Naudet Film of WTC Attack to Air on CBS in March
The New York Post reports that CBS has secured the rights to the video shot by Gedeon and Jules Naudet during the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11.
As CTDATA.com reported last month, the Naudet video was intended to be part of a documentary on the NYFD. Shooting was coincidentally taking place in Lower Manhattan the morning of September 11. Since the unedited video contains footage of one of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center, the response of firefighters to the site, and subsequent rescue efforts, it has been shown repeatedly at firehouses and police stations throughout New York City. But, up to now, this video has been largely unavailable to the general public.
It will be interesting to see how extensively CBS edits the video. The brief segments of the video that have been shown on TV have been disturbing, and it is quite likely that some viewers will be disturbed by any segment of this video if it is aired on national television. However, we believe that the networks have gone too far in limiting public access to historical footage of the September 11 attacks. This has contributed to greater public confusion over the specific events of that day, as images recede further in individuals' memories.
Update: CTDATA has learned that DVD and VHS versions of the 9|11 documentary will be released by Paramount Home Video on September 10, 2002. For more information, read our story on the release of the film.