United 93: First Big-Screen Film on 9/11 Opens Today
United 93, the first film depicting the 9/11 attacks, made its premiere near ground zero Tuesday and opens in theaters nationwide today.
NEW YORK - United 93, the first film depicting the 9/11 attacks, made its premiere near ground zero Tuesday and opens in theaters nationwide today.
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Paul Greengrass, the drama recounts the fears and courage on United Airlines Flight 93, the fourth hijacked plane on the day of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil. While some say it’s too soon to retell the tragic history Americans suffered through less than five years ago, others say it has taken too long.
There are no big names starring in the film. Instead, it's a raw picture of the emotions and horror conveyed through the families of those who died in the crash and a cast of air-traffic controllers, pilots and military persons.
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News reports reveal a still unprepared audience for the reliving of Sept. 11. And Greengrass notes that some may never be ready for films about the terrorist attacks.
Jim Hirsen, author and editor of Newsmax, said there is a "quality about it that's difficult to watch.
"But great films can be difficult to watch," he noted as he mentioned the timeless "Schindler's List." "I think it's a courageous film because it deals with a subject that other people have shied away from."
Rather than arguing that the movie is coming out too soon, Hirsen said, "I think it's surprising it's taken so long. It's important because it's history, but because it's recent history that we're still living through."
Although not an easy sit-through, the film has received much support from some of the family members whose siblings, spouses and children went down in the plane crash.
The Rev. Robert A. Schuller, senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries, called the film an "historic documentary."
Putting more context around the 9/11 conflict, Schuller said, "There's truly an international clash taking place. As the world becomes more global, the world becomes more culturally mixed ... I think one of the things we're seeing is a culture of this Islamic right-winged fundamentalist Muslim movement trying to hold onto their culture, and they're afraid it's slipping away."
Dr. Douglas Culver, chair of Old Testament at Erskine Theological Seminary, brought attention to the longer timeframe of the clash. "The clash is nothing new. It's several centuries, which is to say about a millennium and a half old."
"It does represent a very deep and wide difference in the way the world and life are viewed by two different sets of people with different sacred books to which they appeal for those views," Culver continued. "The Scriptures for the Christian see God as Creator and intimately involved in human life, to whom we pray for specific things. The Koran ... sees life as pretty well predetermined - an almost fatalistic view."
"In reality, there is a very real war between Islam and Christianity," Lores Rizkalla, talk show host for KRLA, stated bluntly.
But in the midst of the "war," "what are we doing to reach [the Muslims]?" posed Jesse Barela, pastor of Calvary Chapel Golden Springs.
Much of the Middle East lies in poverty, lack of education and other resources. Culver suggested that the private American citizen, the Christian can do something to address that.
"We shouldn't just ask the big government to do that, and I would appeal to every Christian of every personal strife to begin to say [we can do something] to their pastor ... and when we're busy doing that, we are also reflecting the admonitions of our master, the Lord Jesus Christ who said love your enemies, feed them, clothe them ... whatever it is, get busy. This undergirds and makes credible the Christian message of the Gospel."
Universal is donating 10 percent of opening-weekend grosses to the 9/11 memorial fund. United 93 resources, including sermon outlines, are available at www.u93.org.
