America Remembers (CNN DVD, 2002). [Category: News]

This DVD documents the 9/11 terrorist attacks in a complete and moving way. Included is CNN's first newsbreak about the attacks, video footage of the first plane hitting the Trade Center (somebody in the vicinity just happened to be shooting video and pointed the camera at the towers when the plane hit), the sickening live footage of the second plane hitting the Trade Center, and the almost unbelivable scenes of the towers collapsing. Also included are footage of CNN's coverage of the Pentagon strike, the crash in Pennsylvania, the rescue mission, the President's convuluted journey back to the White House, the evacuation of the Capitol, the heartbreaking search of the victims' families for their missing loved ones, the fruitless search for Osama Bin Laden, the fall of the Taliban and the anthrax scare. This is not easy stuff to watch, especially since the tragedy is recent enough to be a raw wound for most of us. Hardest to watch for me was footage of people jumping out of the towers (and the reaction to witnesses on the ground to this), the second plane ripping through the corner of the south tower, the towers collapsing, and the hordes of New Yorkers looking for lost family members. Some of the narration and editing are a bit sensational and flag-waving, but this is mostly in the less relevant side stuff––the images of the main tragedy speak for themselves. News footage of a major event like this is what defines the News category. The historical interest of this can only increase over time. Interestingly enough, the section on the anthrax scare contains a clip from an old army movie (looks 50s or 60s) about biological weapons. It's odd to see old "classic" ephemera superimposed on up-to-the-minute ephemera.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: N/A. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: *****. Overall Rating: *****.