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WRAL To Air CBS Sept. 11 Documentary
“9-11” Will Air Without Commercial Interruption |
French filmmakers & brothers Gedeon and Jules Naudet happened to be filming a documentary about New York firefighters on the day of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. They have now created a stunning documentary with never before-broadcast video of the World Trade Center attacks. On Sunday, March 10, at 9:00pm, WRAL-TV will air “9-11: Camera At Ground Zero,” a CBS documentary about the events of September 11th. The program will air without local commercial interruption.
The documentary stands as a tribute to the firefighters who died and those who helped in the rescue operation; photos of all 343 firefighters who perished are flashed at the end of the program. The Naudet brothers happened to be following Engine 7, Ladder 1, in lower Manhattan when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. Jules Naudet heard a noise and turned his camera upward, catching the only known video of the first plane hitting the tower.
On the spot the brothers decided not to film any of the gory images surrounding them. They did not focus their cameras on the women in the lobby they saw on fire or the suicide jumpers or the dead firefighters. Instead, they captured the rescue personnel who risked, and some lost, their lives trying to save others.
Although the documentary does not contain graphic images, the only dead body shown is a still of the now famous photo of firefighters carrying Fire Chaplain Rev. Mychal Judge out of the towers, the language in the film is explicit. CBS and the Naudet brothers decided that the profanity used in the footage should be kept. “The language was rough but the circumstances were rough,” said executive producer Susan Zirinsky.
Hollywood legend Robert De Niro narrates the documentary. Nextel is picking up the tab for the national broadcast and will air inspirational messages during the seven minutes and 30 seconds set aside for commercial time.
Because of the strong language in “9-11,” viewer discretion is advised.
