User Reviews

Okay - just going to state this from the off that I have no political bias here and it's clear that haters are just going to hate and try and put people off watching what is one of the most intimate, current and emotively poignant documentaries ever made about a city surviving a plethora of pain, but with a huge 'Butchers Bill' of loss that will be felt for years to come.

Spike Lee through a series of interviews with everyone from officials, to Doctors and Nurses and your average people on the street, gives an authentic vocal narrative to the people of New York City, over one of the most turbulent periods of its history.

I had this programme on in the background as I was working, but gradually I was so compelled by the authentic power of the stories of the real people who lived through the times of Covid and BLM, that I had to watch it all again.

What Lee captures here so viscerally, more important than anything else, is the HUMANITY of the people he interviews. The power of their stories, of friends and families losing loved ones in the pandemic, losing faith in their leaders, after the murder of George Ffloyd is a power piece of filmmaking that deserves to be seen and shows Lee at his best.

There is no conspiracy nonsense here, so don't listen to such comments, clearly made by people who haven't even seen the whole show. If anything Lee highlights the danger of this, by showing how such an attitude cost one person their life. He has, in this mini-series, captured one of the most important times in history through the voices of the people who were there, who saw and experienced everything they're talking about, first hand.

From firefighters, to cops, to actors to restaurant owners.

This is the sort of documentary politicians the world over should be watching. It's a power reminder of what can happen, when you forget the reason you were elected to power was actually to serve the needs of all people you govern, and protect all the people you serve.

Brilliant authentic film making.

"NYC Epicenters 9/11 - 2021½" (2021 release; 4 episodes of about 115 min. Each) is a new documentary mini-series from Spike Lee. As Episode 1 opens, we get some quick testimonials from New Yorkers when they heard about the coronavirus for the first time. Lee then serves up images of the abandoned city in March-April 2020 as Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" plays (in its entirety). We then go back in time to clips from 2005 and 2014 when then-Presidents Bush and Obama, respectively, predicted that a pandemic would strike at some point and we needed to be prepared for that. Of course Trump then threw out all existing preparations upon becoming president. It all leads to the devastation that COVID-19 brought upon the 5 boroughs of New York, each one more so than the other... At this point we are 10 min. Into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is the latest "joint" from Spike Lee, looking at something that is near and dear to his heart: New York, and Brooklyn in particular. What begins at a fairly high-level/big picture view, eventually becomes very personal, as we hear time and again how people in New York were affected by and coping with COVID-19 in all of its forms: from healthcare providers to how bars and restaurants were struggling, etc. At times it is so personal that it becomes emotionally overwhelming (listen to the second generation Colombian-American as he relays what happened with his mother on a nursing home, just heartbreaking). This wouldn't be a true Spike Lee joint if we didn't get some political stuff thrown into the mix: Gov. Andrew Cuomo's cooking the numbers relative to seniors deaths in nursing homes (and then for good measure, trying to cover it up) gets extensive attention, and rightfully so. But also the unintended effect of COVID-19 on the murder of George Floyd and its subsequent fallout are closely examined (always from a New York point of view).

"NYC Epicenters 9/11- 2021½" premiered this weekend on HBO and Episode 1 is now available on HBO On Demand, HBO Max, Amazon Instant Video and other streaming services. New episodes air Sunday evenings at 8 pm Eastern. I quite liked Episode 1 and I look forward to seeing the remaining 3 episodes. If you have any interest in New York, or are simply a fan of Spike Lee, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

*UPDATE 8/29/21* As Episode 1 was released, Spike Lee revealed in a New York Times interview that in the last episode of this mini-series, where much of the focus is on 9/11 and its immediate aftermath, he had provided extensive coverage/platform to 9/11 conspiracy theorists about what caused the World Trade Center buildings to collapse, and simply commented to the NYT that "everyone can make up their own mind". This caused a huge uproar and pushback from the public at large, and long story short, it was just reported that Lee cut out the entire 30 min. Segment dealing with the 9/11 conspiracy theorists. As a result, Episode 4 apparently is now just 90 min. Long. To be continued...

