When filmmaker Oliver Stone decided to take the helm of a film portraying the events during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it was an overwhelming task. He committed himself to tell one of the most powerful and inspiring stories in modern American history, and did it with a sense of duty.

The tales of heroism that happened on Sept. 11, 2001, he said, are too extraordinary not to be told.

“World Trade Center” follows the true story of two Port Authority police officers called to the scene, only to be trapped under rubble in the epicenter of the destruction. Those officers, Sgt. John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, are one of the few stories of survival – 2,749 died that day and only 20 were pulled out alive.

“This story is the words of the survivors,” Stone said. “They are the only witnesses besides the dead.”

Some expressed concern that the movie’s release came too soon after the tragedy, but critical praise and viewer satisfaction have muted many skeptics’ voices.

During test screenings for the movie, Stone said there were surprisingly few viewers disturbed enough to leave.

“It’s never happened to me like that, it was unbelievable,” he said. “Most movies you have large walkouts.”

And the numbers may be Stone’s strongest ally. Of all Stone’s films, going back as far 1986’s “Platoon” and “Salvador,” the 80 percent exit poll rating during the screenings of the movie is the most positive reaction he’s ever received.

Stone said the people who are getting a chance to see it are responding to it. The real challenge, however, may be motivating ticket buyers to watch.

“The question is getting the people who don’t want to see it to see it, because frankly it’s not the easy way out,” he said. “It’s really a painful film for most people.”

For Stone, directing a film about an American tragedy is nothing new.

From “Born on the Fourth of July,” a film about a Vietnam veteran’s betrayal by his country, to “JFK,” featuring the conspiracies surrounding the death of the president, Stone hasn’t shied away from emotionally-charged issues.

Despite experience portraying moments of American history when life is at its hardest, the most difficult part for tackling the story of Sept. 11 may have been historical accuracy. Stone said he went through great troubles to take on a movie of such great magnitude.

“Who would want to go there, to be chased down by the culture police for every little detail that was wrong? We had a big responsibility,” he said.

“The hardest part was this sense of responsibility to get it technically correct. We were always going back and questioning ourselves. It was exhausting, frankly.”

Conveying the enormity and breadth of the World Trade Center’s collapse was also a major hurdle for Stone and his team. He said it was a technical nightmare building and going into the holes in the east interior hangars, and that getting people in and out was very dark and smoky work.

Coupled with the interior environments, the team reconstructed one of 16 acres of the rubble field surrounding the remains of the World Trade Center.

“It was very exhausting, it’s like coal mining every day,” Stone said.

Best known for his nonlinear and provocative imagery in his films, Stone made a conscious decision to present the movie with a more simple style in mind. He said the movie became a function of light, filming in dark and cramped locations the story of the entombment and rescue.

Stone acknowledges being both attacked and admired for his films presenting a combination of power and intensity. He finds this film to be equally powerful, but manageable in the sense that it doesn’t go over the edges of pain.

“It’s a quiet film in a sense, and very studied on the eyes,” he said.

“I like the stillness of it because I think survival is often based on metaphysical reasons, a sense of security and peace at the center.”

That security is something that has been called into question during Stone’s life. A Vietnam veteran, Stone said he has always been fascinated by the edge of death and was forever changed when he witnessed someone die in war.

He finds his macabre experiences helped gain the trust of Jimeno and McLoughlin to tell their stories.

“I think it’s always given me an eye, a feeling for death, and what life is and the separation of the two. These are places you go that are very difficult to go to,” he said.