We are so fortunate that the Naudet brothers just happened to be filming on 9/11. People all over the world can watch this record of what happened that day. It's a remarkable piece of history and tragedy. I hope it's preserved for future generations. RIP to all those who were lost.
Comment deleted by author, hidden by author, RU-vid took it down. Please listen to version first broadcast by CBS 3/2002 could swear Battalion Chief Pfeifer says it was American Airlines? I think this is the only record of the plane hitting WTC 1? So much heartbreak. This one kinda haunts me. John Vigiano, Sr., a former marine and esteemed, retired FDNY captain, held heartbreaking double distinction of looking in the rubble for two first-responder sons: the elder John, Jr., a firefighter (Ladder 132) like his father, and younger Joseph, a New York City police detective. May we never forget.
@@pugachevskobra5636, I’m not. I’m providing an example to show that television documentaries (and television films as a whole) are eligible for the National Film Registry.
I am a 63 year old with an intelligence and security degree and it will not let me watch it due to graphic content. I have watched the video many times but this is the first time it has been censored. Any ideas?
September 11, 2024 - As I watch this documentary with my eyes wide open, I can hardly believe it has been 23 years. I remember exactly what I was doing that day. I had just returned from school when I saw the smoking buildings on TV. I was only 15 at the time. I will never forget that day, just as I will never forget the courage of the Americans who fought to save their fellow citizens. The resilience and bravery displayed on that day continue to inspire and move me deeply.
I remember every detail of this day too I was seven but I remember it so vividly seeing it all on tv being put in lockdown with all my classmates and worrying about my family in New York :(
15 year old as well. Got home from school but heard about what happened on the way home. Watched CNN coverage about the attack every afternoon for about 2 weeks, after I got home from school.
I was 12 in the UK, just getting home from school too and walked in to the news on TV. Couldn't get my head around what I was seeing it was so unbelievable, I remember asking my dad if there was anything we could do to help and he just put his arm around me and said sadly not. RIP to all who lost their lives that day and thoughts go out to all in America i hope nothing like this is ever allowed to happen again to you or anyone.
The Naudet brothers were absolutely the most professional, bravest cameramen EVER. To watch the horror unfold and follow the firefighters right into the “warzone”....not interfering with the firefighters work, not asking questions. Turning the camera from the burn victims/deceased victims in the lobby and not filming it, out of respect. If I were a cameraman filming in the lobby I would probably be asking a million questions...they were just so very professional and respectful.
@@jayoh360If you’d been alive at that time, you’d realize you got the feeling of what it was like to watch this unfold at the time. It wasn’t Reddit gore. It was helplessness and confusion. That day was chaos.
@@christinap-c I mean I get where he's coming from though.. it's really hard for people like us who saw the event happen in real time to comprehend how someone who wasn't alive during that time would want to see the death and destruction.. Look at other tragedies that happened before any of us were alive and how fascinated we are with them the Titanic, Pompeii, heck even things recent like the tsunamis of 2004 and 2011. All terrible events for the people who died those days but we sure do have movies about them we have a little ice trays that make little Frozen Titanic and ice burg that you can put in your gin and tonics. Even though 1500 people died that night.. humans have always been fascinated with death and destruction..
@@jayoh360 if it makes you feel better, the day it happened I read posts on a bunch of defunct social forums from people in nyc on 9/11 who said they saw raw meat on the sidewalks and didn’t know why there was raw meat everywhere and then they realized it was the remains of people who had jumped. So there you go! I hope that visual makes you understand how brutal it was 😊
People may find this disrespectful to be recording at a time like this. I however think this was needed. I am a Jr firefighter and am 15, I was born 6 years after this… I would have never gotten to see how much people had sacrificed for the citizens. I have heard sure but seeing this real footage is really eye opening. I still want to become a firefighter because it takes a special kind of person to step into this. To do this job in light of knowing you and the people you care about could die at anytime. So just thank you to them recording thank you to all who survived and thank you to those who died. I am going to do my best to continue your legacies. Edited: About a year from this comment on Wednesday and 23 years from 9/11. I have completed fire mods 1-3 and am able to run calls and I am becoming an EMR by December!!! Just so you all know these comments live on my mind and I truly live by them I reread them every chance I get. I will rewatch this video on 9/11 as a reminder.
