September 11th Archive

Released: 2011-09-09 IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2167967 Description: This feature looks to be the basis for another popular documentary, '9/11: Phone Calls from the Towers'. DVD Description: At 8.46AM on September 11th 2001, American Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Within minutes a deluge of telephone calls flooded into the outside world. Voices From Inside the Towers is about those calls, and the stories behind those who made them. These astonishing few minutes, saturated with need and impact that none of us will ever endure, are gateways back into relationships, love stories, school triumphs, holidays abroad, family histories between caller and respondent. For the first time, HISTORY presents a film that, while acknowledging the compelling narrative of those 102 minutes, uses the power of filmmaking to portray the extraordinary lives behind just a few of those who fought for life, sought to understand the chaos and then, in many cases, calmly accepted death. Each story is told largely through the present day: the resonant memories of the loved ones' families and their need for closure: Each contributor will tell their own memories of that fateful morning-a father, son, husband, sister and how each followed the unfolding drama minute by minute as we track our chosen subject's journey through the Towers.

Released: 2005-09-10 IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1146430

Released: 2002 IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0840907/ Description: This documentary appears to have been released under several different titles: * World Trade Center (as per the IMDB entry) * World Trade Center - A Modern Marvel (may have been the original title) * World Trade Center: In Memoriam (this DVD) * World Trade Center - An Obituary (released on VHS sometime in 2001/2002) It was produced and released before the attacks, then after September 11, was updated with new content and turned into somewhat of a tribute. Several noteworthy contributors are interviewed: Eric Darton, author of Divided We Stand: A Biography of New York's World Trade Center; Professor Angus Gillespie, author of Twin Towers: The Life of New York City's World Trade Center; World Trade Center Director Alan Reiss; Port Authority Construction Manager Frank De Martini, who died on September 11 in pursuit of guiding scores of people on upper floors to safety; Maintenance worker Roko Camaj, who also died on September 11, after being trapped on the upper floors of the South Tower; Director of New York's Skyscraper Museum, Carol Willis. This is the documentary that features De Martini, recorded on the 25th of January 2001, somewhat hauntingly describing how he “believe[s] that the building probably could sustain multiple impacts of jetliners”. DVD Description: An inspiring and intimate story of the birth and growth of an American symbol. For a time, its towers were the tallest buildings on earth, and The World Trade Center—an engineering marvel—came to symbolize American prosperity and strength. Recalling a more innocent era, WORLD TRADE CENTER: IN MEMORIAM was filmed just months before the towers' tragic demise and subsequently enriched with heartfelt reflection from host Harry Smith. This new production from The History Channel charts the history of the towers' construction, revealing the controversies, decisions and innovations that surrounded the project, and—through interviews with those who proudly and ambitiously dreamt, designed and built the complex—examines the monument as both architectural achievement and cultural icon. What emerges is not only a tribute to a building, but an inspiring and intimate story of the birth and growth of an American symbol. Filled with extraordinary photos and archival footage of the construction of America's beloved twin towers, this is a comprehensive and unforgettable celebration of a vanished landmark.

Released: 2006-09-03 IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808138 Alternate Version Info: There were three different versions of this documentary for different networks: * Discovery Channel (premiered 2006-09-03) * BBC (premiered 2006-09-07) * France TV (premiered 2006-09-04) The BBC version, narrated by Terence Stamp, is the most popular. There was also apparently an alternate title, '9/11: The Twin Towers', though I'm not sure I ever saw it applied anywhere. Description: This is the Discovery Channel version, which has a slightly shorter running time, is narrated by Harry Pritchett, and features interviews with different people. DVD Description: Using a definitive, minute-by-minute timeline of rarely seen and heard events, Discovery Channel brings viewers inside the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Personal stories, interviews with survivors and family members, archival footage, CGI and dramatic re-creations place viewers inside the confusion, horror and heroic acts that shaped that day.

Released: 2006-MM-DD IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8910446 The staff of the publication Popular Mechanics undertook a comprehensive debunking of the conspiracy theories that emerged in the initial years following the attacks. They began their work around 2005, culminating in a 2006 book, Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up to the Facts. The documentary also features well-known skeptic Michael Shermer, with the now-infamous Alex Jones representing the viewpoint of the 'truthers'.

