On Native Soil (2006) User Reviews

A deserved condemnation of the Bush Amdinistration

[Richard-Noggin · 8/10 · 2 September 2006]

Want to know what went wrong on 9/11? See this movie. While it was not as detailed as it should have been, only so much can fit in 2 hours. Enough data is included to prove that Bush and his administration were "asleep on watch". Even more, they made real effort to prevent disclosure of information, playing political games to cover their incompetence. To conclude less, you must not have watched with your eyes open. This movie has nothing to do with party affiliations. It deals with being an American, and demanding better from your government. I applaud the 9/11 families for their courage in taking on the Bush Administration, and holding them to account.

Well done documentary

[wisewebwoman · 8/10 · 12 January 2008]

Even with all the information and film on 9/11 out there, this is still worth seeing. It takes a more personal approach and one gets to know some of the people who were directly affected by the events of that day.

The survivors and families of those killed pushed for the 9/11 commission to take place to uncover the reasons on why this happened and the results are damning. The responses to the emergency on the day were scattered and careless and took far too long with too many disconnected agencies, plus the intelligence knew way ahead of time that something drastic involving airplanes was going to befall a major city in the U.S. No one did anything.

Only one person takes any kind of responsibility for what happened and only one person apologized. The rest were too busy ensuring their political lives.

However, there are some wonderful moments, the Port Authority Office and his dog were particularly moving as were the brave families who will not back down from their demands that the truth be known.

8 out of 10. Well worth seeing.

Should be viewed by all and openly discussed with our politicians.

[craig-sincock · 10/10 · 16 August 2006]

As a 911 family member, I have seen and heard just about everything, I thought. But Linda has managed to put together a moving, compelling, provoking, disturbing, and telling true story of the before, during and after of 911. Her efforts are almost overshadowed by the efforts of the 911 family members who fought so long and hard to get a 911 Commission. This documentary leaves me with hope that more will be done, that there is hope for a bright future, and that there are still so many good and kind and loving people out there. But it also leaves me with questions about the future. Not my future for I am getting into my golden years now. It is for my children and grandchildren that I worry. This film begs the questions such as "Will anyone stand up and be accountable anymore?" "Will politicians continue to worry about getting votes more than providing us a secure place to live?" "Is profit really the end-all for corporate America or can these giants finally learn how to manage the bottom line and still provide security when needed for the Americna public?" See the film and start asking your own questions. Or better yet, start asking your Congress-person and Senator. To Linda and the 911 Family members who worked so hard to help so many, my thanks for honoring my wife and the thousands of others lost on that fateful day in September of 2001. God Bless.

The 9-11 Report

[RRosenbaum · 10/10 · 3 August 2006]

One of the best documentaries I have seen on this subject. I was able to see a preview of the DVD that is due out soon and was very impressed. While being skeptical when asked to view (I was expecting a political "bent" to the movie) but felt it was presented in a straight forward manner. While it was a subject everyone is familiar, it gave me information that I never considered. It also acted as a reminded me that we could have a similar occurrence at any time.

I am not familiar with the team who directed this, but it has a an attention to detail and story that was gripping.

I would be interested to hear how family members of the victims of this attack view this must see film.

Fair Account of the 9/11 Commission Hearings and Events

[wizard-64 · 10/10 · 17 August 2006]

On Native Soil is a fascinating, gripping, compelling and comprehensive even-handed documentary on the events of 9/11 and the failures that lead to the tragedy.

Excellent collection of seldom seen footage of the disaster interlaced with 9/11 commission testimony, animated diagrams and a no-nonsense time-line. (Michael Moore should take a lesson from this!) Contains interviews with some of the family members of those who fell that day, interviews with some of the survivors, and interviews with the people who were in charge of protecting the public.

Unfortunately shot in 2005 (before the report on the lack of progress in implementing the commission's recommendations). I would have liked to see an epilogue pointing this out. An edited version will appear on Court TV soon. Rent or buy the DVD instead.

The 9/11 controversy revisited

[poikkeus · 9/10 · 13 August 2006]

Former network producer Linda Ellman was asked to do a piece on the 9/11 Commission's report - a simple enough job, or so it seemed. The massive report, which was assembled by a bi-partisan group, concluded that 9/11 might very well have been prevented given what we knew at the time. Of course, this embarrassed and humbled the White House, which had initially stonewalled the investigation under the aegis of "national security." Despite the evidence, the notion that the tragedy might have been prevented is still something that many still are unwilling to acknowledge.

Ellman's film is essentially a narrative presentation of the Commission's report. It accounts for failures of at least two administrations in dealing with the Al Qaeda threat, and comes up with some unlikely heroes: that is, the victims' families who decided to fight Washington to make the truth known. Most of their recommendations have been passed into law, despite frequent resistance from the Bush administration. The subtext of this film suggests that considerable contributions can be made by an active, aware electorate.

Ellman's approach is even-handed but critical. Her narrative revisits 9/11 in concentrated detail, showing familiar events in a new light. She includes several stories that are almost miraculous - and many others that are, of course, sad. This documentary asks pretty much all the right questions, even though it falls considerably short of the sensationalism of, say, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. Given that these events have been raked over so many times, it's surprising that Ellman was able to offer us some new ideas to reflect on.

A Sad hit piece by leftists

[kaliningrad-87345 · 4/10 · 10 September 2016]

I gave this so called documentary four stars instead of one star because it was well put together and had some beautiful location shots and scenery.That said,that was the only good thing about this hit piece by leftist Hollywood actors and Linda Ellman.Does this nonsense never end?Why must the leftists from Hollywood and the Pravda lying media continually blame George bush and his administration only,there is plenty of blame to go around. The Clintons had their chances to eliminate Osama Bin Laden and they refused to give the orders to kill him when they had the chance to do so.Remember when Sandy Berger got caught stuffing papers from the National Archives into his pants etc? He was doing the bidding of his bosses the Clinton two for one team.He was getting rid of the evidence that the president Bill Clinton refused to give the orders to take into custody and shoot Osama Bin Laden in the Sudan and in Afghanistan on two different dates.If Bill Clinton had showed some courage we probably would not have had that horrible day in 2001.The Bush administration had their time to stop the attacks also.There were warnings that they did not heed.I being a conservative have the decency to call out the Clintons and the Bush administration.Go ahead and watch this and believe that Hillary Swank and Kevin Costner know what they are talking about.No they do not.They are just doing what Hollywood actors always do.They speak for the left exclusively.Linda Ellman is your typical Michael Moore type film maker.Too bad for an opportunity that was missed to tell the entire truth.

On Native Soil

[Cherih46 · 10/10 · 2 September 2006]

I was very moved by "On Native Soil." It brought a whole spectrum of emotions from fear to horror to sadness to pride. The document was well done and touched on some very important questions. I pray that everyone will watch this film and then not just sit back but take action. My family lost someone in the attack on the Pentagon. This film answered many questions that we had and also has brought up more that we hope will be answered at not to distant time.

We should all be proud of the few who took a stand and demanded answers. Maybe because of this film, more of us will stand up and demanded to be heard. God Bless.