(Image: pathtoparadise.com)
EIGHTH EDITION: UPDATED SEPTEMBER 11, 2019-- In an update to my annual editorial (after the original post on the 10th anniversary in 2011), I’ve got new movie inclusions in several sections, including the most recent section of faded and relaxed sensitivity in films. I plan to make this an annual post and study for at least until the 20th anniversary in 2021. (All poster images are courtesy of IMPAwards.com)
Never forget. There's no doubt that every American over the age of 25 won't soon forget where they were 18 years ago at 8:46AM on September 11, 2001. The world and our American lifestyle changed forever that day in more ways that we can measure. I know movies and cinema are trivial pieces of entertainment compared to the more important things in life, but movies have always been two-hour vacations and therapy sessions from life, even in the face of immense tragedy. Sometimes, we need movies to inspire us and help us remember the good in things, while still being entertained. In seventeen years, they too have changed.
I'm here for an editorial research piece on the anniversary of 9/11 to showcase a few movies, both serious and not-so-serious, that speak to that day whether as a tribute, remembrance, or example of how life has changed since that fateful day. Enjoy!
MOVIES THAT WERE OPENING THAT FRIDAY EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO
Call this a time capsule, but these were the notable movies that opened Friday, September 7, 2001 and Friday, September 14, 2001, the two Fridays surrounding 9/11. Such a different time, huh? Needless to say, few people were in the mood for a movie in those first weeks and the fall 2001 box office took quite a hit until the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone showed up in November 2001, followed by Ocean's Eleven and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring that December.
The Musketeer (September 7th)
Soul Survivors (September 7th)
Rock Star (September 7th)
Hardball (September 14th)
The Glass House (September 14th)
All were box office bombs at the time. The Musketeer garnered a good bit of overseas earnings and Hardball got some of the best reviews of Keanu Reeves's post-Matrix career and grew to be a DVD hit. Still, talk about bad timing.
EXAMPLES OF 2001-2002 MOVIES CHANGED BECAUSE OF 9/11
Spider-Man-- Many of you may remember seeing this teaser for the big comic book blockbuster before it was pulled post-9/11. (New remastered video in 2019)
Donnie Darko— Suggested by Feelin’ Film Facebook Discussion Group contributor Josh Powers. Released months before 9/11, few remember how much this film was somewhat buried and forced to become an underground cult favorite due to a pivotal moment involving a horrific plane crash.
Lilo and Stitch-- See a side-by-side video clip of differences in Imgur. The trivia notes behind it are explained on IMDb.
Collateral Damage-- The Arnold Schwarzenegger terrorism movie had its release date bumped and terrorist overtones mellowed down. (trailer)
City by the Sea-- The production on this Robert DeNiro/James Franco thriller was moved from New York to Los Angeles in July 2001, dodging the terrorism attacks that would have threatened their home Tribeca studios. (trailer)
Sidewalks of New York-- Edward Burns intermingled love story movie was bumped to November and had to have its posters changed. See right here on the left for an example. (trailer)
Men in Black II-- The original scripted ending of the movie was scripted to have the World Trade Center towers open up to release a barrage of UFOs. (trailer)
Serendipity and Zoolander-- Both movies had shots of the WTC digitally removed from the skylines of their finished films before they hit theaters that fall.
The Time Machine-- Had its December 2001 release bumped to March because of a potentially sensitive scene of meteor shower over New York (which it cut). (trailer)
Big Trouble-- It too had its nuclear bomb-centered plot cause a release delay well into 2002. The delay didn't help this already awful movie. (trailer)
MOVIES ABOUT 9/11 ITSELF
September 11 (2002)-- International directors from around the world, including Ken Loach, Mira Nair, and future Oscar winner Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, made a two-hour anthology of short films showing creative expressions of other cultures and their reactions to the tragedy.
