Man on Wire
Revisiting French high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s audacious 1974 tightrope walk between the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center, British director James Marsh’s Oscar-winning documentary has the pulse-racing urgency of a real-life heist movie. MAN ON WIRE blends archival footage, contemporary interviews and dramatized reconstruction to capture the courage and poetry of Petit’s daredevil feat. Despite breaking the law, his headline-grabbing stunt ultimately gave a promotional boost to the WTC, which was still under construction and not widely liked at the time. Post 9/11, Marsh’s film unavoidably plays like an elegy for the twin towers.
Philippe Petit, Jean François Heckel, Jean-Louis Blondeau
- Notes From Bryan FogelI love that this is a real-life heist film with methodical planning, close calls, and an edge-of-your-seat climax. It was so inspirational to me in making ICARUS, as it, at least for me, never feels like a documentary. Rather, it plays as a suspense thriller. I personally appreciated the extraordinary lengths that Philippe Petit was willing to go to in pursuit of his dream of the impossible. What an audacious story and brilliantly crafted film!