*UPDATE 9/6/21* I've now also seen Episode 3. I can't readily recall a better/more riveting look at 9/11 and all that it entailed, before, during and after. Which makes it all the more puzzling why Episode 4 originally contained a full 30 min devoted to conspiracy theories about how the Twin Towers collapsed. Really looking forward to see how the 4th and last episode turns out.

*UPDATE 9/14/21* I've now seen Episode 4, and it is a logical and moving conclusion of the mini-series. It does indeed clock in at 90 min instead of the usual 120 min. Why Spike Lee originally wanted to include a 30 min segment on the (long-time debunked) conspiracy theories on how the 2 towers "really" collapsed is frankly beyond me. It would've put the entire series to shame. So yea, Lee "did the right thing" but it took a public uproar to get him to do it.... It's important to keep perspective, though, as in: yes, the loss of almost 3,000 lives on 9/11 was and is horrific. But it's the same number of people who continue die of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic EVERY 36 HOURS, as we speak. Covid-19 has claimed 660,000 American lives, and still no end in sight.

Thought this was well presented and even handed. I wonder what happened to us, Americans since 9/11. When did we start hating fellow Americans. Reading the reviews, I didn't see what the various complaints were on the 3 episodes.

I thought the 3rd episode on 9/11 was powerful and moving. I never knew about the boats who evacuated all of the New Yorkers from the tip of Manhattan.

This episode alone should be required viewing for everyone. It's should not be Never Forget, it should be We Always Remember, for those who sacrificed themselves to help others.

Ignore the "woke" one star reviews, These chuckleheads didn't even finish the first episode. This is a documentary to behold. Excellent and well worth your time.

Just ignore 1 * reviews from these flat earth right extremist Trump loving cry babies. This is an awesome docuseries with a lot of interesting side stories that does justice to the greatest city in the world - NYC.

I think that this series does an excellent job of informing viewers of details of events that they may not know about that has happened in NYC.

Spike Lee starts off with Covid. Then goes to the problem of racism in the country as a whole and the effects that had on New Yorkers. Then the Capitol beach. And then to 9/11.

Any negative review or rating below 8/10 of this work (a DOCUMENTARY series) is based purely on ignorance and stupidity. The End.

STATEMENT OF TRUTH: Basing a review of CLEARLY DOCUMENTED FACTS and the ACTUAL EXPERIENCED REALITY of others on opinion and conjecture is thoroughly & absolutely RIDICULOUS. You, meaning all the OTHERS who were NOT PRESENT for originally filmed/documented experiences and/or included as survivor subjects in the filming of these experiences, DO NOT get to have an opinion about someone else's LIVED EXPERIENCE!!! It's THAT simple.

A review or rating of documentary work should be solely inspired by one's visceral response to the filmmaker's artistic expression of said facts & experiences. For example, the question to ask one's self is: how did the inclusion or exclusion of XYZ make you feel?/what kind of response did XYZ elicit from you?

For me personally, I truly appreciated the very candid interviews conducted throughout the series so far. They added another important, necessary dimension or layer of humanity to the potentially abstract or otherwise oh so very blunt force trauma and horror of catastrophic events collectively experienced, even if in very different ways, by Americans across the country and around the world. My experience of the terrorist attacks perpetrated on September 11, 2001 was INCREDIBLY traumatizing (I ended up hospitalized as a direct result of that stress & experience) in its own way despite living in middle America, very much removed from the Eastern Seaboard. I have/had family in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, etc. For whom I was very concerned and afraid. However, my trauma, though absolutely no less valid, is quite significantly different than someone else's who may have been at the Pentagon, inside the Twin Towers, was a family member of someone aboard United 93 who LITERALLY lived through that deadly attack, or had a direct personal attachment to any of those locations. Those interviews, the ones conducted by Spike Lee himself, were an excellent addition to this work. I learned things about which I'd previously NO EARTHLY CLUE because of those interviews. The same can be said of the musical selections, the Covid stories & experiences, the BLM movement & protests, in support of social & cultural change, etc.