United 93 (2006)-- Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass took an unknown cast and directed a harrowing real-time account of the flight that fought back. Hard to watch, but undeniably powerful without exploiting the tragedy. (trailer)
World Trade Center (2006)-- Conspiracy specialist Oliver Stone turns off the urge to dig into his usual musings and delivers an incredibly humble, respectful, and understated (words that hardly ever describe an Oliver Stone movie) true story of the last two men (Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena) rescued alive at Ground Zero. Worth every moment to see and a great tribute to the first responders and their families. (trailer)
9/11 (2017)-- I think we all knew a day would come where some hack film was going to come around and exploit the tragedy that is the 2001 terrorist attacks. That award goes to Charlie Sheen, Whoopi Goldberg, and director Martin Guigui's straight-to-VOD trash heap. Sheen, a noted conspiracy theorist on 9/11, took it upon himself to make a glamour project stepping on history. Do not waste your time with this film.
MOVIES WITH PROMINENT 9/11 CONNECTIONS
The Guys (2002)-- One of the first reactionary films to 9/11 came from Focus Features in 2002 and starred Anthony LaPaglia and Sigourney Weaver. Based on Anne Nelson's heartfelt play, LaPaglia plays a fire captain who lost eight men on 9/11 and Weaver plays the editor who helps him write eulogies for the fallen. The film is only available on disc from Amazon. (trailer)
WTC View (2005)-- Gallows humor bubbles to the surface in this off-kilter indie romance from Brian Sloan about a SoHo man who placed an ad to find a new roommate and September 10th and now lives through a more difficult and trying landscape. (trailer)
Reign Over Me (2007)-- In a rare dramatic turn, Adam Sandler plays a fictional wayward man who lost his wife and daughters on 9/11 and tailspins through life fiver years later when an old college friend (Don Cheadle) tries to help keep him from being committed to a psychiatric care. (trailer)
Remember Me (2010)-- Billed as a coming-of-age film starring Twilight star Robert Pattinson, it features a fictitious family affected by the tragedy, including the fall of the WTC. Most critics found the 9/11 connections exploitative and offensive. (trailer)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)-- Speaking of exploitative, the Tom Hanks/Sandra Bullock Oscar nominee from this past year definitely rubbed more than a few audiences the wrong way in using 9/11 as a backdrop to a fictional family tragedy. Critics (including this one) clamored that if you're going to bring 9/11 to the big screen, use a real story. (trailer) (my full review)
September Morning (2017)-- Independent writer/director Ryan Frost crafted a small drama about five college freshman staying up all night after 9/11 weighing the impact it will have on their present and future. The film won a youth jury award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. (trailer)
MOVIES ABOUT THE WAR ON TERROR
In the decade since September 11, 2011, our largest response as a nation to the terrorism of that day has been a pair of wars overseas in the countries of Iraq and Afghanistan. The "war on terror" has quickly grown into a ripe orchard for possible movie storylines.
Home of the Brave (2006)--Rocky producer Irwin Winkler earns the credit for the first mainstream Hollywood movie depicting the Iraqi War and the initial soldiers returning home to re-acclimate to society. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, and Jessica Biel. (trailer)
The Hurt Locker (2008)-- Of course, the best-of-the-best is the 2009 Best Picture winner from Kathryn Bigelow starring Jeremy Renner as a driven, yet dark Iraqi bomb specialist. Its quality needs no introduction. (trailer)
Grace is Gone (2007)-- In the Audience Award winner of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, typical gender roles are reversed when John Cusack plays a homefront father (in my opinion, the best he's ever acted) who has to find the best way to tell his two daughters that their soldier mother was killed in Iraq. This movie is "guy-cry" level brilliant. (trailer)
Rendition (2007)-- Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, and Meryl Streep get together for a movie calling out the wrongs of detainment, interrogation, and torture. (trailer)
The Kingdom (2007)-- Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, and Jason Bateman investigate a bombing and throw down in the streets of Riyadh. (trailer)
Lions for Lambs (2007)-- Robert Redford delivers a three point-of-view discourse on U.S. war affairs before home and abroad with the help of Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep. (trailer)
In the Valley of Elah (2007)-- Crash director Paul Haggis leads Tommy Lee Jones (in an amazing Oscar-nominated performance) and Susan Sarandon as parents investigating with a local detective (Charlize Theron) the disappearance of their AWOL son returning home from Iraq. (trailer)