I imagine that all this footage must have been very helpful for the later investigation of the attacks. And most importantly, thanks to this footage, we were able to see the incredible bravery with which first responders acted on that tragic day.
I am a American and I do not find this video disrespectful at all. The Naudet brothers are the only one to have filmed the plane impacting the North Tower. Because I was not there, it is important to me to see what exactly happened, just like the Zapruder film of JFK’s assassination.
"Let's make a documentary about a boy becoming a man during his 9 month probationary period. Turns out Tony became a man in 9 hours, trying to help on 9/11." Such a strong line. The firefighters were among the real heroes that day. Those who survived were just never the same person ever again. Truly brave men, despite the chaos.
Tony sees NO ACTION, ALL DAY. Some proof of manhood. He is never once shown doing any actual firefighter work in the entire movie. He appears nowhere in the school footage where they say they discovered him, either. And what of his off-duty time? Where does he live? Does he have a girlfriend? A mom? What dies he do for fun? What was he doing on the call to WTC BEFORE 9/11, in the preview sequence, between 1:30 and 2:15? That's him, second from left, in two shots there. ALL he does is stand around looking pretty in his uniform. Oh and get a SINGING CREDIT.
@@rayubinger9780yeah, it felt like they forced that line in the documentary. It didn’t feel like he had went that transformation on 9/11. apparently he is still a firefighter in NY so obviously he eventually did fight fires but on 9/11 he was out of the action mostly.
@@Phillip713 Notice the plot device by which they get him off screen for most of the big day. He forgets some supposedly crucial box of gloves on his way out the door. He sends THE CAMERAMAN back in to get them. Then, he DITCHES the cameraman! It's like the Alleged Odor of Alleged Gas that enabled the 1st Hit shot. WAS there a gas leak? What BECAME of it? We're not supposed to wonder. If the box of gloves was crucially needed, why didn't Tony wait for the cameraman to get it to him? Why did he depend on a journalist to know and retrieve ff stuff at all?
This is one of the most incredible pieces of footage ever captured… the timing… position.. balls of steel to continue filming and everything! this is absolutely almost unbelievable to watch. I watched the towers get struck on an old wood panel tv in my living room. And to see it like this is unbelievable
@@maryjanedodo some of the imagery of decimated buildings maybe similar, but I still think they are incomparable. There are wars going on every day sadly in this messed up world. Israel and Palestine is the middle east fighting the middle east, both third world, with a big long history. 9/11 was THE EAST attacking THE WEST, a first world developed country, one of the most revered countries on the global stage, an attack on freedom itself. The imagery of the twin towers and all its inhabitants turned to dust is far more disturbing as it was how incongruous it was with the backdrop.....an affluent commercial area associated with business/tourism and opportunity/success/wealth. These evil Islamic extremists had managed to turn the place into a war zone similar to 3rd World country in only TWO HOURS. That's why the images are so profoundly shocking. Their hatred also jealousy as they are backwards, America is about construction, they are about destruction. Sad how wars go, America funding Israel. Then look at Russia Ukraine. What a sad state our world is in. We are ran by psychopaths and Satanists. Religion a lot to blame. (The irony. My God's better than your God, how ridiculous).
@@maryjanedodo it should make you think about the fact that Hamas is a terrorist organization just like Al Queda. Maybe you should also think about how Hamas is responsible for current the state of Palestine.
At 34:49, that is Jay Jonas. This would be his last day as Captain of Ladder 6. Chief Hayden would order the men of Ladder 6 to assist in the rescue operations in the North Tower and ascended the stairs until the evacuation order was transmitted by Chief Pffifer. On his descent, Jonas and his company would be trapped in Stairway B of Tower One with Chief Prunty (who Jules points out earlier.) Captain Jonas would survive and be pulled out several hours after the collapse along with his men, the men of Engine 39, Lieutenant Mickey Kross of Engine 16, one Officer of the PAPD, and Josephine Harris, a civilian Ladder 6 helped assist down the stairs. Chief Prunty would be trapped in these survivors vicinity, but died from his injuries. Captain Jonas would replace Chief Prunty in the ranks and would be promoted to Battalion Chief. Jay Jonas retired in 2017, having reached the rank of Division Chief.
