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Man on Wire
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Man on Wire (2008) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 15 | slideshow) Videos (see all 9)
Man on Wire (2008) -- Man on Wire Trailer
Man on Wire (2008) -- Clip: My Dream
Man on Wire (2008) -- Open-ended Trailer from Magnolia Pictures
Man on Wire (2008) -- Clip: My dream
Man on Wire (2008) -- Clip: Beyond anything...

Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   7,846 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 11% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
James Marsh
Writer:
Philippe Petit (book)
Contact:
View company contact information for Man on Wire on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1 August 2008 (UK) more
Tagline:
1974. 1350 feet up. The artistic crime of the century.
Plot:
A look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century." full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 27 wins & 7 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(73 articles)
Bashir Wins Four Awards At 2nd Cinema Eye Honors
 (From Filmmaker Magazine. 30 March 2009, 9:01 AM, PDT)

Man On Wire- Magnolia Home Entertainment
 (From Twitch. 27 March 2009, 11:18 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Art in the sky more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Philippe Petit ... Himself
Jean François Heckel ... Himself (as Jean-François Heckel)
Jean-Louis Blondeau ... Himself
Annie Allix ... Herself
David Forman ... Himself
Alan Welner ... Himself
Mark Lewis ... Himself
Barry Greenhouse ... Himself (as N. Barry Greenhouse)
Jim Moore ... Himself
Guy F. Tozzoli ... Himself (as Guy Tozzoli)
Paul McGill ... Philippe - Drama Reconstructions
David Demato ... Jean-Louis - Drama Reconstructions
Ardis Campbell ... Annie - Drama Reconstructions
Aaron Haskell ... Jean-François - Drama Reconstructions
Shawn Dempewolff-Barrett ... David - Drama Reconstructions (as Shawn Dempewolff)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and nudity, and drug references.
Runtime:
USA:94 min | USA:90 min (Sundance Film Festival)
Country:
UK | USA
Language:
English | French
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12A | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Ontario) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Australia:PG | UK:12 | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The helicopter reporter heard describing the tightwire walk (at 1:20:50 on the DVD) is Neil Bush, traffic helicopter pilot/reporter for WCBS NewsRadio88. more
Quotes:
Philippe Petit: If I die, what a beautiful death! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Girlfriend Experience (2009) more
Soundtrack:
An Eye For Optical Theory more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
34 out of 42 people found the following comment useful:-
Art in the sky, 5 August 2008
9/10
Author: Chris Knipp from Berkeley, California

What does Philippe Petit do now? Is he Professor of Advanced Balance at the Sorbonne? Is ha a therapist dealing exclusively in acrophobia? He seems to be a man so specialized that he was meant in life to do only one thing, at one time, and this film is about that moment and shows why a moment--a half hour, actually, in the early morning of August 7, 1974--can define a life and reshape one's perceptions. After the long slow methodical buildup, when the moment comes, calmly accompanied by a famous piece for solo piano by Eric Satie, it is so awesome, so still, so transcendent it makes you cry. No question why this film needed to be made.

Why is it that walking across a wire up in the air can be an aesthetic experience so exalted it brings you to tears? I don't know, but that's what 'Man on Wire' is about.

Philippe Petit is a clown, a sprite, a magician, an athlete, and a dancer. When he was seventeen, before the World Trade Center was even built, he knew it had to be his. It was as if it was invented just for him. . This was his greatest exploit. His triumph. It was to make him world famous.

A 'funambule,' the French call them. A tightrope walker: the epitome of risk-taking Only this time he increased the risk. Like his earlier walks between towers of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris and pylons of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, only more so, Petit's walk on a wire between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, the tallest buildings in New York City, was illegal, a 'rififi,' a break-in, a caper. Some call it "the art heist of the century." But it's not an ordinary heist. They stole nothing, except the air, our breath. Petit and crew didn't take anything out. They took in a ton of equipment, most importantly enough heavy wire and support wire to secure his pathway across the towers.

If you could make a documentary about a successful robbery, it might be something like James Marsh's film about this event. There is the conception, the reconnaissance, the gathering of accomplices, some of whom out of wisdom or fear opt out, even up to the last minute. The false start and bailout. The months of rehearsal. The miniature mock-ups of the top of the towers (handsome, and in wood). The trial runs and on-scene observations, the skillfully made false documents and identities, the changes of costume (for Petit himself, businessman, construction worker, and the ballet shoes and black velvet costume of the tightrope walker And of course Petit and company were documenting all of this. Marsh has admirably gathered all the images, plus simulations, plus the present-day talking heads, several in French, the others in English. This time simulations seem quite justifiable. There are things we need to see--particularly the crew dodging and hiding from guards on the towers.

It's all like a game; a lark. And at the same time, lethal, dangerous, and a defiance of the laws of man and God. The simulations are appropriate because this is all so unreal anyway. Why not add a little fakery?

Philippe Petit is more than a little bit strange. And in some indefinable way he is also quintessentially French.. Not only has he an incredible insensitivity to danger (and drive to overcome it), but this diminutive, almost weightless fellow has his unmistakably Napoleonic side, his grandiosity. But also playfulness. One of the best moments is when he is being arrested and photographed (charge: trespassing; event description: "man on wire"), he takes a policeman's uniform cap and balances it on his forehead by the bill, then flips it onto his head. His exploit had made him a celebrity and a mascot. He enhanced life, made a partly clunky new landmark beautiful and remarkable.

After the event, he knew he was famous. How can you ask me if I'm thirsty, he says to a psychiatrist, when 300 journalists are waiting to interview me? And his first act after release was, as somebody put it "to bang a groupie," which he himself describes as "disgusting." Maybe he was steadier out on the wire, where he remained for half an hour, high over New York, without a net, crossing and re-crossing eight times by his friend's count. And then afterwards, somehow things were so bent out of shape that he ended two key relationships--with his girlfriend and his collaborator (both of whom help narrate this film).

This is troubling, but Petit is also wise, a saintly kind of man, immune to ordinary temptations (except groupies?). When asked why he'd done it, he said: "If I see three oranges, I have to juggle. And if I see two towers, I have to walk." The psychiatrist judged him "same and ebullient." His was a pure act, an existential declaration of joy, an example of how to live life daily to the fullest. "Every day for him was a work of art," says his girlfriend. "L'art pour l'art," art for art's sake, is his motto. All of which is pretty thought-provoking, and may be inspiring. At a time of many excellent documentaries, this one seems indispensable. It provides a very pure kind of thrill. Needless to say after 9/11, the buildings gone, the recreation of this moment evokes nostalgia and loss.

Actually Petit has done much since the event. Right afterward the charges of trespassing and criminal conduct were dropped with the promise that he would perform juggling acts for children in Central Park, and he was given a permanent pass to the towers. A policeman interviewed at the time says when he watched, he knew he was seeing something unlike anything he'd ever see again. Sometimes you do know. When he was interviewed for this film, he was artist in residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

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i need some guidance, please MikeyBabyBooBop
Was it really that dangerous? Hinzy9
Did anyone here ever get to visit the World Trade Center? Rabipelado
What makes this movie so deserving of acclaim? pbechard
What was the deal with the guard??? mercurychild33
Who else laughed out loud... deen_lim
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