The Bottom Line
Pros
- Wealth of DVD bonus materials greatly enriches experience of watching feature film
- Participation in making DVD by real-life people depicted in movie is a big plus
- Audio commentary by Oliver Stone and 2 featurettes on him give insight into a great director
Cons
- Feature film is very conventional and a bit on the plodding side
Description
- Two-disc DVD set containing World Trade Center (2006), a drama based on a true story
- Movie directed by Oliver Stone and stars Nicolas Cage and Michael Peña
- Film based on real-life stories of policemen John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno
- DVD contains 54-min. documentary on McLoughlin and Jimeno
- DVD provides 2 feature-length audio commentaries, one by director, other by Jimeno + 3 cops
- DVD has 53-min. making-of, 9 deleted scenes, 25 min. on Ground Zero set, 12 min. on effects
- DVD contains 24 min. on Oliver Stone's NYC and 13-min. Q & A with the director
- MPAA rating: PG-13 for intense & emotional content, some disturbing images & language
- Feature film run time: 2 hours 8 minutes
- DVD release date: December 12, 2006
Guide Review - 'World Trade Center' (2-Disc Commemorative Edition) DVD
Based on fact, World Trade Center is a moving drama directed by Oliver Stone and starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Peña (Crash). On September 11, 2001, two New York Port Authority policemen—veteran John McLoughlin (Cage) and rookie Will Jimeno (Peña)—are among the first responders when a plane slams into the WTC. Soon they are trapped under rubble, and the film intercuts footage of their wives (Maria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal) anxiously awaiting the outcome.
The World Trade Center 2-disc Commemorative Edition DVD set provides a wealth of enriching bonus materials. Perhaps the most poignant is the 54-minute documentary on McLoughlin and Jimeno, the two real-life cops on whose lives the movie was based. Also, there's a feature-length audio commentary by Jimeno and three other policemen involved in 9/11 rescue operations.
Another plus of the DVD set is that it gives us a good opportunity to get to know Oliver Stone, one of America's great directors. There's a feature-length audio commentary by him, and he supplies commentary for nine deleted scenes as well. In a fascinating 24-minute featurette, Stone shows us parts of New York where he grew up and later went to NYU Film School. Also, there's a 13-minute Q & A with Stone.
Additional extras include a 53-minute documentary that describes making the film from raw idea to post-production. The sequences with the policemen trapped under the WTC ruins required a large and complicated set, and building it is covered in a 25-minute featurette. The movie also has convincing visual and special effects, and there's a 13-minute featurette on creating these. The DVD is worth renting on the strength of the feature film alone, but the special features are exceptional and enhanced my appreciation of the movie.