Man on Wire (2008)
Discovery Films

Description

On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire and illegally rigged between the New York's twin towers. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. This documentary complies Petit s footage to show the numerous extraordinary challenges he faced in completing the artistic crime of the century.

Tags

1970s, New York, Sundance award winner, World Trade Center, Tightrope, Stunt, Oscar winner, BAFTA award winner

Collected reviews and ratings

10 Variety | Robert Koehler

A man walks on a high-wire across the Twin Towers - and how he does it - is the grab-you-by-the-lapels premise from which James Marsh's "Man on Wire" erupts onscreen as one of the most wildly entertaining docs of recent years.
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10 Entertainment Weekly

The empty space where those Twin Towers once stood is never acknowledged in Man on Wire, James Marsh's breathtaking documentary about that mad-genius ''coup'' (as Petit calls it) achieved over three decades ago.
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10 Wall Street Journal

Part of what makes "Man on Wire" so enthralling, and so entertaining, is the filmmaker's skill in laying out the illegal caper's logistics, mainly through interviews with Philippe and his support team.
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10 Los Angeles Times

Made by director James Marsh with the human interest of a psychological drama and the 'You Are There' factor of a classic doc as well as the pace of a thriller, 'Man on Wire' underlines the fact that often the events most worth investigating are the ones we think we already know everything about.
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10 Washington Post

"Man on Wire" tells a gripping, affecting story but also a deeply cathartic one, as a place of loss and grief is transformed, briefly, into a place of transcendence and lyricism.
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8.0 New York Times

And without making any grandiose claims, this lovely, touching film demonstrates that the World Trade Center sky walk was an important event. The proof is in the emotions — amusement, amazement, awe — evoked by those images of a tiny human figure balancing above a void.
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8.0 Empire

Fear, anxiety and loss; the shadow of two looming structures; a story of valour, hope and a destiny unfolding - Philippe Petit’s epic tale of two towers is almost as fantastic as J.R.R. Tolkien’s.
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8.0 filmcritic.com

James Marsh's bright-eyed documentary Man on Wire is the unaccountably thrilling story behind that nearly quarter-century-old exploit, shot in much the same proficient and playful manner as would befit the man who did it.
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7.5 ReelViews

Man on Wire is a fascinating time capsule: a combination of talking-head interviews, actual footage, and re-creations that evokes a kinder, gentler world and provides insight into one of the most audacious stunts of the 20th century.
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