Released: 2012-08-03 IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2247696 Description from the DVD: On September 11, 2001, Cantor Fitzgerald became world famous. That fateful morning, 658 of their employees were killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Out of the Clear Blue Sky tells the riveting behind-the-scenes story of Cantor Fitzgerald. It's a disaster story without precedent. A true stranger-than-fiction account, unfolding over months and years, the film captures what it's like to be caught in the crosshairs of history. What do you do when everything—and almost everyone—is gone? With offices soaring 100 stories above downtown Manhattan, the Wall Street powerhouse was unknown to the public until the shocking tragedy. One of the few to survive was their ruthless CEO Howard Lutnick, who was at his son's first day of kindergarten when the terrorists' planes hit. Lutnick's emotionally raw, tear-filled television interviews transfixed the nation, striking a deep personal chord with traumatized Americans. But within a week, a controversial business move turned the country—and the victims' families—against him and the beleaguered company. CEO Lutnick went from sympathetic face-of-the-tragedy to heartless betrayer of a nation. Then he completely withdrew from the public eye. Though Cantor suffered almost twice the casualties of the FDNY, the Cantor story disappeared. Until now. This is the first intimate telling of their survival story from the inside. Find out what really happened. Directed by a September 11th family member, Out of the Clear Blue Sky tells twin stories—the inspiring saga of a decimated business and the profound coming together of the families in the aftermath. The volume level on the source DVD is a bit low, so I amplified it on the mp4 by 50%. Technical detail from mediainfo: General Complete name: feature.mp4 Format: MPEG-4 Format profile: Base Media Codec ID: isom (isom/iso2/mp41) File size: 4.02 GiB Duration: 1 h 47 min Overall bit rate mode: Variable Overall bit rate: 5 360 kb/s Frame rate: 29.970 FPS Writing application: Lavf60.3.100 Video ID: 1 Format: MPEG Video Format version: Version 2 Format profile: Main@Main Format settings: CustomMatrix / BVOP Format settings, BVOP: Yes Format settings, Matrix: Custom Format settings, GOP: M=3, N=16 Codec ID: mp4v-61 Duration: 1 h 47 min Source duration: 1 h 47 min Bit rate mode: Variable Bit rate: 4 956 kb/s Maximum bit rate: 7 500 kb/s Width: 720 pixels Height: 480 pixels Display aspect ratio: 16:9 Original display aspect ratio: 16:9 Frame rate mode: Constant Frame rate: 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS Standard: NTSC Color space: YUV Chroma subsampling: 4:2:0 Bit depth: 8 bits Scan type: Progressive Compression mode: Lossy Bits/(Pixel*Frame): 0.479 Time code of first frame: 00:00:00:00 Time code source: Group of pictures header GOP, Open/Closed: Closed Stream size: 3.72 GiB (92%) Source stream size: 3.72 GiB (92%) Writing library: TMPGEnc XPress 4.7.9.311 Color range: Limited Color primaries: BT.601 NTSC Transfer characteristics: BT.601 Matrix coefficients: BT.601 mdhd_Duration: 6448008 Audio ID: 2 Format: AAC LC Format/Info: Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity Codec ID: mp4a-40-2 Duration: 1 h 47 min Source duration: 1 h 47 min Source_Duration_LastFrame: -11 ms Bit rate mode: Constant Bit rate: 395 kb/s Channel(s): 6 channels Channel layout: L R C Cb Lb Rb Sampling rate: 48.0 kHz Frame rate: 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF) Compression mode: Lossy Stream size: 303 MiB (7%) Source stream size: 303 MiB (7%) Default: Yes Alternate group: 1

