Plot: What’s it about?
It’s hard to imagine that it has been almost one full year (as of this writing) since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Pennsylvania. Personally, I can remember the day vividly, as most reading this most likely can as well. I walked into work (my "day" job) only to find a group of people gathered around the TV in the lobby. Thinking nothing of it, I went up the elevator to my floor and saw another group of people gathered around the TV in that lobby. I knew something big had happened. Asking someone nearby, he mentioned to me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center (at the time, only the first plane had hit). I was devastated, as I knew some people who worked in the towers, and didn’t know what to think. I had to run to a meeting, and by the time I got to it, the second plane had hit and we all knew instantly what had happened.
As the world sat glued to their TV sets for days upon end, the inevitable aftermath of cleanup began. But there was a lingering question. How and why did the towers fall? We know why, a 767 jet traveling at high speed smashed into the towers; but they remained standing. A special on TLC (The Learning Channel) has gathered some experts to analyze what happened. Taking place just a few months after the attacks, the people interviewed are still noticeably shaken up. The structural engineer in charge of building the towers can hardly speak, as he feels somewhat responsible for the towers collapsing so soon. With some rather interesting CGI graphics, this takes us how the World Trade Centers were built. Built of some pre-fabricated materials, the towers were completed at the rate of three floors every two weeks. The super strong steel was welded and shipped to the site just in time for it to be attached to the building. Lastly, the floors were made of something called a "truss" which is a super thin, yet strong metal that supported the floors for more than thirty years. However, the program admits that the use of these "trusses" might have been the fault for the towers collapsing so quickly. At any rate, the subject matter of the DVD is something that we’re going to have to come to grips with, but this isn’t cashing in on the tragedy in any manner. This is a well-presented program, its informative and overall well-made.
Video: How does it look?
Quite frankly, this isn’t the sort of disc that one reviews for audio and video quality. This was a special on The Learning Channel that I actually managed to catch in May 2002, it’s original airdate. Presented in a full-frame transfer, the footage is solid, the interviews are new and have no signs of wear and tear. Some of the archive footage from when the towers were built is a bit scratchy, but for the most part it’s a good-looking picture that people won’t have any complaints about.
Audio: How does it sound?
Presented in a Dolby Surround mix, this isn’t one that will light up your home theater. For all intensive purposes, this is a documentary. It is narrated by Craig Sechler, who gives a count by count of Sept. 11 and a good history into the towers. There’s not much else to say, it was made for TV and not really for a home theater. The sound serves it’s purpose here and nothing more.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc contains no extras.
