10 films about September 11th

It will soon be 20 years since the horrific events of September 11th, 2001. Most who are old enough will recall the attacks, witnessing them in real time as they unfolded live on TV.

The notion that American Airlines Flight 11’s collision into the World Trade Center’s North Tower was some sort of tragic accident was rapidly disabused when the South tower was hit by United Airlines Flight 175 shortly afterwards. A third plane was crashed into the Pentagon; the fourth strike, which probably targeted the U.S. Capitol Building, only averted by the heroic action of the passengers.

The attacks have naturally prompted movies and TV series dealing with events leading to 9/11, the day itself and its continuing aftermath.

The towers themselves also featured as a foreshadowing coda to Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York (2002) and Steven Spielberg’s Munich (2005).

On TV, Hulu’s miniseries The Looming Tower (2018) is generally felt to be the best accounting of the US intelligence failures and agency rivalries that contributed to the calamity.