i happened to catch the
9/11
show last night and despite my inital reservations based on the fact that
robert de niro
was the host, i kept watching. i’m glad i did.
cbs
had to walk a fine line between commemoration and commercialization, and i think they did a fine job of telling a much larger story within the smaller story of documentary filmakers portraying firehouse life.
i was caught off guard by the frightenly loud and
final
sound of jumpers landing on the pavement. rightly so, it was deemed so disturbing that
cbs
actually
edited
the footage:
“Zirinsky explained that crashes came every 20 seconds or so in the footage, but that most were edited out because their cumulative effect was overwhelming. Several were left in, however, to reflect conditions the firefighters faced. “Some disturbing sounds you can’t run away from,” Zirinsky said. “You need to know that’s the reality that existed.””
this little glimpse into the sensory overload that occured on ground zero highlights the incomprehensible and staggering heroism and sheer will needed by everyone, first responders and civilians alike, on 9/11.