Body of Lies (2008)-- Ridley Scott's fictional take on the CIA's involvement in preventing Jordanian terrorism starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. (trailer)
Stop-Loss (2008)-- Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt play three young Texas schoolmates who are finally home from overseas but are forced back via the stop-loss clause. (trailer)
The Messenger (2009)-- Woody Harrelson was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a U.S. Army Casualty Notification Team officer mentoring recent veteran (Ben Foster) on the uniquely difficult job of informing families the bad news. (trailer)
Taking Chance (2009)-- Along the same bringing-bad-news-home lines is this gem of a HBO film starring Kevin Bacon (like Cusack earlier, in arguably his best performance as an actor) as a desk officer who never saw combat but takes on the duty of escorting a young fallen soldier's body back to his old hometown. Even though this wasn't in theaters, it is outstanding and worth your time on DVD. (trailer)
Brothers (2009)-- Jake Gyllenhaal takes care of his older brother's wife (Natalie Portman) while he (Tobey Maguire) is declared MIA in Afghanistan, from director Jim Sheridan. (trailer)
Dear John and The Lucky One (2010 and 2012)-- These two adaptations of Nicholas Sparks romance novels briefly touches on the War on Terror through Channing Tatum and Zac Efron's lead characters' return home to romance. (trailer and trailer)
Green Zone (2010)--Director Paul Greengrass followed United 93 with his Bourne series star Matt Damon in this taut and marginally-dramatized account of the early unsuccessful searches and the possible cover-up of Baghdad's supposed stores of weapons of mass destruction. (trailer)
Restrepo (2010)-- The highly acclaimed National Geographic documentary film follows a one-year look at the real men of the platoon embattled in the deadliest fortified valley of Afghanistan. (trailer)
Act of Valor (2012)-- Disney pumped up the military with this fictional anti-terrorism film using active duty Navy SEALs. Coming out after the death of Osama bin Laden, this was a welcome and well-promoted hero picture and recruitment reel. (trailer)
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)-- The Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow made a film about the SEAL Team 6 men and their story of taking down Osama bin Laden. The film was my #1 movie on my "10 Best" list for 2012. (trailer) (my full review)
Lone Survivor (2013)-- Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) directed an outstanding and patriotic film based on the Afghanistan saga of Marcus Luttrell starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, and Emile Hirsch that echoes another true-life story from the ongoing War on Terror. Very good movie! (trailer) (my full review)
A Most Wanted Man (2014)-- Spy novelist John LeCarre's multi-layered 2008 novel about the world of inter-agency espionage happening in Hamburg, Germany, the same city where the 9/11 conspirators hatched their plans, is an excellent and different post-9/11 film with an international flair and flavor. It will also be remembered as one of the last performances of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was phenomenal in the film. (trailer) (my full review)
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)-- This modern reboot or update of the famed Tom Clancy character, now played by Chris Pine, roots his pre-spy origins in the aftermath of 9/11 and the War on Terror that followed. (trailer)
American Sniper (2014)-- Clint Eastwood's Best Picture nominee war drama about the real-life story of the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (played by Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper) went on to become the highest grossing film of 2014 (north of $350 million). Kyle's journey from the heartland to the front lines was spurred by a sense of duty and patriotism that started from the attacks of 9/11. This is, by far, the most high profile movie to date to feature the War on Terror directly correlating 9/11. (trailer) (my full review)
Good Kill (2015)-- On the smaller side, but just as solid with warfare and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is this under-seen film which had a limited theatrical release during the summer of 2015. Andrew Niccol (Lord of War, Gattaca, The Truman Show) shifted his focus to the War on Terror by showcasing a Las Vegas base of drone pilots dealing with the ramification of their actions and the war being waged on their screens and with their joystick controls. (trailer) (my full review)
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)-- Director Michael Bay's slanted look at the September 11, 2012 embassy attacks that have become a political firebrand since certainly qualifies to make this list. (trailer) (my full review)