@@cameronbell415Mickey Cross has been in a couple documentaries, such as Miracle of Stairway B, and Ground Zero Underworld. Captain Jonas was in one about being inside the towers
At 35:03, the one chief appears to say “Orio” just before the narrator describes their discussion to set up a group for Tower 2. Is this Orio Palmer with this group in the following footage after this point? Between 35:20 and 35:28, you see a chief with a white helmet to the left, his name ends with an “r” and it immediately follows the other chief who seems to say “Orio” when he calls him over.
I was 6 on 9/11. This documentary was how my grandfather, who was a Marine, would expose me to what happened a couple years later, when I was better able to understand. He never went too much into the causes, he always just said that bad men hurt a lot of people. But he chose to focus on these heroes, to show me what men looked like. In a time where many of my generation are disenfranchised with our country in one way or another, this is how I choose to remember what the best our country has to offer. I watch this every year, as I’m sure many of you do as well. We’ll never forget their bravery and sacrifice in the name of helping save their fellow countrymen and women, fellow human beings, who were caught in a maelstrom of evil on that day. We will never forget. We love you guys.
@Davey_bfg71 He disappeared off-camera at the firehouse with Tony. After Tony ditched the cameraman. We never see either man at GZ that day. We never see Tony doing one lick of actual firefighter work, anywhere in the entire movie. Some rookie fireman documentary. Save space and call it a rookie man documentary. We do see Tony gets a SINGING credit at the end. "DEFY - TONY BENETATOS WITH THE ORIGINAL BAMBOOZLER".To bamboozle means to swindle, right? Is that one of Satan's monikers?
@@vanessas2363my mom was a stay at home mom, daytime tv was her company.the TV was always on in our house.. I remember coming home and she was just sitting in front of the TV unable to speak I had to drag words from her. She was in shock
This is one of the best documentaries ever made, bar none. The Naudet brothers were able to shift the focus almost effortlessly, especially given that one didn’t know if the other had died when the towers collapsed. Every budding documentarian should watch this. I think it was absolutely galling that CBS was actually threatened with massive indecency fines by the FCC the second and third times they broadcast this. I mean, seriously!
Chief Pfeiffer did his job that day. He made the order for his brother Kevin, to take his squad and start climbing stairs. The Chief gave those same orders to more firefighters. The men did extraordinary jobs that day. One brother went home to his family and the other one gave his life to protect others. Kevin and his squad could’ve gotten out alive but they stayed and helped others get out of the building. Both brothers are hero’s. All firefighters are heroes. 343 brave firefighters gave their lives on 9-11. Year’s later the first responders became sick and died from all the dust particles they were exposed to. Many have PTSD. Some even life ended. One thing that haunts them is there was no one to save. Zero. Only body parts. It only took a day before the smell of death covered Manhattan. 343 guys gave the ultimate sacrifice. They did their job. We will NEVER forget! ❤️🩹 Never!
Upwards of 50,000 would have been in the Towers on any given day. If not for the sacrifices of the firefighters, police, and first responders, I believe many more would have died.
I watch The Naudet Documentary and “102 minutes that changed America” every year. Every American who has no recollection or who wasn’t born yet at this time needs to watch this.
One Day in America is the most recent documentary on RU-vid but you have to pay for it. But its worth the price. It's a series of 4 or 5 episodes and it's really good.
I’d replace “102 Minutes That Changed America,” to “One Day in America.” That is probably the best doc. I’ve seen on it. National Geographic and the 9/11 Memorial Museum collabed on it. No narrator. Just told min. by min. from the survivors. It’s very gut wrenching
I once carried a 20l bucket of water up 13 stories and I have to say it's one of the most physically exhausting things I've done. To think these men carried 60lbs of equipment in heavy fireproof clothing up 80 stories into basically certain death. I have no words.
Think I've watched this documentary every year since. Still stirs such emotion and tears...even 22 yrs later. God bless all those lost and those that continue on each and every day. 🇺🇲
@@tyfi5982it explains it in the beginning of this. They were close friends with the fire fighter who narrated this. He invited them in to film a rookie to make a documentary about they become fire fighters.