This creatively produced, extremely well done docuseries is nothing short of amazing. Spike Lee is simply brilliant and I applaud him, his crew, and everyone involved with the series development and production.

Pretty objective view for about 60% of the show. Really compelling stuff, great interviews from regular people you've never heard from before, which was really emotional and was truly compelling.

Then spike adds a "VH1" type comedy relief "witness" who clearly was only in the show for 'scripted' reasons. After he had the hi wire guy and the base jumper interview, and so many "credible" stories, which were amazing and kept me glued to the screen! It was truly disappointing to see some random person, bad mouthing the first responders for keeping poeple at bay after such a serious atrocity. There wasn't a clear message there, because the film tried so hard to reward the first responders, and then he blamed them for protecting the crime scene...

And then at the end he put George Floyd in the film. I completely agree that he was wrongfully treated, abused, and murdered. However , why take away from the9/11 victims? Please don't convolute and confuse the masses.

That is all.

Incredible is the best word I can use to describe this movie! There are so many untold stories about 9/11 and the pandemic. New Yorkers and their resilience is inspiring! I loved hearing the different stories and Spike's laughter is infectious!

Enough is enough. Learn how to edit. I do not need to hear everyone saying 9/11 was a beautiful day. Or everyone saying what day they learned about Covid. Just cut it down man. First time in my life, as a whole hearted spike Lee baby, that I would ever diss you spike. I say that because spike is the one and true artist of my time. Just edit it. Don't make me roll my eyes more than twice.

I don't know why they are bad reviews. This documentary is fantastic and I could not stop watching it until it was finished. Thank you Spike Lee.

It is the worst mess I have seen in years. He somehow has to constantly interrupt those he interviews, trying to either be funny (which he isn't) or just to repeat a few words they say, to seem clever I guess (which he doesn't seem to be lol). And then the narrative is so slow and all over the place. They start in the present, then go back, then forward, then further back. And pf course it is hillarious to give nicknames to presidents, hahaha, so hillarious. It's extremely biased and it should not be categorized as a documentary since it seems more like a selfpromoting series for Spike Lee.

It started off compelling for the first 45 minutes with interviews centering on the front-line healthcare workers & the loved ones of the deceased, but I noticed the documentary's trajectory suddenly changed and I had no idea what the point of this documentary was.

It especially lost steam after it went into a tangent w/ progressive windbags using the series as a platform to air their grievances over Gov. Cuomo. I expected that after Ron Kim was introduced since he's always had a strange hard-on for him.

9/11 and NYC is the Epicenter of so many things going on before, during and after. Mr. Lee took us for a ride of the ups and downs of this era. Many thought provoking interviews. Stories told so you feel as if you are there. It acknowledged and solidified the trauma of the humans involved from in every aspect as survivor, victim, rescuer, griever, scientist and certainly first responder while incorporating the world's issues from outside NYC on 9/11. It peels away at how our government may have taken advantage of those circumstances. Being a government employee most of my career life this is the first time, after watching Mr. Lee's series that I must sadly question and acknowledge that our countries government did not have our best interest.

When I first heard about this kind of documentary, I was a little skeptic on the mix of topics, even though I know how solid the Spike and his Docu crew are on HBO documentaries, as When the Levees Broke is still one of my favorite series there is.

The COVID/2020 summer of unrest parts were above average, but he found a good, different way in presenting the 9/11 series of events.

The editing seemed to be weird at first, but it did a good job of presenting information including quite a few faces and perspectives in the 9/11 part.

I'll definitely be re-watching as a lot of information seemed to be presented in the 8 hour runtime.

Interesting but not compelling . Expect more from hbo and spike lee . Perhaps its tome to give other directors new directors a deal.