On August 7, 1974, Philippe Petit, a French wire walker, juggler, and street performer days shy of his 25th birthday, spent 45 minutes walking, dancing, kneeling, and lying on a wire he and friends strung between the rooftops of the Twin Towers. Uses contemporary interviews, archival footage, and recreations to tell the story of his previous walks between towers of Notre Dame and of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, his passions and friendships, and the details of the night before the walk: getting cable into the towers, hiding from guards, and mounting the wire. It ends with observations of the profound changes the walk’s success brought to Philippe and those closest to him. —IMDb
James Marsh is a director of both documentary and narrative feature films. His most recent dramatic film, Red Riding: 1980, was released by the IFC in 2010. Marsh’s documentary Man on Wire premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Documentary Jury Prize and the Audience Award, and garnered the Academy Award for best documentary the following year. Marsh’s earlier work includes the feature film The King (Un Certain Regard, 2005 Cannes International Film Festival) and the documentary hybrid Wisconsin Death Trip. –Sundance
An enlightening and richly entertaining documentary about the importance of free expression, the rebellion against social norms and the very human desire to take extraordinary risks.
Incredible and inspiring. The moment when it cuts to the still photo of people in the street looking up at the Twin Towers and seeing not death or horror or destruction, but the beautiful sight of an eccentric man fulfilling his dream of walking a tightrope between them, I started crying and I couldn't stop. Phillipe Petit is a wonderful human being.
This film is truly, truly beautiful. Mr. Marsh takes a intriguing story and makes it the most interesting documentary ever made.
Man on Wire
Grade: B
Cast: Philippe Petit
Director: James Marsh
Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and nudity, and drug references.
Runtime: 94 min
Release Company… read review
Really wonderfull documentary and re-enactment in many ways. Considering that the world press&media presents daily world& current events that are at least dis-enchanting and are presented… read review
There are people who love professional mimes, jugglers and contortionists. I am not one of them. People like me don’t really understand why anyone would want to turn miming into a profession, aside… read review
As far as I know, the memory of Philippe Petit’s successful attempt to tightrope across the World Trade Center was rediscovered after the 9/11 terrorist attack. Man On Wire is a brilliant account of… read review