@@Catielove21oh okay thanks. I just find it weird this was documented so well. When the filmmaker said “there’s always a witness for history, and that day we were chosen to be the witnesses” is scary
@@tyfi5982I know I know and the call made right at 830.. super weird. Not trying to say they knew. But maybe whoever sprung the leak knew. I’d rather not try to assume tho. Since this footage gives us a lot of insight into what happened! God bless them 🙏🏼
The greatest documentary of all time, as a firefighter it puts everything into perspective when I start to lose my love for the job and it puts me back on track
God bless you sir! ❤❤ thank you for what you all do! Don’t loose trust in steel rise buildings just because of this day. I’m sure if you have done any research on this day you know what really happened anyways. Your brothers were murdered that day in my opinion. And there’s a lot of us who are pushing to get the case re opened still and it’s only gaining more and more momentum! With the “Architects &Engineers for 9/11”. They deserve justice, all the people do! 🙏🏼 Thank you for your service sir. I hope you have a safe rest of your career/life.
34:49 that's Jay Jonas waiting for his orders from Pete Hayden. He and his team made it to I believe the 22nd floor before the South Tower fell. He then turned his men around and said they were leaving. They stopped to help a lady who was struggling they were in the stairwell on the 5th floor when the tower collapsed around them. By some miracle he, his men and the civilian survived the collapse. Had they been higher or lower than they were they would have died. Five hours later they were rescued and Capt. Jonas is still alive and well today. God Bless him, his men and all the heroes of 9/11.
@@julialange5615 higher the energy of the collapse would have killed them. Lower all the debris would have settled on top of them and they would have either suffocated or been crushed. Capt Jonas himself has said Engineers have told him had they been anywhere else besides between floors 3-6 there was a greater than 99% they'd have died. The energy had been largely dispersed by the time it reached them and they were high enough it didn't settle on top of them.
@@cameronvieira6648 you! This is an absolute miracle then that they survived. But why does the documentary say “[…] we began to accept that there was just anybody to find.” (1:51:12)?
I am not an American, but every year, on Sept 11, I go to RU-vid and search videos such as this to remember each and every one who have died and survived. And also to pay my respects to all the uniformed men and women, civilian heroes, and the silent heroes that we don't know about until now who became part and have sacrificed their lives on that fateful day. May we not forget them and the love for humanity they have showed. May God bless us all. 🌹
I was born in 2002, so I have no memory of what life was like before or on that day, and watching documentaries are a way I can find a form of understanding. The Naudet film brings a human perspective of how people reacted to the tragedy in real time, and one of the few films that bring you inside the towers.
As an american,i thank you for that. I live a couple states away. So you find yourself feeliing comfortable. Ive even made a few jokes . You just cant forget the victims,how they felt in their last moments. You also cant forget the responders who ignored self preservation and went into and went up the stairs of those buildings as people ran out. Heroes....heroes. thank you brotha for having an open mind and i hope youre doing well
Thank you so much. It has been 22 years since the attack, but to us who are old enough to remember and saw the chaos unfold before our very eyes (whether it be on scene or on the News), it is still a vivid memory.
This documentary should be shown in every American History class in the United States every single year on 9/11 until the end of frigging time. I have watched dozens of 9/11 documentaries over the last 23 years, multiple times. I cannot believe I have never seen this one until yesterday. It is hands down the best one out there. The horrific things they saw that day are things that nobody should ever see and it breaks my heart for them to have to carry those images around in their heads for the rest of their lives. Sure, counseling can be helpful. But those are things your mind will never stop replaying. RIP to all who were lost on that day and that we're still losing 23 years later. I'm glad that both brothers and every firefighter the brothers were filming that day all made it out alive. That's nothing short of a miracle..
U probably saw parts of this in other documentaries. Especially the shots of the planes hitting. People always use the footage from this video. I heard others say that this video is fake because they didn’t see it all and realize they’ve been making this documentary since June lol they just so happened to be called out for the gas leak and boom caught everything! Amazing.
I watch this every year. Every ...single ...year. I will not forget, and this film will never allow me to forget. That is why this documentary is so very valuable. That is why everybody should watch it.
