102 Minutes That Changed America

I've seen many documentaries about this horrible tragedy but non of them did have so much shocking atmosphere.

It is not typical documentary with narration or speaking hosts, it is true image of the tragedy very intelligently made from multiple camera shots and recorded voices of people that witness it from beginning of the attacks.

The background music is of pure horror that follows scenes from first shot till the moments when huge dust settled after both towers collapsed.

It is the image of the real situation, the pure horror of that tragedy, the real image of human fear and shock. If you ever saw catastrophic movie and you know the excitement feeling, this documentary will make you feel shocked, speechless and with tears in your eyes.

Great great work.

I remember 9/11, in the UK I just finished college and was getting the bus when some people were saying they got text messages from other friends telling them someone attacked the twin towers. When i got home I found my younger brother glued to the TV telling me one of the towers were burning away, I saw it and I was in disbelief.

In the same way this is how the documentary starts with a surprise on seeing the tower on fire, nobody knowing of yet how it hit at the time. That was at 8:46am people just got up to leave home, and on the other side of the Atlantic I was on my way back home.

The style of the program is cameras from camermen on the ground as well as civilian footage, the reactions of anger, fear and more all seen and absorbed to this footage.

Then you see the fires, the jumpers, the second crash, the fall of the tower, the dust, the second collapse and a final dust sweeping over new york.

What was perhaps the greatest shock was seeing the full devastation the dust brought, covering all streets in dirty brown dust, water is dirty, windows smashed and an entire scenery which bears no resemblance to the New York we all know and love. To be there at time must had been terrifying, and no Hollywood film could replicate the fear the events brought as shown from eyes of ordinary people.

This film serves just as much an educational purpose as it does retelling the events.

I watched this two nights ago on the History Channel and was completely engrossed.

I watched the entire thing unravel on Sky News as it happened, and as I was concentrating on the pictures as opposed to the fill-in commentary the "102 minutes" tended to match my remembrance of the time. For example, I will never forget Kay Burley waffling about something, with a picture wall backdrop behind her of the two towers in the distance from well north. I watched a belching cloud of dust create in the distance and knew one of them had come down. Unbelievable as that was at the time.

"102 minutes" recreates the experience from everyone's eyes in the vicinity. Expertly edited, with some very poignant radio messages and phone calls done as voice-over (particularly those of the NYFD).

I didn't cross the spoilers box, as everyone knows the story. But watch for a video left running unattended (family's voices in the background), out a window, industrial hoppers in the foreground, and Tower 1 in the distance. As the inevitable happens in perfect focus, I think my heart stopped for a beat or two. Unforgettable.

Last night I watched World Trade Centre with Nicholas Cage. One review in the paper was rather scathing, and said "the film" about 9/11 was probably still out there waiting to be made. He was right; "102 minutes" is it!.

This is an absolute must see.

I saw this for the first time a year ago and until I saw this, I never knew how horrible 9/11 was for I was only 9 years old. Seeing this made my heart stop and start nonstop, my hair stand up on end, and adrenaline rushing through me. And although I had nothing related to 9/11, just seeing this made me feel that I do. I've watched other documentaries after I saw this and none of them were as educational as this one. I would definitely recommend this to someone who doesn't know how horrible that day was. And I have to give the crew members an A+ on the sound editing and on how they arranged all the recorded footage into the film to make an actual timeline.

For me this is the best documentary about 9/11 until today. Other documentaries make analysis more cold and rational about the attacks, and has its great importance, of course, but this one is 100% immersive because it shows the point of view of those who felt the terror in the skin, without the need for any narrator in the background explaining the events. This is the strength of this documentary: the images and the reaction of the people speak for themselves. It gives the sensation of fear, confusion and perplexity that the people were feeling. Even if you're not a North American, even if you live in another country far this tragedy, when you watch this documentary, you have the full feeling that was there that day. A very impressive and impactful documentary.