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)-- Tina Fey shed her comedic image for a heavyish war drama loosely based the true story of Afghanistan/Pakistan television journalist Kim Barker. (trailer)
Snowden (2016)-- Renowned politicized filmmaker Oliver Stone brought his brush of dramatic license to the story of whistleblowing former spy Edward Snowden, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The paranoia of the post-9/11 digital age was the mission field for Snowden and many other young men and women who sought the security and counterterrorism industries. (trailer) (full review)
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016)-- A company of soldiers who lost their commanding officer in Iraq are making a victory tour of press dates and public appearances when the reflections of the title character (newcomer Joe Alwyn) fill the day. Ang Lee's film felt ten years too late and was not well received. (trailer) (my full review)
Thank You For Your Service (2015) and Thank You For Your Service (2017)-- This popular conversation sentence was the title of two different works. In 2015, Tom Donahue's documentary opened eyes to the shoddy mental health governance for modern veterans and made waves that changed actual policies. The 2017 feature film borrows inspiration from David Finkel's 2013 nonfiction bestseller dealing with the PTSD topic of returning Iraqi tour soldiers adjusting to civilian life. Miles Teller is the headliner and is joined by Haley Bennett, Beulah Koale, Joe Cole, and Amy Schumer. (trailer) (trailer)
Megan Leavey (2017)-- 2017 was a busy year for War on Terror-connected films with five new entries. Taglined "based on the true story about a Marine's best friend," Megan Leavey stars Kate Mara as the soldier leader of a bomb-searching pooch on deployment in Iraq. Touching film! (trailer)
The Wall (2017)-- Nocturnal Animals Golden Globe nominee Aaron Taylor-Johnson and emerging WWE movie star John Cena play two soldiers pinned down by an Iraqi sniper in a single-setting thriller from action specialist Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow). (trailer)
War Machine (2017)-- Enough time has passed now in 2017 where the War on Terror has reached a point of being a target of satire. Animal Kingdom and The Rover director David Michod puts a witty spin on things creating a fictionalized account of U.S. General Stanley McChrystal with Brad Pitt in the lead. Netflix is the exclusive carrier of this one. (trailer)
Last Flag Flying (2017)-- The last and best of the 2017 bunch is Richard Linklater's dramedy about three old Vietnam veterans (Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Laurence Fishburne) who come together when one of their sons is killed in Iraq and coming home for burial. The excellent acting trio and Linklater's writing (adapted from Darryl Ponicsan's novel, a spiritual sequel to his The Last Detail) deliver touching brevity and sharp commentary on the echoes of war across generations. (trailer) (my full review)
A Private War (2018)— Documentary filmmaker Matthew Heineman made his feature film debut with a biopic on British photojournalist Marie Colvin, who made her stops through the hellfire of Iraq and Afghanistan in her storied career. Rosamund Pike was snubbed for an Oscar nomination that year. (trailer) (my full review)
Vice (2018)— Speaking of biopics, writer/director Adam McKay brought his machete for satire to the life of former Vice President Dick Cheney. The film dove deep into the manipulated machinations from Cheney that engineered the War on Terror during the Bush administration. While not as good as The Big Short, Vice did earn eight Oscar nominations (winning one for makeup), including Best Picture and Best Actor for Christian Bale in the leading role. (trailer) (my full review)
Official Secrets (2019)— When invading Iraq was on the table to push the war to the ground, the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Tony Blair were lockstep next to the U.S. on seeking United Nations approval. The true story of whistleblower Katharine Gun unearthed secrets that led to questioning the war’s legality before it even began. This is a nice step-up for Keira Knightley. (trailer) (my full review)
The Report (2019)— Not yet widely released in 2019 after huge buzz at the Sundance Film Festival, frequent Steven Soderbergh screenwriting collaborator Scott Z. Burns made his directorial debut with this searing docudrama of the use of torture by American agencies during the War on Terror. Check out the film’s trailer:
MOVIES ABOUT THE CHANGES IN AMERICAN LIFE (BOTH SERIOUS AND NOT-SO-SERIOUS)
25th Hour (2002)-- New Yorker Spike Lee was quick to not shy away from the post-9/11 pulse of New York City following Edward Norton's character's last night of debauchery and unfinished business before going to prison. Filled with scathing social commentary and visual reminders of 9/11 and Ground Zero, its amazing opening credits sequence alone set the tone as only Spike can. (trailer)
