robowriter:

I managed to catch a preview for Man on Wire, a fine and poetic documentary about the French acrobat Philippe Petit's grandest clandestine coup: walking on a wire suspended between the twin towers at the top of the World Trade Center in 1974. (A consummate wirewalker since his teens, Petit went back and forth several times across the span and even knelt and laid down on the wire as if he were taking a snooze.) Described in his own words and through interviews with his former collaborators, archival film, and reenactments, Petit waxes lyrical about what motivates his acrobatic gift and his lifelong dream (since age 11) to walk between the two towers. (His is not the corporate mindset. Indeed, he has a great sense of humor.) The first part of the movie describes the cabal (or coterie) of friends gathered to scope out and plan what essentially amounts to a heist in reverse: smuggling in and setting up tons of equipment under the cover of night -- with guards close at hand for hours at a time. This part is full of dry humor and the audience laughed often. The second part describes the wirewalk itself. You could have heard a pin drop in the audience. Man on Wire is a documentary with heart -- but heart so intense at the time that it turns out impossible to maintain in the long term. (The caper cost Petit at least two of the closest relationships he had.) 4 stars. (8/18/08)

ezj 968963:

Man on Wire is a spectacular film. I was not familiar with Phillipe Petit?s tight rope walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center before I watched Man on Wire, but it has quickly become one of my favorite moments in human history. It became more amazing when you realize that they broke into the WTC to accomplish the feat. The film covers the planning, the break-in, and the act. Each section works seamlessly together. The planning sets up the impossible dream, the break-in is exhilarating, and the act is a realization of the impossible dream. It?s extremely beautiful, and for me works better than Rocky to inspire me to achieve my dreams.

Lost_In_NJ:

What this man did was pretty remarkable, but I found this documentary only mildly interesting. Even though it's only 94 minutes long, I felt it would have been better if edited down to a shorter film.

dqg 1810595:

Wow. This will be my first review. And WOW!! I know nothing of documentary filmmaking or what constitutes documentary filmmaking, but I can confidently say that Man On Wire is a spectacular film!! Phillippe Petit is a remarkable man. I see in Petit a man so in love with life that he risks death. That, quite simply, is the true reason to watch this film. I smiled so often during this feature it would be nearly impossible to point to one moment that truly stood out. Not only does Petit have an uncanny talent for storytelling, but he had and extraordinary lust for life - that alone is worth the price of admission. NOTE: I viewed this film at a time in my life when I truly needed to be reminded of how lucky I was - how much life was TRULY worth - and I found it. Many thanks to Phillippe Petit, James March and all other involved in the crossing of the WTC and production of this film!

tebes:

This film documents an extraordinary accomplishment by an extraordinary person. First, Philippe Petit has the gaule (he is French) to walk across the World Trade Center towers before they are even built. Second, his skill is incredible. Third, he is so passionate and so poetic as well as his crew. Fourth, the movie direction is first-rate in that it is constructed like a thriller and was made in 2008 and documents an event 34 years previously. We see the characters currently during interviews and 34 years earlier in what looks like home movies but is really dramatizations. An incredible film.

WideStance:

When I first heard what James Marsh's Man on Wire was about--performance artist Phililppe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers--my immediate question was how he got the wire from one tower to the other. And after seeing the movie, I have to say that I still don't know. I saw how he did it, but it still just doesn't seem possible. Man on Wire is hands down the most fun I've had at a movie all year! It's an exciting, funny as hell and completely awe-inspiring story of big dreams, obsession, teamwork, sticktoitiveness and dumb luck. When I saw it last month, a lightning storm knocked the power out with just a couple minutes of the film left to go. The movie was over for the most part, just another minute or two of an epilogue and the end credits remained. But nobody moved. Everybody just remained in their seats in the pitch dark, nobody left in the 5-or-so minutes of darkness and silence before the projector started back up. Everyone seemed frozen in the magic of what we had just seen. A remarkable and thrilling moviegoing experience not to be missed.

ykf 483620:

A story so incredible that it's hard to believe it's actually true. Did you know that a man once tight roped walked between the Twin Towers? I didn't. And this is an amazing story that's brought to life by an amazing director. This doc is one of the most solid films that I've seen all year. It tells it's story with such panache that I couldn't help, but love it. It basically follow this whacky Frenchman who gets the idea to tightrope walk across the tallest buildings in the US. He's done stunts like this before and does them for no reason in particular, other than that he loves doing it. That's why the film is actually a broader discussion on how to live your life passionately. The coverage that they got of this event are incredible. There is footage from everything with the starting stunts all the way to the actual events. Some of the shots of the Twin Towers were especially awe inspiring and I think almost worth the price of admission alone. Anyway, the other interesting thing in this film is that when there's not footage, the director takes artistic license to create his own images. This is truly a new generation of doc director. Artists like James Marsh and Alex Gibney are really bringing us a golden age of documentary with completely revised rules on style. We're moving away from the cinema verite model that was made popular by directors like the Maysles and towards more artistic re-envisioning of the genre. This is a great film to see that new style in action. I loved the film and I highly recommend it to all.

