Discovery Channel 9/11 After the Towers Fell (2010)

Discovery Channel 9/11 After the Towers Fell is one of the first 2010 specials devoted to the attacks of September 11th 2001.

This 45 minute Discovery Channel film focuses on the search and rescue after the attacks and interviews some of those directly affected by the events of that horrific day. It is a highly emotional piece, which clearly shows how the victims of that day are still suffering.

The events in Manhattan on 9/11 are shown in chronological order and depoliticised to focus on the human tragedy. After about 5 minutes into the film the South Tower is shown to collapse. The narrator prefaces this with “Then the South Tower begins to buckle.”

It is interesting to see what footage was chosen to show the destruction of the Twin Towers. There are close-ups of initiation but there are quick cutaways to shots of the towers falling from a far distance or unstable hand-held shots. This technique may have been used to eliminate any controversy over the collapses by depriving the audience a more revelatory view of any anomalous events.