WTC the First 24 Hours (2002): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2002, WTC the First 24 Hours is a documentary film directed by Étienne Sauret, running about 48 minutes.

What it’s about. Beginning with the World Trade Center's North Tower afire and billowing dense smoke, and ending on the vast expanse of ash-brown debris the following morning, The First 24 Hours documents "ground zero" in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Shot independently over a 24-hour period, the film is first a witness to the fall of the twin towers, as a line of fire and a buckle in the armature signal imminent collapse. It is then an intimate view of the smoldering monochromatic site and the surrounding solitary streets, the ashen outskirts of New York's financial center, desolate and strewn with debris, the epicenter, a steel moonscape of Dresdenesque remains. People on the site work monotonously, in a fervor, then dazed, trance-like. The images speak for themselves, intentionally devoid of commentary and music.

How it landed. With an audience score of 9.0/10, WTC the First 24 Hours sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch WTC the First 24 Hours page.

If you liked it. Fans of WTC the First 24 Hours tend to enjoy One Direction: This Is Us, Burn the Stage: The Movie, BTS World Tour: Love Yourself - Japan Edition and Senna.