There are lots of actors from New York you may or may not recognize talking about their recollections, and a bunch of people you won't recognize, such as the fascinating story of the World Trade Center maintenance worker who was going to call in sick that day and ended up being the only person with a key that would unlock the doors from the Tower stairwell into the offices full of people.
There is more of Spike Lee himself in this episode than others, for example he talks about trying to get a train back to New York from California on September 11, where he was discussing the casting of his next film. His wife and kids also tell their story of that day. Lee also talks about being an extra for the 1976 film "King Kong" where Kong climbs up on one of the towers instead of the Empire State Building as in the 1933 version. But for most of the film you rarely hear his voice unless it is off camera, just surprised at what he is being told by a witness to events that day. Phones with cameras did exist, but they were hardly prolific. And yet he has quite a bit of real time footage that I doubt came from news crews.
This was a very interesting episode of Spike Lee's documentary. I can't speak of the other episodes, because I have not seen them all the way through yet.
There is more of Spike Lee himself in this episode than others, for example he talks about trying to get a train back to New York from California on September 11, where he was discussing the casting of his next film. His wife and kids also tell their story of that day. Lee also talks about being an extra for the 1976 film "King Kong" where Kong climbs up on one of the towers instead of the Empire State Building as in the 1933 version. But for most of the film you rarely hear his voice unless it is off camera, just surprised at what he is being told by a witness to events that day. Phones with cameras did exist, but they were hardly prolific. And yet he has quite a bit of real time footage that I doubt came from news crews.
This was a very interesting episode of Spike Lee's documentary. I can't speak of the other episodes, because I have not seen them all the way through yet.