"The Path to 9-11"

So a co-worker burned me DVDs of the ABC special "The Path to 9-11" to watch (I, and nearly all other Americans was tuned in to the "Manning Bowl" that evening on NBC, and was unable to watch.) I've only gotten about an hour or so in, and so far, it's been really a great watch.

Now, we've all heard the hullabaloo from the "left" how this work is biased towards the "right." Clinton administration members and congresspersons from both sides complained about supposed inaccuracies, and the work was apparently edited by ABC at the 13th hour. In other words, the work has been a political mess, with both sides being rather unhappy. However, I think this is crap. Frankly, I don't care about the political leanings of the filmmakers, and I don't care about any purported inaccuracies....this work isn't labeled as a "documentary", so who cares?

What's stood out to me so far is exactly how large-scale this special was. With an estimated $40 million budget, this is one of the most expensive projects I've ever seen on the small screen. And, it shows. This work plays like an extended-length movie...one which is rather engrossing in scale. What I noticed most is how much this movie really sucked me in...really made me feel for both the informants risking their necks for love of their country, and even for the terrorists. The filmmakers have really done a good job depicting BOTH SIDES as people...not just blindly depicting the terrorists as "monsters." You really get a good sense of why the terrorists do what they do....their motivations, justifications, hopes for success, and even their fears of failure and sense of paranoia.

So far, it looks like it's going to be a good watch. I'm hoping to finish it sometime this week. But at 5 hours, it's not a quick digest.