9/11: Ten Years Later

We watched a great documentary tonight, "9/11: 10 YEARS LATER," which is an update of the critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning film, "9/11." Click here to link to the website (where I believe you can watch it). Here's a description of the special from the CBS website:

This unprecedented and exclusive insider's account of the World Trade Center attack, which contains the only known footage of the first plane striking the World Trade Center and the only footage from inside Ground Zero during the attacks, will also include footage from events marking the 10th anniversary, as well as new interviews with many of the firefighters who were featured in the original program. They will discuss how their lives, families and the world have changed in the 10 years since the tragedy - some for better, some for worse. Viewers will also hear from New York City Fire Department health officials as they discuss some of the health issues that have plagued firefighters working at Ground Zero.

The original 9/11 film is available on iTunes. The story behind it is amazing as well. On September 11, 2001, filmmakers James Hanlon and Jules and Gédéon Naudet were filming Tony Benetatos, a probationary firefighter assigned to Ladder 1 of the New York City Fire Department, with the intention of making a film about the "probie's" experience. On the morning of September 11, Battalion 1 was called out a gas leak.  Jules rode with the Battalion Chief, Chief Joseph Pfeifer, to check it out. When American Airlines Flight 11 flew by overhead, Jules turned the camera to follow the plane and taped one of only three known recordings of it hitting the North Tower (Tower 1) of the World Trade Center.

The members of Battalion 1 who were investigating the gas leak were the first responders on the scene and Jules was allowed to tag along during the attempted rescue operation. Jules, Chief Pfeifer, and several other FDNY Chiefs were inside the North's Tower's lobby when the South Tower was hit by the second aircraft and eventually collapsed. Gédéon, meanwhile, was back at the firehouse, filming the reactions of probie Tony Benetatos and the rest of the firefighters as they try to deal with the disaster. The film gives various firemen's reactions to the events of the day, from the initial crash to the building's collapse to the attempts to rescue survivors from the rubble.