United 93 (film)

United 93
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPaul Greengrass
Screenplay byPaul Greengrass
Based on9/11 Commission Report
by the 9/11 Commission
Produced byPaul Greengrass
Tim Bevan
Eric Fellner
Lloyd Levin
StarringChristian Clemenson
Cheyenne Jackson
David Alan Basche
Peter Hermann
Daniel Sauli
Trish Gates
Corey Johnson
Richard Bekins
Michael J. Reynolds
Khalid Abdalla
CinematographyBarry Ackroyd
Edited byClare Douglas
Richard Pearson
Christopher Rouse
Music byJohn Powell
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
(international)
Mars Distribution (France)
Release date
  • April 28, 2006 (2006-04-28)
Running time
110 minutes[1]
CountriesUnited States
United Kingdom
France
LanguagesEnglish
Arabic (diegetic)
Budget$15 million[2]
Box office$76.3 million[2]

United 93 is a 2006 thriller film written and directed by British filmmaker Paul Greengrass. The film largely chronicles the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93,[3] one of the four hijacked flights during the September 11 attacks on America. Flight 93 was the only plane to not hit its intended target due to the intervention of passengers and crew. The film also covers the experiences of government officials and air traffic controllers, many of whom are played by themselves, as they witness the other events of the attacks unfold that day.

The film recounts the hijacking and subsequent events during the flight with as much veracity as possible, including utilizing a real time perspective where the film takes place over the exact same amount of time as the real-life events beginning from the plane's takeoff. There is, however, a disclaimer that some imagination had to be used to tell the story. Overall, United 93 was made with the support and cooperation of most of the passengers' families, and many attended the premiere. There were, however, a few who did not support the film and did not participate in any of the film's activities. [4] [5] Many of the on-the-ground personnel, most notably Federal Aviation Administration head Ben Sliney, portray themselves.

United 93 premiered on April 26, 2006, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City,[6] and later opened in theaters nationwide in America on April 28, 2006. The film is regarded as one of the best of 2006. It was also a commercial success, grossing $76.3 million worldwide.[2][7] Ten percent of the gross income from the three-day opening weekend was promised toward a donation to create a memorial for the flight's victims.[8] The film received two Academy Award nominations, including Best Director for Greengrass.

  1. ^ "UNITED 93 (15)". United International Pictures. British Board of Film Classification. May 11, 2006. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "United 93 (2006)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. July 6, 2006. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  3. ^ Barra, Allen. "Historical Film: It's Time to See a Movie We Couldn't Bear to Go To"[permanent dead link]. American Heritage, November/December 2006.
  4. ^ Heath, Iver (January 1, 2006). "Four Years On, a Cabin's-Eye View of 9/11". New York Times.
  5. ^ Brooks, Xan (June 7, 2006). "United 93 'surrender monkey' defends role in film". The Guardian.
  6. ^ (March 29, 2006). "September 11 plane drama to open NY film festival"[permanent dead link]. Reuters article.
  7. ^ Boorstin, Julia (January 8, 2006). "MSNBC". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  8. ^ Smith, Sean (April 9, 2006). "A Dark Day Revisited". Newsweek. Retrieved August 24, 2021.