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)-- Documentary maverick Michael Moore's slam at the handling of 9/11 and the war on terror became one of the most successful box office documentaries of all-time. (trailer)
Sorry, Haters (2005)-- Robin Wright played a professional woman who receives conversation and unexpected interaction with an Arab New York cab driver in this IFC production. (foreign trailer)
An Inconvenient Truth (2006)-- By contrast, in a small snippet and computer graphic on melting glaciers in this Oscar-winning documentary, Al Gore lets us know that half of Greenland or Antarctica's melted ice would put New York, including Ground Zero, underwater within the next 50 years. (trailer)
The Terminal (2004)-- Airports are now covered in bureaucratic red tape. Heaven forbids, you're not from America. (trailer)
Anger Management (2003)-- Showed us that you can get kicked off a plane now for just about anything. (trailer)
Soul Plane (2004)-- Then again, come on, guys. Air travel can still be cool, even with the new security rules. (trailer)
Snakes on a Plane (2006)-- OK, maybe not so much... (trailer)
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)-- You've got to hate racial profiling as much as you equally love a good parody. (trailer)
Iron Man (2008)-- Marvel's steely hero had his Vietnam origin story conveniently and modernly flopped for an Afghanistan-connected one. (trailer)
Bridesmaids (2011)-- Now, that's how an Air Marshall gets down! (trailer)
Source Code (2011)-- Our fear of catastrophes on planes can easily be translated to trains as well. (trailer) (my full review)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013)-- For a serious look at the warped view of Muslim citizens post-9/11, take a look at Mira Nair's dramatic thriller about a young Pakistani man (newcomer Riz Ahmed) who is successful on Wall Street but viewed differently through profiling after 9/11. (trailer)
The Fifth Estate (2013)-- The film story of the WikiLeaks of Julian Assange carry a loose connection to the changed post-9/11 landscape of security and more. (trailer)
Boyhood (2014)-- Richard Linklater's huge biographical opus was filmed over the course of 12 years with the same cast growing up and aging to tell their family story. The film starts in 2002, where the incidents of 2001 are fresh on the minds of the characters and discussed openly during the first year sequence of the journey. Later on, political mentions of Bush, Obama, and the War on Terror make it into a reflective conversation as well. (trailer) (my full review)
Won't You Be My Neighbor (2018)-- A key moment in the extraordinary Fred Rogers documentary chronicled when a retired Rogers was brought back for a special televised message to young viewers about reacting to the 9/11 tragedy that played on-screen for so many viewers. It's a touching historical moment. (trailer) (my full review)
MEMORABLE PAST IMAGES OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IN MOVIES
Sometimes, all it takes is the camera making a fleeting, yet memorable, glance at those beautiful and now-gone skyscrapers to immediately remind us of a different time. The WTC towers have been shown in innumerable establishing shots. We'll highlight some great ones. Beginning with the closing credits to New Yorker Martin Scorsese's 2002 film Gangs of New York, here's a great montage of cinematic views of the WTC from various pre-2001 movies.
Superman (1978)-- Even a passing fly-by over "Metropolis" feels different.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)-- Tell me this clip didn't just go from cute to eerie to sad. Wonderful then, but different now.
Godspell (1973)— Submitted by friend-of-the-page and larger-fan-of-musicals-than-me Josh Powers, enjoy this dance number from the summery musical filmed and completed before the skyscraper’s ribbon-cutting.
King Kong (1976)-- While it may not match the iconic 1933 image of the original ape towering on top of the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center plays a big role in the 1976 remake starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange. (trailer)
Independence Day (1996), Deep Impact (1998), Armageddon (1998), and The Day After Tomorrow (2004)-- These all constitute the prominent disaster movies that leave New York (and, in three cases, the WTC) in destructive shambles.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Godzilla (1998), Cloverfield (2004), War of the Worlds (2005), and Watchmen (2009). Kind of not so entertaining for few seconds anymore, huh? See for yourself. Here's a montage of NYC movie destruction:
MOVIES THAT FEEL DIFFERENT IN THE POST-9/11 WORLD
I don't know about you but a lot of movies just don't resonate or feel the same as they did before September 11th. We've changed and the perception has changed. For some movies, their message and impact is only made stronger (in good ways and bad) since 9/11. In other cases, what was entertaining then doesn't feel so right anymore.
