MIM President Robert Peters reviews The soon to be released film, World Trade Center

July 13, 2006

Dear Friends,

It isn’t often that I have the opportunity or the time to attend an advance screening of a major motion picture film. But last night (July 12, 2006) my wife and I attended a screening in Manhattan of Paramount Pictures' World Trade Center, scheduled to open on August 9th.

There has been a “swirl of controversy” surrounding the film because it is directed by the Academy Award Winning and, at times [choose your own word(s)]: very talented but also anti-American, demented, grossly irresponsible, reckless, vile, etc.) Oliver Stone.

I anticipated that there would be “some” cursing. And there was more than “some” but not as much as in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan. Another difference between Saving Private Ryan and World Trade Center is that the religious faith of those involved is not minimized in World Trade Center, as it was in Saving Private Ryan.

To Stone’s credit, the Christian faith of many who were directly or indirectly involved in the September 11, 2001 rescue effort comes shining through. To Stone’s further credit, the film is patriotic. Even President Bush gets a plug, as do the United States Marines!

After the screening, my wife and I wondered if Oliver Stone has finally really lost his mind!

The film starts slowly but little by little you are drawn into it. There is no sex outside of marriage, and sex within marriage is shown with almost 1950s film-style discretion.

Not surprisingly, Mr. Stone doesn’t flinch at portraying the horror of that historic day, but if national opinion poll question results about the war against terrorism are a reflection of where most Americans now stand on that issue, a vivid reminder of the horror is long overdue.

The sights and sounds of the destruction of the World Trade Center, however, might traumatize younger children who are not already accustomed to viewing horror movies.

If I were to call the shots at a broadcast TV network or a basic cable TV channel, I would gladly show the film and bleep most if not all of the cursing. I would also hope that every American could see Paramount Pictures’ and Mr. Oliver Stone’s, World Trade Center.

My wife would add that the film might be tough for those who lost loved ones. World Trade Center is primarily about two Port Authority police officers that went into the Towers to rescue people and who were rescued themselves by other heroes who pulled them out of the rubble.

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