[Dominic]

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For some reason, I have felt compelled to watch United 93 about a dozen times, so I know it pretty well and am very impressed with it, more so each time I watch it. It's one of those films that will do well in time, as people are finally able to watch it, and appreciate it as they get separated from the actual event. I still tear up at the ending, BTW.

Now, although I've watched it to death, I had never turned on the director's commentary until yesterday. When I learned how Greengrass actually shot the film, I was even more impressed, as I know of no other film shot this way. What was done is this - For each of the locations where the film was shot, the various ATC centers, Herndon, Rome Air Defense, and the plane itself, the sequence was shot as one continuous take in real time with two cameras, the cameras reloading when necessary. That means for some of the locations, the takes are like an hour long. Not only that, most of the "actors" are not actors, they're professionals or people playing themselves, so they have to relive the worst day of their lives over and over. And the performances are by and large improvised, with guidelines given to the performers on what they have to do and when. In a way, this should never work, but somehow it does, with Greengrass then taking all these long shots and getting out what he needs to make a film unlike any other. (As a slight aside, it also explains some of the small discontinuities I've noticed, like planes changing direction on the scopes when they shouldn't, but every film has those problems, so no points off.)

I have been trying for some time to try and separate my feeling for the film because it's based on real events versus what it would be like if it were just a film. The more I watch it, the more I realize that he's made one of the greatest thrillers of all time, on par with the best of Hitchcock or the original Alien. The fact that it's real only makes it even better, as it's a terrific tribute to those lost that day, and will allow future generations to know just how terrifying it really was.

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pretty amazing, isn't it? I haven't heard the commentary yet, so I'll have to check that out.