WideStance:

When I first heard what James Marsh's Man on Wire was about--performance artist Phililppe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers--my immediate question was how he got the wire from one tower to the other. And after seeing the movie, I have to say that I still don't know. I saw how he did it, but it still just doesn't seem possible. Man on Wire is hands down the most fun I've had at a movie all year! It's an exciting, funny as hell and completely awe-inspiring story of big dreams, obsession, teamwork, sticktoitiveness and dumb luck. When I saw it last month, a lightning storm knocked the power out with just a couple minutes of the film left to go. The movie was over for the most part, just another minute or two of an epilogue and the end credits remained. But nobody moved. Everybody just remained in their seats in the pitch dark, nobody left in the 5-or-so minutes of darkness and silence before the projector started back up. Everyone seemed frozen in the magic of what we had just seen. A remarkable and thrilling moviegoing experience not to be missed.

Supercords:

The brilliance of director James Marsh is how he created an intriguing, sometimes thrilling documentary around the simple act of wire walking. It doesn?t hurt that the key players are great story tellers and complete naturals in front of the camera. The other secret to this film?s success is the documentary within the documentary?that is, the story of the Twin Towers. Just as interesting as the tale of how a man walked between two towers is the historical footage of them going up. Two beyond human feats intertwined into one gripping movie. Rating: B+

javeryt:

Absolutely astounding this ever actually happened. Some details I wish had been explained in more detail, but that is what Wikipedia is for. With the obvious sad fate of the towers now written in the pages of history, it makes for a very moving and... (read more) Absolutely astounding this ever actually happened. Some details I wish had been explained in more detail, but that is what Wikipedia is for. With the obvious sad fate of the towers now written in the pages of history, it makes for a very moving and powerful film.

VJ Purplequeen:

What an amazing adventure this movie was, with parts so raw and visceral,and yet overall the movie felt polished at the same time. I enjoyed how it was edited, with the talking heads being inserted at mostly appropriate times. It was quite a look into obssession, and thrill seeking, accomplishment and genius or madness, But added in maybe a bit of truth. The man could walk on wire, and what an extraordinary skill that is. He accomplished his goal, he didn't die. He achieved fame. He lost his "inseparable" love and some friends, who also lost him. This movie is an engaging look into the mind and life of Phillipe, the wire walker.

demonduck:

While the movie is occasionally beautiful and of course the story itself is just amazing, I was distracted by Philippe's flamboyant megalomania and it diminished what I had hoped to be an inspiring and magical glimpse into the forgotten past. This is certainly where I'm letting my judgment of the man derail the broader objectives of the story but Philippe's story seemed embarrassingly self-indulgent. But then, it can be argued that it is precisely this that makes for a good entertainer.

BlueVoid:

A documentary thats in a class of its own. Man on Wire isnt simply about a tightrope walker crossing the Twin Towers, but a suspenseful and thrilling caper film. Director James Marsh artfully constructs the film in such a way that leaves you in constant awe and intrigue of the films colorful subject, Philippe Petit. Philippe adds a certain charm to the film, exuding enthusiasm for his work, where even during the interviews he is barely able to contain is passion for his art. This is one of the best documentaries ever made, and one of the best films of the year.

Author Allen:

Simply put, Man on Wire is a great documentary. Philippe Petit, a circus performer and wirewalker, made a name for himself by wire walking across several significant locations in the early 70's, including the Harbor Bridge in Sydney, Australia and Notre Dame in his native France. Once Petit read about the building of the World Trade Center at age 19, he found his life's greatest challenge. Told through a mix of first-hand interviews, home movies, and newsreels, the film's story progresses like a great caper. (Petit and co. never had permission to do any of these stunts; all were done through sneaking and trespassing in the days before terrorism and security was an international concern.) Interestingly, the film includes a lot of home movies and professional crew footage taken when Petit was planning for and conducting this walk. At times, I thought I was watching reenactments only to discover most of the film used actual footage from events. Best of all, the film's final moments include breathtaking and amazing footage of Petit walking between the two towers. Man on Wire is an engaging film that exemplifies passion for life and the fantastic feats man is capable of accomplishing by dreaming the impossible. Highly recommended.

JoShannon:

Really a nice film. At times, this feels like a light-hearted Errol Morris film, the way the subjects are interviewed, the use of footage and music. Engaging the whole way through.

Mister C:

One of the most satisfying things I have watched recently. Though it is a documentary, dramatized portions make it play like a Mission Impossible episode -- and with almost as much suspense.

lpy 1043793:

I know I am in the minority in saying this but I did not enjoy this film at all. I think it is highly overrated. The film is slow and erratic, and drags on. I found Petit to be unrelatable, highly dramatic for the camera, and frankly a little crazy. I felt bad for his friends and girlfriend. I wanted to find beauty in Petit's obsession but I just couldn't. The film did look nice however, the reenactments were shot beautifully and the mix of old home movies was refreshing. But unless you are interested in wire walking I really cannot recommend this movie.

lastliberal:

The front runner for this years Oscar: Won the Audience Award and was named best documentary at Sundance 2008; Won BritDocs top prize; Rated 100% at RottenTomatoes; Roger Ebert gives it 4/4 stars saying it is Constructed like a first-rate thriller. This film demands to be seen. Now, I personally think this guy is crazy, but he certainly has incredible passion for what he does. He knew he was going to do the World Trade center before it was even built. The thrill of executing this mad plan after a year of planning was very exciting. They snuck a ton of equipment up to the top. It was incredible! The impossible becomes possible. The celebration afterwards was also typically French. Bravo Pierre!

simplygreg:

There is little that is life changing about this story except the connection felt as you watch a person with a singular dream to do the impossible accomplish it. Because that is what it is to live.