911 Commemorative Box Set

"[Beyond] ...a nice ensemble piece that takes on considerable more depth once all the dots take connection.  Erik Childress, eFilmCritic.com

Editor's Note This set contains three films about the terrible tragedy of 9/11. "Brothers on Holy Ground" is compiled from newsreel footage of the fateful day; "FDNY Dream Bike" is based around the activities of a fireman whose attempted restoration of a broken motorcycle symbolizes a greater struggle; and "Beyond the Ashes" talks to residents of lower Manhattan in the aftermath of the attacks.

	Giancarlo Esposito
	Janeane Garofalo
	Nicole Hansen
	Tony Spiridakis
	Jim Hershleder - [Beyond] Director
	Mike Lennon - [Brothers] Director
	Mike Lennon - [Brothers] Writer
	Pete Hamill - [Brothers] Writer

DVD Verdict 9 of 10
[Brothers] This documentary was an act of catharsis for [Director Mike Lennon]. Lennon sat down with over a dozen firefighters, a dispatcher, a few Manhattan residents, and a handful of 9/11 widows. With utter simplicity, the piece unfurls in static shots as each of the participants telling his or her story, the tales carefully and artfully intercut. The connections between the stories of John McAleese and Tommy Casatelli, for instance, only come into focus late in the film because Lennon uses no artifice to ensure we understand from the outset that Brian and John were brothers. That fact only emerges as John's and Tommy's stories merge near the end, a seemingly simple feat achieved with rigorous and intelligent editing. - Dan Mancini

DVDLaser.com 6 of 10
[Beyond] Though there are many problems with the film, the biggest is that the three stories really have nothing to do with one another, except for tenuous encounters and loose friendships. And while it's highly debatable that anyone wants to see another 9/11-oriented movie, if you do make a film about the aftermath of the bombings, your movie ought at least to have a little more to do with them. Liz's neurosis and the cab driver's psychosis are the only real connections to that fateful day, and even those are a stretch. There's also a car covered in dust and ash (hence the title), which hasn't moved in two years -- and which locals see miraculous faces in at sun-up. Woo hoo. - Doug Pratt