But Alec, I wonder what you thought of this film.

Well, it's an awful, strange thing to say, but because of the kind of enormity of 9-11 in our lives, people who were alive at the time and the way it just changed, it did change the world for a period of time quite dramatically.

I have avoided this film because I've kind of, you know, had enough of 9-11.

It's just too traumatic.

I mean, I wasn't there.

I was in the UK at the time.

But it was just too dramatic, too ubiquitous.

So who won the film? I mean, we've been talking about Paul Greengrass, but I think the, I would say that the actual victims, the passengers of United 93 won the film.

Um, but Alec, I, I wonder what you thought of this film.

Well, I h- it's an awful strange thing to say, but because of the kind of enormity of 9/11 in our lives, people who were alive at the time and the way it just changed, it did change, um, uh, the world for a period of time quite dramatically.

I have avoided this film because I've kind of, you know, had enough of 9/11.

It's just too, too traumatic.

It's, I mean, I wasn't there, I was in the UK at the time, but it was just too dramatic, too ubiquitous, and I just thought that I just don't need to have, I just, I don't...

But, you know, I was incredibly wrong because it's an incredible film, and I'm so pleased I've watched it because, yes, it's heart-rending and it's, um, uh, and, you know, it, it's quite a lot of crying on camera and quite a lot of crying going on when you're watching the thing 'cause it's just deeply horrific.

Um, but equally it's, and it's chilling and all the rest of it, but equally it's the most astonishing story and, of course, there's a, a degree of fiction in it, but it's an astonishing story of courage and, um, and I found it the most overwhelming watch.

Mm.

And he plays the aristocrat just wonderfully.

And, you know, you know, this is one of the secret bits of gold about the film is you've got Caine.

you've got both Kane and Baker kind of playing against type, Stanley Baker, the co-star and producer playing against type.

And that means they do it just differently.

They're not standing up for themselves.

They're playing the parts, exposing the cars nakedly, the parts for what they are.

And so the way Kane tells the story in his memoir, one of his many memoirs he's written, is that Stanley Baker, who obviously the co-star and producer in the movie, came to him in where he was acting one night in his dressing room he said look i'm doing it i'm making a store called zulu i'd like to come and be in it as it goes apart for a cockney character and i think it'd be really good um there's no can you go and see the director tomorrow morning at this bar And so Julie McCain turns up at 10 o'clock next morning, walks in and he describes seeing this tubby, slow moving, slow talking, middle aged American, Cy Enfield.

Yeah, he's great.

I

don't think I've ever watched the entire film all the way through.

And I think that it tells you something.

It's a bit, and I think to what you said, it's a bit like one of those 60s or 50s, you know, swords and sandals classics in Hollywood, you know, about the Roman empire, which you never ever make it the whole way through because it just doesn't sustain a modern audience.

because it doesn't talk to the audience in quite the way that we used to anymore.

That said, so I watched it for the first time from beginning to end the other day.

And it is beautiful.

I mean, I just found Burt Lancaster almost comedically bad.