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2* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Before Tony Benetatos goes off to the World Trade Center, he asks Gédéon to fetch a pair of latex gloves, before vanishing by the time he returns. The documentary frames this more as Tony being so eager to go to the rescue that he opts not to wait any longer, but some viewers have suggested that he was instead giving Gédéon a SnipeHunt as an excuse to keep him away.
3* NightmareFuel: This one should go without saying considering the subject matter.
4** When Jules first enters the North Tower, the audience is immediately treated to [[ScreamDiscretionShot the sound of screaming]]. He then explains that this is someone who is ''burning alive'' just a few feet to the right of the camera. The reason he doesn't point his camera towards them is because [[YouDoNotWantToKnow he felt like no one should see that]].
5** Later, the sound of something smashing into the ground can be heard several times. Some of this is debris. Some of it is ''people,'' jumping from floors that had been severed from those below.
6** The towers collapsing.
7*** Jules is inside the South Tower as it collapses. As the tower rumbles, [[MassOhCrap the fire crews know what's coming]], and immediately bolt for the escalators.
8*** The North Tower collapsing brings down an enormous cloud of dust. Gédéon manages to survive, and the aftermath is pure SceneryGorn, with everything covering in dust, along with [[NothingIsScarier no one in sight, and complete silence]]. The entire shot of part of New York City completely empty is surreal.
9* RealismInducedHorror: In tandem with the NightmareFuel above, everything that occurs in the film really happened, and as such, the shots of average citizens (and even trained firefighters) reacting in shock and disbelief to what's happening in the towers takes on a disquieting feeling, even for those who weren't alive at the time of the attacks.
10* SignatureScene: Undoubtedly the scene of Battalion 1 investigating the suspected gas leak and being witness to American 11's final moments. Within the film, it kicks off the HalfwayPlotSwitch that everybody watching knew was inevitable. Outside the film, its historical significance as the only clear footage of the crash means that it's been viewed in countless other contexts too; it's also the opening scene of ''102 Minutes That Changed America'' for example.
11* SpoiledByTheFormat: There's some tension after Engine 7/Ladder 1 begins coming back from the site of the terrorists attack as to what happened to Tony Benetatos, the probie firefighter. But, the fact that he's shown up in interview footage (which must have logically happened after the attacks) means it's clear he survived.
12* {{Squick}}: The descriptions (and ''sounds'') of jumpers falling and hitting the ground, and the description by Jules of people on fire inside the lobby of the building (caused by flames shooting down the core elevator shaft[s] and hitting people on the ground floor) run headlong into this. It's even worse in the unedited footage released through the Freedom of Information Act -- Jules' camera catches several people falling past the camera, right above ground level.
13* TearJerker: The day is an emotional rollercoaster.
14** Any of the times Jules and Gédéon think about each other while separated.
15*** Jules fears from the start that Gédéon is inside the North Tower, heading up the stairs, because he was with Tony, and Jules figures that's what Tony's doing. Gédéon, meanwhile, heads down to the World Trade Center in the first place in large part to find Jules.
16*** Gédéon's thoughts to himself as the North Tower collapses and he hides beneath a car to try to avoid the dust and debris; he promises himself that, if he survives, he'll "be a better brother".
17*** After both towers collapse, each of them believe the other to be dead. Jules states in his narration that he had to push down thoughts that his brother was likely dead because he couldn't bear to think about it, and Gédéon more or less shut down emotionally altogether when authorities turned him away from the site of the wreckage while he was trying to find Jules there.
18** The brothers' reunion. Having been separated during the whole ordeal, each feared the other was dead. When they are finally reunited at the firehouse, they fall into each other's arms and break down crying.
19** The end of the film is a roll of photographs of firefighters killed that day, while "Danny Boy" plays mournfully. It hits especially hard if you recognize any of the men Jules filmed in the Tower 1 lobby.
20** On September 12th, narration implies that FDNY was able to pull out only one person from the rubble of the towers who was still alive. Despite thousands of people showing up to show support, the firefighters at Ground Zero note that [[HeroicSelfDeprecation they certainly don't feel like heroes right now]].

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