America: A Tribute to Heroes

Synopsis: Practically everybody from the film, television, and music industries gather together to honor the fallen firemen, policemen, and civilians in the September 11 incident that took countless lives. It's a tribute to those risking their lives every day to seek survivors.

The Review: The September 11 incident will forever remain an unforgettable time that will pass on through generations. The image of the planes crashing head on into one of the world's biggest building structures, the horrified faces of New Yorkers running away from the blizzards of black smoke filling the streets, the disturbing image of innocent people falling to their deaths, and perhaps most disturbing, and angry-inducing, are the immortal heroes who risked life and limb to rescue people after the planes hit by running into the towers before their collapse. It's something we will never forget and must never. Speaking as a twenty one year old, a lot of people from my generation say this hasn't affected their life, but it has in every which way possible. America: A Tribute To Heroes takes time to honor those fallen in the September 11 incident. We get to know some of the personal stories of the people who defied danger to help their fellow man. George Clooney's heartwrenching story of one good man who stayed with another, bound by a wheelchair just minutes before the tower's collapse is heartfelt and angry. It's the stories like these that we know who the heroes are, and lets us know what kind of good people they were. Kelsey Grammer's heartfelt tribute to his friend David Angell, one of those fallen. It's meant to help gather the people together and it does. We must honor the fallen, and punish the wicked.

America: A Tribute to Heroes (2001)

There's really no reason to put a star rating on this tribute show that was done so closely after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. I didn't watch most of the show when it originally aired but watching it nearly a decade later you can still feel the sadness, power and emotion. A number of celebrities speak to the camera as they try to raise money for victims of the families and they share stories about some of the people who were lost on that tragic day. One of the most heartbreaking stories is about a man who could have escaped the building but instead decided to stay with his crippled friend who wasn't able to escape. They both ended up dying together. The tributes are incredibly touching but I guess one of the main reasons to watch this document all these years later are for the musical performances and we've got some pretty strong stuff here. Bruce Springsteen starts off with an incredibly powerful version of "My City of Ruins" and we also get strong performances from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on a reworked version of "I Won't Back Down" and Billy Joel with "New York State of Mind". Another strong performance comes from Paul Simon on "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and the entire cast gathers around Willie Nelson to close the show with "America the Beautiful". Perhaps the most touching moment came from Neil Young who does an unforgettable version of John Lennon's "Imagine". I've always felt this classic song was butchered by everyone other than Lennon but Young was able to do a remarkable job with it.

I must have watched this video a dozen times by now and I have purchased multiple DVD copies which I have given away as gifts to family and friends who I care about deeply.

The list of performers is endless and memorable. I especially was touched by the performances of Sting, Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Willie Nelson, The Dixie Chicks, Dave Matthews, Faith Hill and Alicia Keys just to name a few.

The Hollywood A Lister's were also out in full force relaying the individual heroism both of some of the survivors and deceased from the twin towers. No matter how many times I watch this concert I just feel so moved by the human kindness and love expressed for one another by the tragedy of the thousands of lives lost and affected by the falling of the twin towers.

Muhummad Ali, Halle Berry, Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Danny DeVito, Cameron Diaz, Andy Garcia, Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Keaton, Lucy Liu, Mike Meyers, Jack Nicholson, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Kurt Russell, Adam Sandler, and Clint Eastwood were just some of the stars who were able to make it to New York City or were able to be streamed in from another part of the world to plead for financial support of the families affected by this tragedy.

My plea to the producers of this epic concert is to re-release this concert tribute to the deceased (and) heroes of September 11, 2001 on BLU RAY and I trust that the public across the world will come to the support of those fallen.

I would give this concert an 11 out of 10 if allowed to do so. Lest we forget.

This is by far one of the best concerts I have ever seen. The way everyone came together for America is by far outstanding. I would give this movie a 1000 if I could, but I can only go up to 10!!! The best performances were by Mariah Carey (actually the best one in the concert) and Celine Dion whose performance of "God Bless America" was truly awesome!!!

I understood the premise for the special. And for a time I could see. As things progressed this became more and more depressing. At a time when America needed to mourn the loss of so many and prepare for a long drawn out war Hollywood could only give us sappy. This should not have been just a depressing "I'm an actor and I care" special. It should have let America know that things were going to be alright again. This let the country know all is lost, for we can never show resolve. What could have been a message to the world that America will not stop being the country they wish they were in, was nothing but a weepy feel sorry for ourselves ego-fest. Bob Hope performed to soldiers in battle and was able to make them laugh and feel better, it is a shame that in this politically correct age we cannot see as well. Maybe this wouldn't have been as bad were it not for the performances. Two stick out as ludicriuse(sp). Neil Young singing John Lennon's masterpiece 'Imagine' was quite possibly the greatest cover mistake ever. Lennon was a legend and Young is...well nobody has figured out that he isn't any good yet, and to sing that song that bad should be a crime. He would have been better off reworking the only song he ever wrote that was good 'Ohio' for the WTC. The other performance that sticks out was Limp Bizkut doing 'wish you were here' by Pink Floyd. This was not near as bad, and was quite good. The only problem was watching knowing that Pink Floyd was probably sitting at home with nothing better to do and would have done a better job. True we have not had to mourn like this before and had to start somewhere, but they should have done a dry run on maybe a single channel in Zaire to test the response before being on every channel in the greatest country in the world.