I am just seeing this and I am in tears after so many years and the sad part a lot of people are not aware of this documentary I just stumbled up on it and I am amazed
20:12 That shot of the 2 towers just shocks me. They're just ..there. Existing. Thousands of people working on projects they'd never finish. I forgot how bright those towers could light up
@HealthySkepticism1775 How can anything BUT foreknowledge be the explanation, for their footage being too good EVEN FOR foreknowledge to TOP? How could it be that they were merely in the right place at the right time, when it's completely consistent with them being in the perfect place, at the perfect time, in the perfect way? They were everywhere, capturing every event, in the most close-up dramatic way, all day. It's perfect. How can the explanation for perfection be dumb luck? It's UTTERLY INDISTINGUISHABLE from what a product of foreknowledge WOULD be like. That should make foreknowledge at least the working theory, shouldn't it?
@rayubinger9780 Maybe you've lived your entire life in the same zip code. There's millions of people in New York City. Millions upon Millions of cameras running every minute of every day. It's not a surprise at all that it was caught on footage. There's tons of bad footage out there with bad angles, too. What exactly is your personal conspiracy theory? That the young camera guys knew 9/11 was about to happen and just hung out with all the fire fighters that they knew were going to die? And they ran into the buildings with their cameras even though they knew the buildings were going to collapse any minute? Your theory is one of the goofiest things I've ever heard.
A remarkable film. Hard to watch but important. Their sacrifices go beyond words. The horrors they experienced that day. May all souls lost rest in peace.
This should be mandatory viewing every year. Never forget the sacrifices those men and women made that day. Never forget the victims of the attack. Never ever forget....
I've watched this many, many times over the years. The man at 36:44 that says, "What are those people going to do?" Always stands out to me. He's so concerned and worried for the people. I hope he is okay today.
I’ve been a member of the media for almost 30 years and do emergency communications and I use this day as a reference when I ask myself: “what can I do to be a better communications provider?” This was one of the best documentaries to be produced. Wasn’t produced by NBC, CBS (although I remember it was aired by CBS, but wasn’t produced by them) ABC, FOX, Disney, LucasFilms… just two brothers from France and James Hanlin with a few Sony MiniDV cameras. No film, no 16mm, no PanaVision.
Executive producer was Susan Zirinsky, the Naudet brothers called her the Fairy godmother of CBS. She was instrumental in helping the brothers produce the documentary they wanted. Everyone else just wanted to buy the raw footage. My source is the book Ordinary Hero’s by Chief Pfeiffer, I just finished it today and came to watch.
The look on their faces at the 50:00 minute mark when they suddenly realize the building they are in is collapsing above them, and the clapping sound as it crashes down around them. No horror movie sound has ever bothered me like that did.
They knew what it was, only they didn't know what building, it must have felt like it was coming down on them from above, that look was the moment of knowing that death was stalking them, they ran, utter terror. Sad day
Thank you so much for this film. I’m from Japan and I’ve been watching films on 9/11 lately since we could only watch news on 9/11 briefly on tv at that time. Now I’ve come to know the details by watching films and documentaries here on RU-vid. God bless America🙏 Prayers to those who affected by 9/11.
I have watched this documentary every year since it came out and I’m so thankfully for the moment in history being on tape. I work for 911 at 2 local rescue squads and this can be used as such a teaching tool.
Same here. Its remarkable to have this record. What are the chances? A documentary being made about a rookie firefighter? It's truly incredible. The noise of the jumpers will haunt me forever. Seeing them was like something out of a dream. Surreal. I was 25 and I'm in UK, I remember that day so well. It was incomprehensible. Watching it unfold on TV. The horror.
I was in 2nd grade when the towers fell, and then, in 10th grade, this documentary was required viewing in US history. I've probably watched it a half dozen times since then. It's a truly remarkable account that helped me understand it so much better than I did when I was a kid.
In high school for me, we had to watch Schindler’s List. I remember my niece asking me about 9/11, outside of her dad’s birthday. She was born 2.5 weeks later
As someone who was only a few months old when this horrific day happened, i've always found it so hard to comprehend due to the vast destruction and loss. However, this film made me understand. These two brothers captured humanity perfectly and raw whilst fighting for their own lives. As a filmmaker myself, i aspire to make something so beautifully honest and stunning in my life time.
