Man on Wire
Rated PG
A documentary about Philippe Petit's tightrope walk between the twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center, in 1974...
Man on Wire won the prestigious Special Jury Award and Audience Award at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the International Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Standard Life Audience Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
The film has also won the Jury Prize and Audience Award in the World Cinema: Documentary competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Man on Wire is the sixth film to pick up both top awards at Sundance, and the first from outside the US.
In February 2009, the film won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film.
It also won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 81st annual Oscars.
Right: Philippe Petit's acceptance speech included balancing the Oscar on his chin.
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
ABC - At the Movies
Margaret: four stars. David: four stars
Review by David Stratton
From the very first moment 18-year-old Frenchman Philippe Petit read about the construction of the World Trade Center in New York he became obsessed with the idea of walking on a tightrope between the twin towers.
As a warm-up, he performed his high-wire act between the spires of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and between the pylons on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Petit and his assistants went to the most elaborate lengths to plan his illegal stunt at the World Trade Center in January 1974.
Sufferers from vertigo be warned: MAN ON WIRE contains some of the most amazing scenes of hire-wire brilliance ever filmed.
And the great advantage for British director James Marsh, when he was making this eye-popping documentary, is that the obviously well-to-do Petit had made sure that everything he did was filmed, not only the stunts themselves, in Paris, Sydney and New York, but also behind the scenes insights into rehearsals and practice for the main event.
Marsh also includes scenes that have been re-enacted for the film, some – like Petit’s libidinous encounter with a sexy groupie – of questionable value.
Petit himself is an amazing character, full of ego and self-confidence, brazenly well aware of the fact that he used people, including a long-suffering girlfriend, and then cast them aside.
Whatever you think of him, though, you’ll be totally amazed by his incredibly daring exploits.
Further comments
DAVID: Margaret?
MARGARET: I think you're a bit unfair, because she is very generous in the film in recollecting.
DAVID: She is, but still...
MARGARET: And, I mean, part of my appreciation of it was, you know, her awe and wonder at what he actually achieved.
DAVID: Yeah. Yeah.
MARGARET: And, truly, it is sublime. And I think that, you know, with hindsight and knowing what has happened to those twin towers...
DAVID: Yes.
MARGARET: ...there's an amazing poignancy...
DAVID: Well, that adds...
MARGARET: ...that he's used them for this sublimely mystical experience, in a way.
DAVID: Yeah.
MARGARET: When other's have used them in such a disgustingly destructive way.
DAVID: Yeah.
MARGARET: So there's all that behind the film.
DAVID: Well, there's no doubt that adds a lot to it.
MARGARET: But it's also, you know, really well made.
DAVID: Yeah.
MARGARET: Mind you, he had a lot of material to work with.
DAVID: Yeah.
MARGARET: But it's...
DAVID: But, again, we've been talking about documentaries where the director is too intrusive.
MARGARET: Yeah.
DAVID: Here it's a very, very well made documentary. I think there's no doubt about that.
MARGARET: Yes. Well, you get the feeling that Petit himself is not too far behind the scenes but at the same time, you know, it's actually quite wonderful. I'm giving it four stars.
DAVID: Me too. Four stars.
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