On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Phillippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York’s twin towers, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. {official site}
HIS review
Quite a unique documentary about an eccentric French man’s obsession to conquer something that will never be repeated. Philippe Petit has an obsession with tightrope walking, particularly on famous landmarks around the world. Man on Wire takes us along his journey towards tightrope walking between the World Trade Centre towers. Philippe himself narrates the documentary, keeping you on edge as he literally jumps out of his seat and whisks you along with his charismatic story. It isn’t hard to see how he managed to garner so much support along the way. His enthusiastic description of events is really what keeps you glued to the screen and wondering how some of it was even possible, as we are eventually brought back down to earth in a bittersweet end.
HER review
I was curious about this documentary after seeing the advertising on the TV. I am a sucker for documentaries generally but this one caught my eye and I’m glad it did… Man on Wire is about the journey Philippe Petit and his friends took that led them to Philippe’s destiny – a high-wire routine performed between New York’s World Trade Centre towers in 1974. Spanning over a number of years, the stunt took over the group’s lives like an obsession. They planned it down to the finest detail, better than some bank robberies I’m sure! It was filmed very cleverly and the fact that this group was full of oddballs made for an entertaining documentary – especially Philippe himself who appeared to live up to his showman persona. Definitely worth a watch!
What the public think
IMDb – 8.0 | Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Trailer
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