I was 17 in my parent's room when I first saw this... I think it was 2004. This documentary moved me so much that i teared up. At the time i thought i was such a tough teenager. Directly after high school, I enlisted in the Marines to become a firefighter. Then after my 6 years as a reservist, i got a job as a full-time firefighter. I did 9 years as a firefighter before I quit 2 years ago to run my own business. This documentary in essence drew out my life from 17 years old to 32 years old. Although I've left the service, I'll always credit the brave men and women who put on that firefighters uniform. I learned so much about life being a fireman. How honest the human condition can be. F.F is not just physical but it is very mentally challenging. It's traumatic experiences, one after another. Perhaps the best experience in my life, and i am blessed to have done this career in my lifetime. Blessings to all firefighters today still serving. You have all my respect. And to the firefighters on this day, my biggest respect for doing what firefighters do best and unfortunately paying the ultimate sacrifice. 🇺🇸
That scene at 1:32:10 is incredibly jarring, even now, to see the Empire State Building in the foreground, with nothing but the sky and billowing smoke in the back. As a 30 year old man, I was 8 at the time, this was my first "full day memory". In a lot of ways this was my generation's B.C./A.D. moment in time. Nothing was ever the same after this. It's incredibly cliché, but a huge portion of our innocence was lost that day. From my perspective, our generation had to grow up over the course of a couple of hours in the morning. I come back to this day often, whether it be watching the morning newscast and seeing the before and after or even going as far as listening to the entire Howard stern show that morning, which believe it or not, is worth a listen if you're into these sort of things. I'm sorry, I've rambled. But this is THE definitive documentary of the 9/11 events in my opinion. Preserve this for future generations
Thank you for sharing your experience. I was born a year later, so documentaries and those before me are my main way of knowing of what it was like. All I know is a post-9/11 world. I can only imagine the terror of the moment as it happened, so these sorts of descriptions help me to encapsulate the experience.
And to realize that, once again, The Empire State Building was the tallest building in New York. I always tell anyone who will listen, if you want get as close as you can to knowing what that day was like, skip the Hollywood movies, THIS is the one to watch, real, raw, on the spot history being made right before our eyes deep in the heart of it all.
First time I’ve seen this. It has to be the rawest most pure insight into the incident. These days, such shows are glamourised and turned into an action and adventure movie, intense and on the edge of your seat type stuff. But this has presented it naturally, earthy and in the rawest possible way, exactly how it should be. I’m writing this on the 12th September 2024. 23 years and one day later. I was 11 when it happened and still remember seeing it on the TV when I got home from school. What a masterpiece this is. My heart goes out to their suffering 23 years on.
@@maryjanedodo my idea was that a lot of Fly on the Wall documentaries today are made to be more action packed and gripping with intense voiceovers and fast paced music. But this; which was initially meant to be a Fly on the Wall for the NYFD is more earthy and wholesome. Even before 9/11. Which is nice. It’s like older FotW documentaries.
Just imagine that bro. You go out to practice and sharpen your skills as a cameraman and end up recording and being a part of one of the most tragic events in human history.
My Dad was a Fire Fighter in Houston when this happened. The look on his face was disbelief. I will never forget the look he had as if he needed to get there and help.
My 8th grade history teacher showed my class this documentary. Even as a senior, this documentary sticks in my mind. I knew I had to come back and watch it this year. Rest in heavenly peace to all the victims of 9/11. 🕊️❤️
It's amazing this has stuck with you and that is great your teacher showed you this, as it was the worst attack on American soil and we should remember. I was your age when this happened and it was the most horrific thing I've ever witnessed. I remember my teacher saying to us after the second plane hit while we watched it on TV that we were witnessing history, that really stuck with me. I also think we shouldn't forget the sheer hate that middle eastern and Muslim people faced after this attack. My heart went out to them. It still does, I'm sure so many of them still have PTSD from their experiences.
Please keep this up forever. We never want to forget and i want to show my girls this video in a few years. I remember watching it when it first aired.
It’s still so eerie how beautiful that Tuesday morning was. How blue the sky was and how fluffy and white the clouds were. Who would have thought that day would turn out like it did.
Of all the profound and devastating moments in this documentary, the one that really hit me was when Tony finally showed up. Shock was keeping him composed, but when he was informed that all his brothers made it, his resolve just melted away. Bitter sweet is an absolute understatement. To be so relieved that your family made it, yet so shattered with guilt as how many other brothers would be grieving, how many other families. My heart.
I’m completely in awe of everything that occurs within this documentary. I’m thankful to have access to such moving content. These young men have given these firefighters the voices they truly deserve in regards to what they went through during this time in their lives. They helped the rest of the world to see what true heroism actually means.
