Man on Wire (2008)

“If I die,what a beautiful death”- Philippe Petit





There is no chance of really giving any spoilers to this film as the poster clearly tells you what this film is about. And I will say, its a MAGNIFICENT account of Philippe Petit's walk on a tightrope between the once famous Twin Towers in 1974. Philippe basically narrates the story but it does jump back and forth abit between his training, the actual planning of the event, his early years etc and then the re-enactments of actually illegally hauling tons of equipment to the top of the towers undetected. However, the story is very easy to follow and he tells it so well. He's very animated and dramatic besides being a funny guy. He also tells the story with such passion you can hardly contain yourself by the time he actually steps out into the clouds. We are also treated to some footage of when he walked over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Notre Dame de Paris but obviously these were minor feats compared to his Twin Tower walk.I'm not going to mention the suffering of a serious case of vertigo more than once in my chair, nor the involuntary kegels I kept getting every time the camera panned over the edge of the towers while watching this movie...



Rather you then me!!



He starts basically from the beginning when he heard about the towers being built and actually managed to convince himself they were being built especially for him. You also know from very early in the film that he was going to do this walk, regardless of what stood in his way and if it was the very last walk he ever took. He explains the intricacies involved in detail, such as the tightness of the rope, weather conditions 450m above the ground and of course, the problem of getting his wire from the one tower to the other. His friends who help him achieve this goal, also give very interesting details and interviews regarding the events.

I have to say, when he finally walks out on the rope, its very hard not to feel emotional or moved as it really is beautiful. I found it hard not to cry. For 45 minutes he literally danced, lay down, taunted the police and even saluted. There is no live footage of the actual stunt from the roof tops but the pics really do say it all. Over and above the actual story, I just want to mention that this film has some awesome footage of the building of the towers. I also tried not to think too much of what became of the towers and 9/11 but you cant help but think of the victims who where stuck on the top floors and jumped...this film puts in perspective just how high it actually is up there.



Having a chat with God?



The irony is not lost on me...

I lmao when he said after he came off the rope and was arrested on the spot by police, the most dangerous part of the whole episode was when he was handcuffed and almost shoved down a flight of stairs, nearly breaking his neck. I absolutely LOVE LOVE this film and have it on all my wishlists, this one is a definite keeper.

Please note that if you do download get this from somewhere, make sure you grab the .srt file too as a lot of it is in french and you will need the subtitles.