(Image Credit: kconnors/Morguefile)
I thought I would post just a few links for video/online material related to 9/11.
Video
This documentary chronicles the life of Franciscan Friar Mychal Judge, the FDNY Chaplain who followed Christ into the burning towers and out of this mortal life. (His body was the first recovered from the disaster.) Through footage and interviews with friends and colleagues, Father Mychal emerges as a complex, vibrant, devoted Christian- and an equally devoted New Yorker and FDNY chaplain.
Director Steven Rosenbaum presents events in New York City through the eyes of several New Yorkers. It combines the catastrophic footage of the Twin Towers with footage of average New Yorkers both struggling alone and coming together to overcome the awful events of 9/11. A sensitive documentary that presents the entire spectrum of human emotion.
French brothers Jules and Gedeon Naudet set out to make a film about how a rookie becomes an FDNY firefighter but were swept up in the events of 9/11 when their camera accidentally captured the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. The resulting documentary is raw and riveting as they follow that rookie- and his entire unit- into the Trade Center during the desperate rescue attempt.
This is the only non-documentary I've included in my list, but it deserves a permanent spot. Director Paul Greengrass recreates the what is known about the events aboard United Flight 93 in tense but respectful detail. Working from primary documents- and even using a number of people who were actually working on the ground that day to recreate the FAA's desperate attempts to track the hijacked planes- Greengrass creates a compelling picture of the ordinary passengers who dared to attack their hijackers.
Although not directly related to 9/11, this documentary about Phillip Petits' highwire stroll between the Twin Towers in 1974 places the buildings in their historical context. It reminds us that the World Trade Center was a symbol (albeit controversial) of power, modernity and progress long before it became an icon of tragedy.
Worthwhile Links
History.com has an excellent website featuring as interactive map of the area around the World Trade Center. When you click on various locations you are shown a video of that day taken by an ordinary person who was at that location. The homemade videos are short, but powerful: an NYU student watching from a dormitory, a man living in a nearby apartment building filming firemen taking refuge in the lobby.
New York Times: Portraits of Grief This is the NYT's now-famous collection of essay/obituaries, one for each Trade Center victim. They are now accompanied by a new feature, following up on the surviving families and where they are now.
New York Times: A Nation Challenged The complete archives of NYT coverage of 9/11.
Biography.com: About 9/11: A thorough overview of 9/11 including facts and figures, a powerful photo gallery, portraits of the victims, and more.
Interactive Publishing.net offers a fascinating collection of screenshots of the front pages of dozens of domestic/international newspapers on September 11&12, 2001. Well worth a look, even if you can't read all the languages.
Rescue at Water's Edge this short video offers a tribute to all the mariners- in craft large and small- who rushed to rescue survivors in New York and transport supplies and help.
Last and Certainly Least...
Here's a list of links to my previous 9/11 posts over the years:
It Is the Evening of the Day (2007)
...And This Also... (2009)
Let Us Now Praise Firefighters (2009)
Fanfare for the Common Man (2010)
Best wishes for this weekend of unhappy remembrance. Hug your loved ones; you never know what might take them from you. Shake a policeman, EMTs' or firefighter's hand; you never know when you might need them.
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