Documentaries like these are the best ones. No 9/11 Commission vs conspiracy theorists/truthers, no bitching over who or how or why it happened. It’s the people who were there that morning. The people who lived it. The people who lost friends and family. Let them tell the story. They saw it.
I just watched this...20+ years after the events of 9/11. This film really pulls back the curtain, its not a highlight reel, it's a day in the life. Hands down the most impactful documentary about 9/11. These brothers are astonishingly lucky as they are committed to the craft of documenting. Bless everyone.
More fire fighters have now died from 9/11 related illnesses than in the towers on the day they collapsed. It is heartbreaking to see them all return to help look for survivors breathing in the dust that will kill them.
This is a lovely tribute to all the fallen. None of them knew when they started filming that morning, at such a routine call, that they’d be a witness to history! The only people who saw the first plane crash into the building-it’s amazing that it was caught on camera. They did a great job documenting the raw emotion of that day. RIP to the hundreds of firefighters, police and port authority workers killed that day💔
Incredible documentary that I try and watch at least once a year. It brings me to tears every time. I'm happy to see a HD upscale, it actually looks a little better than the SD copy I own on Amazon Prime. Thanks for uploading it so more people can see this.
27:53 It's crazy how the force of the plane's impact was so strong it literally destroyed the marble tiling on the walls in the lobby. It's remarkable the tower stood as long as it did given the damage the impact made.
Yep, they were super strong. The unbroken columns took on the additional load very well. Both towers survived the impacts, which itself is amazing architecture. But unfortunately, they were doomed. The fireproofing foam was adequate for a fire, but not an explosion. The explosion from the impacts stripped it off the steel and after that point, the steel was losing strength every second that passed due to the heat. Such a shame really.
I watch this every year and what gets me is those couple of second before the guys look up and watch the plane fly into the tower are the last couple of seconds before the world changed forever, almost like they captured the end of a different era. The world was a different place after them couple of seconds, 23 years later and people are still suffering everyday. Some still live in that day, crazy 🤯
What a documentary. Thank you so much for the upload. A big thank you as well to the two brothers for filming it and becoming like a part of this firefighters' family. Also, my respect for the firefighters has increased even more. Can't believe it that I'm watching it for the first time in 2024. I know, it happened 23 years ago, but I caught myself rooting for the guys and especially Tony. Thinking: "Don't you dare leaving the firehouse!" But I respected him for doing so in the end. When they said that he's the only one who still didn't come back, I thought: nooooooo. Luckily, he did come back. Devastated, however, for the families of people, who unfortunately did not manage to come back and are still dying from 9/11 related diseases. :/ I was 13 at the time and remember watching it on TV, while it happened. Still seems surreal. EDIT: have to say that the thing that hit me the most in this documentary was the sound of falling people hitting the ground. Just horrible. :/
I have this one on DVD at home. I still can´t get over the coincidence of them being there filming on that exact day. I almost feel I know some of the firefighters after watching this, even though I don´t. Thank you for this footage. We will never forget.
I remember when this originally aired on tv. I was at my buddy's house and we were 19 when this happened. We literally sat there with his whole family in stunned silence while we watched this. I remember this documentary as vividly as I remember 9/11 itself. Unreal footage.
absolutely heartbreaking seeing this and how happy the guys were to be together, spend their time together, knowing how incredibly close they grew and knowing they are now gone.. I can't.
Hearing Peter Jennings reporting..😢... I consider him a later casualty of that day. The stress of the day caused him to start smoking again, and he got lung cancer.
I was in 5th grade during 9/11. I will never forgot that tragic day, it was as if time had stopped and the world watched. I remember they actually aired this documentary shortly after 9/11 and I was in shock at such a young age and still am to this day rewatching it. Prayers to all those who suffered during this horrible event.
24:50 shows you just how powerful that explosion was contained within the building. The pressure release was enormous to have smoke coming out of the top floors immediately which leads me to believe more people than just the floors that were directly hit died or got gravely injured on impact to blow windows out and have smoke immediately exit. Very sad to think about.
