On September 11, 2001, a group of terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners on the American East Coast. They crashed two of the planes into the World Trade Center in New York, destroying it completely. Then the third plane hit Pentagon, the US defense headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. "United 93" is a film about what happened to the fourth airplane and its passengers.
This eerie docudrama was written and directed by Paul Greengrass, a young Englishman certainly well suited for the task. For several years, Greengrass had successfully dramatized historical events for British television. His international breakthrough came with the film "Bloody Sunday" - a story of the "troubles" in Northern Ireland that won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2002.
"United 93" was the first feature that directly depicted what happened during the 9/11 attacks. So, for Greengrass, it was essential to achieve the highest possible realism. The passengers were therefore played by unknown actors. But that came at a price. During the difficult shoot, some of them were injured, so the blood visible on their faces as they attacked the terrorists is authentic.
Filming took place during the fall of 2005, onboard an old Boing 757 outside London. The location was chosen to shield the people in the movie team from the public scrutiny they might have received in the United States. And as usual Paul Greengrass shot the action scenes with a hand-held camera to create a higher sense of immediacy.
"United 93" had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. To Paul Greengrass' relief, it received a positive reception from most critics. But above all, the director was happy that so many family members of the United 93's passengers attended the screening to show their support for his movie.
This eerie docudrama was written and directed by Paul Greengrass, a young Englishman certainly well suited for the task. For several years, Greengrass had successfully dramatized historical events for British television. His international breakthrough came with the film "Bloody Sunday" - a story of the "troubles" in Northern Ireland that won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2002.
"United 93" was the first feature that directly depicted what happened during the 9/11 attacks. So, for Greengrass, it was essential to achieve the highest possible realism. The passengers were therefore played by unknown actors. But that came at a price. During the difficult shoot, some of them were injured, so the blood visible on their faces as they attacked the terrorists is authentic.
Filming took place during the fall of 2005, onboard an old Boing 757 outside London. The location was chosen to shield the people in the movie team from the public scrutiny they might have received in the United States. And as usual Paul Greengrass shot the action scenes with a hand-held camera to create a higher sense of immediacy.
"United 93" had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. To Paul Greengrass' relief, it received a positive reception from most critics. But above all, the director was happy that so many family members of the United 93's passengers attended the screening to show their support for his movie.