Man on Wire (2008)

How sad is this?

Best movie ever!

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

You got to know a little more about Phillipe ' s training as a high wire performer. The movie was very accurate to the documentary, but I don't think it's something I would watch many times. Sort of like how the moment in 1974 was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the story would be more exciting if I was there, but I wasn't born yet.

The guy who accomplished this, is not only insane but he's also a great storyteller. The way he describes the tiny details of what was going through his head during this whole thing is very enjoyable. This documentary is about the guy who illegally walked on a tightrope between the two world trade center buildings.

Man on Wire is a fascinating documentary about Philippe Petite's planning and wire crossing between the World Trade Center twin towers in 1975. It shows vintage recordings about the preliminary works and discussions, the re-enactment of some other episodes, and interviews with all the members of the team involved. What a bunch of wonderful fools they were!The story is amazing, like taken from a film that has a mix of comedy, action and adventure. Yet, it is not a film. Petite has been doing this forever, some of Petite's other highlights being the crossing between the two towers of Notre Dame in Paris and the crossing of the two pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which are also discussed in the film.Petite is an unique man with an infectious enthusiasm, an unconventional look at life, and a life that is truly wow. The episode about which the film revolves is a mix of dreamy poetic defiance of what we think it is possible for a human being to do, mixed with a good dose of humour and luck, and an inexplicable conviction that Petite would make it to the other side. It is wonderful witnessing his passion for life and his inner push to have his dreams come true. Michael Nyman provides the perfect background soundtrack to the film, and it is just the cherry on the cake.I thoroughly enjoyed the film. However, Petite is more than the crossing of the WTC towers. Perhaps the thing that I enjoyed more was Petite's enthusiasm, vision and approach to life, so I would have wanted the documentary to focus a bit more on the man behind the man on the wire. What I missed the most was just that, more details about the man himself, his childhood, family, ways of financing his crazy projects, what he did/does when he is not doing one of his crazy stunts, how he prepares mentally for any challenge, what he did afterwards, and a few more insights into the man not just the entertainer, which is what mostly see in this doco. That is, precisely, the main shortcoming of the film, to me.

Interesting, and sometimes even exciting, documentary.The story of Frenchman Philippe Petit's daring tightrope-walk between the two towers of the World Trade Centre in 1974. Shows the backstory - him growing up, his previous escapades (including walking between two pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge), the planning of the World Trade Centre event, the setup and finally the execution of the event.Quite exciting. Even though he obviously survived (as he was interviewed for the documentary) you do feel all the tension and danger involved in his feat. Being scared of heights only made me even more anxious... All the planning and setup was intriguing too.With the documentary being made several years after 9/11, all the footage of the World Trade Centre is quite nostalgic.On the downside, I couldn't relate to why he would want to do something like that. Being fairly practical and plus risk-averse (plus, as mentioned before, having a fear of heights), I just could not see why did did it, or does what he does as a profession. In the movie, Philippe Petit tries to explain, as best he could, why he does what he does, and his explanation has some merit, but to me he is just taking unnecessary risks.Whatever his motivations, the movie still makes for enthralling viewing.