight Deck Solutions".
17. Burkeman, Oliver (April 28, 2006). [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/apr/28/1 "The Day They Hijacked America"]. ''[[The Guardian]]''.
18. "Director's commentary". United 93.
19. Lim, Dennis (April 18, 2006). [http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0616,lim,72901,20.html "A Flight to Remember"] {{webarchive. link. (April 26, 2006 . ''[[The Village Voice]]''.)
20. Waxman, Sharon. (April 4, 2006). "Universal Will Not Pull ''United 93'' Trailer, Despite Criticism". The New York Times.
21. (April 21, 2006). [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2145154,00.html "9/11 film actor refused visa for US premiere"]{{dead link. (September 2024)
22. Judd, Terri (April 22, 2006). [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/america-bars-iraqi-immigrant-who-played-hijacker-in-september-11-film-475145.html "America bars Iraqi immigrant who played hijacker in September 11 film"] {{Webarchive. link. (September 25, 2015. ''[[The Independent on Sunday]]''.)
23. Prince, Stephen. (2009). "Firestorm: American Film in the Age of Terrorism". Columbia University Press.
24. King, Susan. (April 24, 2006). "Tragic day, harrowing job". Los Angeles Times.
25. [https://www.cnn.com/2004/US/07/22/911.flight.93/index.html ''CNN.com – Flight 93 hijacker: "Shall we finish it off?"'']
26. [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/pdf/sec1.pdf ''The 9/11 Commission Report''] {{webarchive. link. (December 6, 2006 , page 13, paragraph 2. Retrieved December 10, 2006.)
27. (August 29, 2011). "'I'm thinking about it all the time,' says Canadian wife of Flight 93 pilot".
28. (2013-02-24). "United Flight 93 co-pilot's wife says crew wasn't passive".
29. Mitchell, John N.. (September 11, 2011). "Wife remembers pilot, who died in Flight 93".
30. (2006-04-13). "United pilot's widow defends crew's role in 9/11 / Former flight attendant has been waiting 4 1/2 years to tell of Flight 93's final minutes". Sfgate.com.
31. Gonzales, Manny. (May 8, 2016). "Flight 93 tape: Horror, heroics". The Denver Post.
32. [http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/usatoday/docs/terrorism/flight93transcript.pdf United Flight 93 Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript] {{Webarchive. link. (September 14, 2008 . Retrieved December 10, 2006.)
33. raised doubts that both pilots were dead before the plane crashed.Vulliamy, Ed (May 27, 2006). [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/may/27/features.weekend "''For ONE moment it was possible to dream that the ending would be different'{{spaces}}...''"]. ''[[The Guardian]]''.
34. (August 8, 2003). "Families of Passengers Question Theory That Hijackers Crashed Flight 93". [[FoxNews.com.
35. Emanuel, Mike. (April 13, 2006). "Flight 93 Hijacker: 'We Have a Bomb on Board'". Fox News.
36. (September 18, 2001). "Wives of Passengers on Flight 93". ABC News.
37. ''[[The Sunday Times (UK). Sunday Times]]'' critic [[Cosmo Landesman]] mused, "Surely one of the passengers didn't phone home to point out that there was a cowardly German on board who wanted to give in?"[https://web.archive.org/web/20080908100413/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2101-2204731.html "A terrifying flight back in time"] June 04, 2006 ''The Times''
38. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060527205243/http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/john_harris/2006/05/another_surrender_monkey.html Skating on thin air] May 25, 2006 http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk, accessed June 11, 2006
39. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5042616.stm "''United 93'' actor defends portrayal"]. ''BBC.co.uk''.
40. Ebert, Roger. (April 27, 2006). "''United 93'' Review". Chicago Sun-Times.
41. "United 93". [[Fandango Media.
42. (September 28, 2007). "Not Again: 24 Great Films Too Painful to Watch Twice".
43. "United 93".
44. "Best Reviewed Film of 2006". CBS Interactive.
45. "Atlasvista Maroc - Portail Maroc : Actualité Annonces Rencontres Blogs Forums".
46. (December 29, 2010). "Best of 2006: CriticsTop10". CriticsTop10.com.
47. "The 2006 Top Tens". Movie City News.
48. "2006 Overall Critics Choice Results Discussion". The Hot Button.
49. (January 6, 2007). "The 2006 Top Tens". Movie City News.
50. Kaltenbach, Chris. (May 7, 2010). "Maryland Film Festival: John Waters and 'United 93'". [[The Baltimore Sun]].
51. (2009-08-06). "United 93: the truth is out there". [[The Guardian]].
52. "Cinemascore".
53. "2006 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". CBS Interactive.
54. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475276/awards "''United 93'' Awards and Nominations"]. ''IMDb''. Amazon.com. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
55. "The Awards Scoreboard". Movie City News.
56. (May 31, 2011). "''United 93'' Blu-ray Announced and Detailed". Internet Brands, Inc.
57. "''United 93'' Universal 100th Anniversary edition". Blu-ray.com.