Airplane! (1980)-- Farce or not (and still funny to this day), we could never get away with anything that happens on an airplane from that movie now. (trailer)
Passenger 57 (1992)--Let alone this movie... (trailer)
Executive Decision (1996)-- ...and this movie... (trailer)
Turbulence (1997)-- ...and this movie... (trailer)
Pushing Tin (1999)-- ...and probably this movie too... (trailer)
True Lies (1994)-- Slammed even then for its depiction of Arab terrorists, it likely has picked up a little more egg on its face. Adding to its burial, the movie hasn’t been released on any physical media format since 1999, which includes zero Blu-ray editions in its history (factoid from Josh Powers). Do you think 20th Century Fox wants that movie to go away or what? (trailer)
The Siege (1998)-- This frightening martial law thriller with Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, and Bruce Willis makes True Lies look like G.I. Joe starring Ken from the Barbie dolls toy line. Scary and eerily prophetic in its over-the-top terrorism and bombing scenarios. (trailer)
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)-- Though fictional with Pittsburgh standing in as Gotham City, the New York imagery and parallels occurring during its terrorist takeover led by Tom Hardy's Bane have eerie 9/11-inspired ramifications. (trailer) (my full review)
Syriana (2005)-- George Clooney won an Oscar, but the touchy subjects of torture, terrorism, and the oil industry evoke a little dose of fear. (trailer)
Munich (2005)-- The Black September assassination of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics and the Mossad's reaction was probably the last time before 9/11 that terrorism made worldwide live media headlines. (trailer)
Arlington Road (1999)-- While this resonates more as a comparison to Oklahoma City-style domestic terrorism, the Jeff Bridges/Tim Robbins underappreciated thriller is no less scary now than then. (trailer)
Fight Club (1999)-- Watching Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt/Edward Norton) destroy New York's credit district is another example of domestic terrorism and destruction that rings a little louder post-9/11.
The Sum of All Fears (2002)-- Many people found the Super Bowl bomb plot far too soon to see those images just a year removed from 9/11. (trailer)
V for Vendetta (2006)-- Urban terrorism in London via a Guy Fawkes fan resonates a little different for a public scare on our side of the Atlantic. (trailer)
Courage Under Fire (1995)-- Our first trip to Iraq foreshadows a lot of the equal futility, bravery, and loss experienced in our second trip... (trailer)
Jarhead (2005)-- ...especially when told from the true account of a disillusioned soldier who was there. (trailer)
Charlie Wilson's War (2007)-- The same foreshadowing can be made out of our 1980's Cold War involvement on the side of Afghanistan versus the Soviet Union as outlined by a gem of a Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman film. To think that we could have stuck around and cleaned the place up before they became our enemy. (trailer)
Rambo III (1988)-- Speaking of an American fighting on the anti-communism side of the Afghans! (trailer)
Air Force One (1997)-- Not that George W. Bush or Barack Obama ever channeled Harrison Ford here, but don't you now root a little harder for a take charge President... (trailer)
The Patriot (2000)-- ... or a flag-carrying American hero from 230+ years ago... (trailer)
Pearl Harbor (2001)-- ...or the last great American tragedy that galvanized a nation and sent us to war. (trailer)
MOVIES SINCE 2001 THAT RENEW THE AMERICAN SPIRIT
These examples (as well as the aforementioned World Trade Center) will get your patriotic heartstrings going and boost your down spirit.