Released: 2002-09-11 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420475 I sourced this from a DVD series called 'Events that Shook the World'. The series was produced by UK newspaper the Daily Mirror. They distributed DVDs containing documentaries on significant historical events. This DVD is volume 6, with the event in question being the terrorist attacks of 11th September 2001. The DVD was released in 2008, but the featured documentary is titled '110 Stories' and was originally released in 2002. The back of the disc reads as follows: "The events of September 11th 2001 have left an indelible impression on all of us, but no impression was more powerful than that of the still photos we saw in newspapers and magazines. This programme features amazing pictures and interviews the people in them to find out what happened to them leading up to the moment when the photo was taken. We also find out what happened to them immediately afterwards and what they have been doing since to come to terms with the terrible tragedy." Technical detail from mediainfo: General Complete name: feature.mp4 Format: MPEG-4 Format profile: Base Media Codec ID: isom (isom/dby1/iso2/mp41) File size: 2.85 GiB Duration: 49 min 50 s Overall bit rate mode: Constant Overall bit rate: 8 196 kb/s Frame rate: 25.000 FPS Writing application: Lavf60.3.100 Video ID: 1 Format: MPEG Video Format version: Version 2 Format profile: Main@Main Format settings: BVOP Format settings, BVOP: Yes Format settings, Matrix: Default Format settings, GOP: M=2, N=5 Format settings, picture structure: Field Codec ID: mp4v-61 Duration: 49 min 50 s Source duration: 49 min 50 s Bit rate mode: Constant Bit rate: 8 000 kb/s Width: 720 pixels Height: 576 pixels Display aspect ratio: 4:3 Frame rate mode: Constant Frame rate: 25.000 FPS Standard: PAL Color space: YUV Chroma subsampling: 4:2:0 Bit depth: 8 bits Scan type: Interlaced Scan type, store method: Separated fields (2 fields per block) Scan order: Bottom Field First Original scan order: Top Field First Compression mode: Lossy Bits/(Pixel*Frame): 0.772 Time code of first frame: 10:00:00:00 Time code source: Group of pictures header GOP, Open/Closed: Open Stream size: 2.79 GiB (98%) Source stream size: 2.79 GiB (98%) Color range: Limited Color primaries: BT.601 PAL Transfer characteristics: BT.470 System B/G Matrix coefficients: BT.470 System B/G mdhd_Duration: 2990560 Audio ID: 2 Format: AC-3 Format/Info: Audio Coding 3 Commercial name: Dolby Digital Codec ID: ac-3 Duration: 49 min 50 s Source duration: 49 min 50 s Bit rate mode: Constant Bit rate: 192 kb/s Channel(s): 2 channels Channel layout: L R Sampling rate: 48.0 kHz Frame rate: 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF) Compression mode: Lossy Stream size: 68.5 MiB (2%) Source stream size: 68.4 MiB (2%) Service kind: Complete Main Default: Yes Alternate group: 1

Released: 2002-09-01 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7874798 Description from the DVD: "The very idea of the United States being attacked by air was unimaginable and unexpected. ON the morning of September 11, 2001, fourteen fighter planes, dispersed among seven bases, were responsible for the country's mainland air defense; four alone responsible for the entire North East. At 9:44 an order was given that had never been attempted before, to go to Condition Air Traffic Control Zero - to clear the skies of all non-military aircraft. At that time, roughly 4, 836 commercial and private planes were flying over the United States and in less than three hours the clear the skies order was fully carried out. This is the story of how, minute-by-minute, America's air defense responded, as well as those responsible for the President's and other government officials' safety when the horrific events of 9/11 unfolded. Discover intriguing personal accounts from this unforgettable day as fighter pilots, air defense officials, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, Lynne Cheney and those who at key moments were with the President to tell their stories." It's important to note that since this documentary was produced in 2002, it's based on the incorrect timeline and events initially presented by military and government officials. In this version of events, it was claimed that the Langley fighters were deployed in response to the hijacking of American 77, that NORAD were tracking United 93, and shoot-down authorization had been established and given to the pilots. The 9/11 Commission later revealed that the Langley jets were, in fact, deployed in response to a mistaken belief that American 11 was still airborne and heading toward Washington, that the FAA did not notify NORAD about United 93 until shortly after it had already crashed, and the pilots did not receive shoot-down orders until later. Commission member John Farmer discusses this in detail in his excellent 2009 book, The Ground Truth: The Untold Story of America Under Attack on 9/11. Sourced from my own DVD: Format: MPEG Video Format version: Version 2 Bit rate mode: Variable Bit rate: 5 482 kb/s Maximum bit rate: 7 500 kb/s Width: 720 pixels Height: 480 pixels Display aspect ratio: 16:9