Watched a video of a guy who survived on the 81st floor, right in the impact zone. He said the force was so powerful that it literally blew some people out of the windows. I've seen all the footage available from that day regarding that event, and I still can't even fathom the amount of fear these people must have been feeling. It's heart breaking
One women who’s husband worked on the impact floor because he was sitting on his desk whwn the plane hit, she said his legs were found on the rooftop of another building, they were protected by the desk when the plane hit, the pressure made the legs and the desk blow out of the world trade center.
One of the most heartbreaking moments (out of 1000s) was all the triages that were set up for all the victims they thought they were going to help. Near the site and local hospitals. Then the slow realization that only a handful were coming 💔
I believe it was Will Jimeno, he said that when he arrived at the hospital he looked around, saw hundreds of doctors and nurses just standing around, looking emotionally broken. He asked what was wrong, and a doctor said “we thought there would be hundreds of people to treat. You’re the only one in hours”
20:12 is so unbelieveable having the Twin Towers in the background while the rookie is being advice on having to be top of his game in any given situation.
God bless them all. All those who went to the rescue and rest in peace all those who died. These two brothers probably never imagined they would film something like this. This video will go down in history.
Every year I watch this on the anniversary and every year when that second tower is hit I burst into tears, all those souls Lost, rest in peace angels we will never forget.
WOW! Amazing job on this documentary! This by far the best "insiders look from the boots on the ground at what it was like at Ground 0". Thank you men and women for what you do. EVERYONE should see this documentary; it takes you into the heart of the choas fr a Fire Departments point of view of what THEY dealt with on this infamous day of American history. Just THANK YOU! THANK YOU, THANK YOU! STILL 23 years later. ❤❤❤
People are still dying from what happened on September 11; in a way it doesn't matter how much time has passed since then, it hasn't stopped being September 11.
I can't believe they got footage of this and being inside while it collapsed....to hearing bodies hitting the ground and the collapse. It was even more Erie hearing the plane and seeing it fly right into the wtc. These are all things that people say they couldn't describe in the interviews and the naudet brothers managed to document it. 😢
I was running late to school on the Upper East Side and remember hearing a plane flying low just before quarter before 9. I thought nothing of it since we lived in the flight path of LaGuardia, but now I figure that was AA 11 taking aim for the North Tower.
what a beautiful and absolutely raw documentary, it has really changed the way that i view this national tragedy from now on. words truly cannot describe the immense feelings i went through watching it, great film.
I remember waking up in the middle of the night when I was in 4th grade in 2002 and my dad was watching this. Just he and I were awake in middle of the night, silently taking g in everything that had happened. He half-heartedly told me I should be in bed but didn’t press the issue when I stayed there and stared at the TV. I never felt so connected to every other American; never have since
We are extremely fortunate to have documentation of a tragic moment in our history. A huge thank you to everyone involved. Condolences to people who lost loved ones or who suffered because of this event.
30:13 I believe this is Dave Weiss of Rescue 1. When Terry Hatton and Rescue 1 (the elite of the elite) got trapped and issued a mayday on the high floors, Dave descended all the way back down to the lobby. Bloodied, he begged other firemen to go back up and help save the trapped Rescue 1 crew. Some went. None returned. It's incredible to have this footage so people can see first-hand the sacrifices made that day.
30:57 you see Dennis Mojica who was also apart of Rescue 1. I believe the tall gentlemen is Captain Terry Hatton (assuming the team would be together). He was 6 foot 4. Might be the last footage of the most elite firefighters in New York on their last call.
What the hell could have happened to cause Weiss to end up bloodied and trap the most elite firefighters of NYC? Just how bad were things up there? Jesus... I just... I can't...
IMO this is absolutely required viewing for anyone too young to remember this day. I was 3, and my mother worked for empire BCBS on the 19th floor of the north tower. She was understandably pretty reserved about her experience that day, but we do know that as soon as the first plane hit she booked it out of there, and got out of the north tower just as the second plane hit. Started walking uptown and never looked back. I personally don’t remember much from the day itself besides just being happy that mom was home from work early. What I do remember is that for a few years afterward, I genuinely believed it was totally normal, and that planes flying into buildings was just a regular thing that happens sometimes. Watching docs like these, for me, really puts into perspective how warped your sense of the world can be when you through a major historical event during those formative years
To be fair the world (well the west anyway) changed a lot after this event - there was a huge cultural & vibe shift for lack of a better summation. I was 17 at the time & this doco really does capture the essence of this event for those who didn't experience it in real time.
