This real time documentary was never meant to be about the world Trade Center disaster, but that's what it became. They had been doing a doc on the life of a new rookie firefighter; on the morning of September 11, 2001, their lives changed.For anyone old enough to remember the tragedy unfold, it's hard to watch; it almost feels like you're reliving the nightmare. Its amazing that the firsthand account of the day was captured and preserved through the chaos. This really is a great documentary, a living tribute to all the people; those who lived, those who died, and those that were the heroes. I only wish the events in the documentary were not real.

I've read most of the comments here. I came to the conclusion that almost everybody agrees that 9/11 is a shocking piece of history. There are a few who think that the added narrative is weak and I agree that the narrative is weak and unnecessary. About two brothers finding each other back after the disaster and the cliff hanger about Tony. But I don't think narration is unnecessary. Like I lot of theorists I think that our own lives are narrations. We are living and making our own autobiography. So if we tell about our lives this is always in the form of narration. We don't sum up facts like: Birth, Childhood, High School etc. We create a story about our live.Because we are familiar with stories, we want to put history in a story as well. Because in the form of a story we can identify ourselves. We can better understand the things happened in history when its told in the form of a story. So that's the purpose of adding a story in documentary. The story is weak, so be it, but we understand whats going on. If it was me out there I would be worried sick about my brother.And the second point, making a blockbuster movie about it. True, it's been to recent to come up with a big movie about 9/11. Though, there have been a few about the subject, but none of them like this documentary. But what if there will be a movie in about 5 years? I agree it is wrong trying to make a lot of money out of 9/11. But I also agree that movies are one of the best way to tell history. How many movies about the World war 2 have we seen? If I had not seen these movies my view of the WW would me totally different. I remember seeing Schindlers List, and I cried for an hour during class. Movies give you a good image of the things that happened in history and although it is fiction it contributes to the memory of the disasters and the casualties. So my point: telling stories is not always bad, it makes us identify with the story, and makes us never forget what happened.

"9/11" (2002): This is the French documentary that followed a few rookie fire fighters through training and their early weeks on the job in New York City. It was THIS camera duo who, by pure ugly "luck", filmed the planes hitting the World Trade Center buildings (which you have probably seen). It was also these two men, the Naudet brothers, especially the one assigned to follow the departmental Chief, who entered the Center and kept filming, while the top floors burned. They would capture the last images of many frightened, doomed, brave fire fighters. My heart aches when I see these shots, my anger reminds me it does not dissipate, and I, again – with a renewed sense of awe – keep these people in mind as THE DEFINITION OF HEROISM. These men KNEW there was little chance they'd return once they began climbing up those stairwells – in full gear and an extra 60 pounds each on their backs – with thousands of people rushing down the stairs in a panic, none of the 80 elevators working (in fact, those shafts became the conduit for explosive, ignited fuel to shoot all the way to the basements, making each floor explode from the pressure) – they KNEW. You can see it on their faces. It would take them a full minute per floor to go up, and they had 78 floors to climb before they hit full fire and complete devastation… or at least that's how it looked at the moment. It didn't go that "well", as we know. Meanwhile, paper, glass, metal, fire, and body parts rained over the streets and rooftops of N.Y.C. for blocks. People were suffocating in the smoke. With the camera crew in the lobby of one building, there was a slow, constant rhythm of HUGE, explosive bangs that could be heard just outside… people jumping to their deaths, having chosen this over burning. In fact, the bodies were falling at such a fast rate soon, that firefighters and others who were now told to "MAY DAY MAY DAY!! EVACUATE!!!!" had to wait for police, who were standing on the outside, to signal WHEN they could run out of the building, so no one was killed by those hitting the ground from 80 or more stories up. This is 120 minutes of inspiring behaviors and personal sadness brought about by the Evil of those killers. WE Shall Never Forget.

Great documentary about the lives of NY firefighters during the worst terrorist attack of all time.. That reason alone is why this should be a must see collectors item.. What shocked me was not only the attacks, but the"High Fat Diet" and physical appearance of some of these firefighters. I think a lot of Doctors would agree with me that,in the physical shape they were in, some of these firefighters would NOT of made it to the 79th floor carrying over 60 lbs of gear. Having said that i now have a greater respect for firefighters and i realize becoming a firefighter is a life altering job. The French have a history of making great documentary's and that is what this is, a Great Documentary.....