The Last Castle (2001)-- Opening just over a month after the tragedy, the military and flag-waving patriotism of Robert Redford's underrated drama undeniably stirs you. (trailer)
Behind Enemy Lines (2001)-- Leave it to Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson (of all people) to win macho patriotic points for loosely re-enacting the famous pilot Scott O'Grady Bosnian prisoner escape story. (trailer)
Black Hawk Down (2001)-- Released during the 2001-2002 awards season, Ridley Scott's powerful depiction of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu showed the uncompromising courage of U.S. Army Ranger and Delta Force soldiers at a time when our current soldiers were likely preparing for going overseas to similar urban warfare. (trailer)
We Were Soldiers (2002)-- Mel Gibson may be embroiled in unpopular headlines now, but his 2002 action-drama from his Braveheart writer about America's first official military action in Vietnam is as powerful and it is impressive. Like Black Hawk Down, it added to the heroic mystique of the American soldier, even if it was set in the past. If you don't cry watching those wives deliver those first casualty letters, there's something wrong with you. (trailer)
Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004)-- New York's #1 resident superhero always fights for a way for the citizen of the city to stand up together. I suppose you can throw in the pair from the reboot (The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2) for some of the same reasons. (trailer)
Gangs of New York (2002)-- Martin Scorsese is a quintessential New Yorker and his mid-1800's history piece (while definitely violent) was a love letter to the city's great history. (trailer)
Elf (2003)-- Will Ferrell put the Big Apple back in the Christmas cheer. (trailer)
Ladder 49 (2004)-- Though it wasn't set in New York, you can't help but think of the 343 NYFD men and women that lost their lives on September 11th and ardent first-responders when you watch Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta as macho Baltimore firemen. (trailer)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)-- America loves a good underdog story and Clint Eastwood gave the public a heck of a good one that went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture. (trailer)
Miracle (2004)-- What better way to boost American spirit than to relive our greatest Olympic triumph. (trailer)
National Treasure (2004)-- How about a history lesson to make you feel good about our great country? Why not? (trailer)
Hitch (2005)-- Will Smith brought popular romance back to the City That Never Sleeps. (trailer) He would capture hearts for a different reason the next year with The Pursuit of Happyness. (trailer)
We Are Marshall (2006)-- Another real-life airplane tragedy sets the stage for an amazing story of athletic and community rebirth. One of the most underrated football movies out there. (trailer)
Live Free or Die Hard (2007)-- Why not give NY's best bad-ass cop a chance to save the nation's capital? (trailer)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)-- Last but not least, you can't get more patriotic and underdog than this skinny guy from Brooklyn transformed into a red-white-and-blue super soldier. He followed it up this past summer saving New York in The Avengers. (trailer and trailer) (full review and my full review)
American Sniper (2014)-- The tremendous reception Clint Eastwood's film had to become the highest grossing movie of the year made Chris Kyle a household name and heavily amplified a previously dormant red-blooded (and "red state-d") surge of patriotism and soldier appreciation. (trailer) (my full review)
Sully (2016)-- Both the incredible true story of Flight 1549 from 2009 and Clint Eastwood's respectful retelling featuring Tom Hanks as Capt. Chelsea "Sully" Sullenberger remind audiences of the strength of New York City. There's a great line in the movie where someone is trying to thank Sullenberger and says that it's been a long time since the city has had good news about anything like the "Miracle on the Hudson," especially about a plane. (trailer) (my full review)
Patriots Day (2016) and Stronger (2018)-- The way the city of Boston rallied from another terrorist attack on American soil during its marathon has key inspirational value. It's too bad the film was the Mark Wahlberg show rather than a well-rounded ensemble approach. (trailer) (my full Patriots Day review) (trailer) (my full Stronger review)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018)-- Much like the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield web-slinger movies that came before, Tom Holland's take on Peter Parker is a born-and-raised New York kid that supports and protects his neighborhood and city from dangers foreign and domestic. His protection, joined by fellow New Yorker Doctor Strange, expands with the united effort with The Avengers when Thanos shows up in Avengers: Infinity War. One part down on that with one to go in the summer of 2019. (trailer) (my full Spider-Man: Homecoming review) (trailer) (my Avengers: Infinity War review)
Only the Brave (2017)-- Just as with Ladder 49 thirteen years before it, you can't beat the sympathy generated by the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice of firefighters. Forest fires aren't terrorists, but the feels are all there. (trailer)
The 15:17 to Paris (2018)-- Four years after American Sniper, Clint Eastwood dipped his filmmaking brush in the hero worship paint again to tell another true story. The wrinkle of this one is that Eastwood called upon the actual heroes that thwarted the 2015 Thayls train attack to star in their own movie recreation. Results were mixed, but the Eastwood prestige is there. (trailer) (my full review)
THE UP-AND-DOWN PULSE OF CONTINUED SENSITIVITY AND/OR CENSORSHIP TO 9/11 SIMILARITIES
For 2014 and going forward, this is a new section I'm adding to this study. Now that enough time has passed since 2001, I'm beginning to notice that movies are starting to go back to some of the images and themes of violence, destruction, and terrorism that were hands off for so many years after 9/11. Like all history, even 9/11 will fade. What we were offended by after the horrific incidents have returned, in some cases, to be more tolerated and even acceptable and celebrated again. Sure enough, there are plenty who vividly remember 2001's events and images and are quick to point out when something is in possible poor taste. That shaky barometer has led to some allusions and reminders to 9/11 and some flat-out censorship changes and corrections. Some get flak and slaps on the wrist while some don't. Here are some examples in recent years.
Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down (2013)-- Both competing White House takeover films from 2013, one from Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and one from Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) had a bit of split audience reaction to their violent and terrorist content. Some rooted and cheered as if it was the 80's again and America is always going to win. Others were not so keen or ready to see the White House become a target and battleground, even if it was just a movie. Between the two, Olympus Has Fallen, the R-rated and more severe one of the two, was the bigger hit. In a way, no one batted an eye. (trailer and trailer) (my full Olympus Has Fallen review)
Man of Steel (2013)-- Despite being one of the most all-American heroes around, Zack Snyder's Man of Steel gave Superman a very serious tone that, in a way, can't be included on the category before this one of movies that renew the American spirit. Also, many people were not very pleased with the immense city-wide destruction scenes of Metropolis during the film's climax. Even though Chicago was the filming location of a fictitious comic book city, there were staunch critics who had a problem with huge office buildings and skyscrapers in very 9/11-esque rubble. Its 2016 sequel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice mildly addressed that a city can't be destroyed without consequences, even on Superman's watch in a colorful comic book setting. (my full review)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)-- Much like Man of Steel, the third Michael Bay Transformers movie features a great deal of city-wide destruction (again, in Chicago) that rubbed a few people the wrong way. (trailer) (my full review)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)-- Throw in the terrorist label for the villain and his bombings and the big San Francisco starship wreck during this film's ending action that was clearly a larger scale to a passenger jet taking out buildings. (trailer) (my full review)
Godzilla (2014)-- Add the King of the Monsters to the list of more city destruction that raised an eyebrow for some. (trailer) (my full review)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)-- Outside of this string of modern and accepted examples of urban attacks and destruction, is the minor amount of hot water the makers of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got it for a promotional poster that had an exploding skyscraper that cut too close to 9/11 similarities. The study pulled the poster and had to apologize. Censorship and sensitivity won that argument and mistake. (trailer)
The Walk (2015)-- A very big test to peoples' memories of the World Trade Center will be coming in the Fall of 2015 with Robert Zemeckis's film The Walk, the true story of the French high-wire artist Philippe Petit's quest to tightrope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1974 (previously featured in the Academy Award nominated 2008 documentary Man on Wire). Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the film will prominently display, thanks to Zemeckis's stunning use of CGI, a tremendous amount of imagery of the two lost skyscrapers. Even though it's a period piece to a non-turbulent time, no film since 2001 has attempted to show this much of those building. Public reaction was mixed and the film was not a box office hit. (trailer) (full review)
Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)-- I guess it's OK for patriotic mass city destruction again. London gets it worse than New York, though. (trailer) (full review)
Ghostbusters (2016)-- Well, New York was safe for at least a month anyway between Independence Day: Resurgence's release and the new reboot (which conveniently made sure its city destruction in Times Square and other places be easy to erase). Not far behind was the fictional Suicide Squad and its over-the-city halo of supposed death. (trailer) (my full review)
Rampage (2018)-- Larger in size than the old World Trade Centers used to be, Chicago's Willis Tower, the former Sears Tower and tallest building in the world, was the targeted collapsed skyscraper spectacle of choice in the Brad Payton/Dwayne Johnson live-action video game adaptation. Monsters aren't terrorists, but the imagery hits close as the Willis Tower was one of many skyscrapers across the country evacuated on 9/11 out of fear of becoming another target. See the collapse clip above. (my full review)
I hope everyone enjoyed this little (OK, large) retrospective about the impact of 9/11 in movies for the last 18 years and counting. Take some time this coming weekend to appreciate the freedoms we have the people fighting to keep them for us. Support your troops and first responders and, again, NEVER FORGET!
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