Historians and documentary filmmakers have painstakingly documented the tragedies that occurred on September 11, 2001.
No less than 37 full-length documentary films have been made about the events of that fateful day, and there will no doubt be more in the future.
Dramatic interpretations of the events by Hollywood have lagged behind the documentaries, though.
The first scripted film about the events was "25th Hour," a film by Spike Lee that didn't so much tell the story of 9/11 as use it as a backdrop for some of the action going on in the plot.
It was a bold move that others were not quick to replicate, because many filmmakers believed the memory of the attacks was too raw and emotional to depict on a screen.
It wasn't until 2006 that the next significant film would come out, "The 9/11 Commission Report.
" It wasn't met with much fanfare, as audiences instead waited to see what controversial filmmaker Oliver Stone would come up with when his "World Trade Center" was released.
It turns out that there was nothing even remotely controversial in Stone's film.
Instead, it was a heartfelt story of what went on that day that gave proper reverence and homage to the first responders who risked their lives to save others.
The same year, celebrated director Paul Greengrass tackled the emotional day with "United 93," a film about the actions of a group of passengers on that fated flight who tried to retake the plane from the hijackers.
Based on phone calls passengers placed to their family members during the flight, the movie takes audiences on the journey from the victims' perspective, all the way to their deaths when they purposely took the plane down in a field in rural Pennsylvania.
Both "World Trade Center" and "United 93" featured big name talent both in front of and behind the camera, but neither film ignited a spark with audiences.
"United 93" received some award nominations, but it didn't make a lot of money.
In fact, the two films combined barely broke the coveted $100 million mark at the box office.
That is a lot of money, but when you consider it is broken up over two films, it is not a Hollywood blockbuster number by anyone's standards.
Movie executives saw the revenue totals and balked at making any other 9/11 films.
They felt that perhaps it was too early to tell the tale; maybe audiences were just not ready to sit in a dark theater and have their nation's worst day replayed for them.
Documentaries and even conspiracy theory films were still being made, but Hollywood had no plans for any further dramatic films until they were sure they could find an audience.
They very well may find that audience with an upcoming film from Kathryn Bigelow, the Oscar-winning director of "The Hurt Locker.
" "Zero Dark Thirty" was originally conceived as a film about the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the attacks.
When Bigelow and writer Mark Boal came together to flesh out the concept of the film, it was given the title "Killing bin Laden," because the infamous Al Qaeda leader was not yet dead.
When President Barack Obama revealed in May 2011 that a Navy SEAL team had indeed killed bin Laden, Bigelow and Boal's film became much more significant.
Instead of scrapping the film, the pair decided to rewrite the script to reflect the true events that had happened.
They would go forward with the film, which suddenly began receiving massive interest from Hollywood producers.
The interest was so great, in fact, that the film was given a release date before a cast and crew had even been assembled to begin filming.
The reason this film is so highly anticipated is that Bigelow intends to depict how SEAL Team 6 raided the bin Laden compound.
There is no footage of these events, which were widely celebrated in the United States.
Whatever scenes Bigelow films of the raid will be fictional, but they could go a long way toward healing a country that is still hurting and raw over the events of that day.
In this way, "Zero Dark Thirty" may be the best 9/11 film yet, even though its primary focus won't be on the plane crashes.
If "Zero Dark Thirty" is as good as "The Hurt Locker," it is expected to compete for many of the major international movie awards, including the Oscars.
It was originally slated for an October release, but has been pushed back to December 19, 2012.
No less than 37 full-length documentary films have been made about the events of that fateful day, and there will no doubt be more in the future.
Dramatic interpretations of the events by Hollywood have lagged behind the documentaries, though.
The first scripted film about the events was "25th Hour," a film by Spike Lee that didn't so much tell the story of 9/11 as use it as a backdrop for some of the action going on in the plot.
It was a bold move that others were not quick to replicate, because many filmmakers believed the memory of the attacks was too raw and emotional to depict on a screen.
It wasn't until 2006 that the next significant film would come out, "The 9/11 Commission Report.
" It wasn't met with much fanfare, as audiences instead waited to see what controversial filmmaker Oliver Stone would come up with when his "World Trade Center" was released.
It turns out that there was nothing even remotely controversial in Stone's film.
Instead, it was a heartfelt story of what went on that day that gave proper reverence and homage to the first responders who risked their lives to save others.
The same year, celebrated director Paul Greengrass tackled the emotional day with "United 93," a film about the actions of a group of passengers on that fated flight who tried to retake the plane from the hijackers.
Based on phone calls passengers placed to their family members during the flight, the movie takes audiences on the journey from the victims' perspective, all the way to their deaths when they purposely took the plane down in a field in rural Pennsylvania.
Both "World Trade Center" and "United 93" featured big name talent both in front of and behind the camera, but neither film ignited a spark with audiences.
"United 93" received some award nominations, but it didn't make a lot of money.
In fact, the two films combined barely broke the coveted $100 million mark at the box office.
That is a lot of money, but when you consider it is broken up over two films, it is not a Hollywood blockbuster number by anyone's standards.
Movie executives saw the revenue totals and balked at making any other 9/11 films.
They felt that perhaps it was too early to tell the tale; maybe audiences were just not ready to sit in a dark theater and have their nation's worst day replayed for them.
Documentaries and even conspiracy theory films were still being made, but Hollywood had no plans for any further dramatic films until they were sure they could find an audience.
They very well may find that audience with an upcoming film from Kathryn Bigelow, the Oscar-winning director of "The Hurt Locker.
" "Zero Dark Thirty" was originally conceived as a film about the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the attacks.
When Bigelow and writer Mark Boal came together to flesh out the concept of the film, it was given the title "Killing bin Laden," because the infamous Al Qaeda leader was not yet dead.
When President Barack Obama revealed in May 2011 that a Navy SEAL team had indeed killed bin Laden, Bigelow and Boal's film became much more significant.
Instead of scrapping the film, the pair decided to rewrite the script to reflect the true events that had happened.
They would go forward with the film, which suddenly began receiving massive interest from Hollywood producers.
The interest was so great, in fact, that the film was given a release date before a cast and crew had even been assembled to begin filming.
The reason this film is so highly anticipated is that Bigelow intends to depict how SEAL Team 6 raided the bin Laden compound.
There is no footage of these events, which were widely celebrated in the United States.
Whatever scenes Bigelow films of the raid will be fictional, but they could go a long way toward healing a country that is still hurting and raw over the events of that day.
In this way, "Zero Dark Thirty" may be the best 9/11 film yet, even though its primary focus won't be on the plane crashes.
If "Zero Dark Thirty" is as good as "The Hurt Locker," it is expected to compete for many of the major international movie awards, including the Oscars.
It was originally slated for an October release, but has been pushed back to December 19, 2012.
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