©2008 Jean-Louis Blondeau / Polaris Images  

'The artistic crime of the century'

Man on Wire (2008)

Monday 15th September 7:30p.m. Reel Cinema, Andover 

Directed by James Marsh.

Philippe Petit had already walked between the spires of Notre Dame in 1971, and then conquered the Sydney Harbour Bridge. On August 7th 1974, he stepped out on a wire suspended between the New York's twin towers of New York's World Trade Center. After dancing on the wire for over three quarters of an hour, with no safety net or harness, he was arrested and thrown into prison.

Using the testimony of Petit’s team, the film takes us through the adventure that became known as "the artistic crime of the century". The team had to find a way round the security system; to smuggle the wire and rigging equipment into the towers; to suspend and secure the wire; to rig it by night. There were no safety measures and no second chances.

Cosmo Landesman, writing in the Sunday Times, calls it one of the greatest heist films of all times. Two things make this gripping docudrama so different, he continues: it’s all true, and the only thing stolen is air. Landesman sees the walk as an audacious act of human rebellion — one that defied the authority of man (the police) and nature (the laws of gravity). He feels that the film has taken the twin towers away from the terrorists and the killers, and given it back to the poets and the eccentrics — people who see a place to dance, not a chance to destroy. He may be right. Alternatively, Philippe Petit may have made the second biggest statement about what the First World’s skyscrapers and business centres mean to – and for – the world in general.

Perhaps, though, it was just a bit of fun. As Petit himself says: “Americans kept asking me why I did it. But there was no why.” 

Reviews & Comments Received After The Presentation

Did you see the film?  Write your review for the website and email it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 Man on Wire (2008)

Directed by James Marsh, Man On Wire tells the story of Philippe Petit, a charismatic wire-walker.
   When a young teenager, Petit came across a magazine article about the construction of the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center, and had been fascinated by the buildings ever since. The film documents Petit’s development as a wire-walker, leading up to August 7th 1974, when he stepped out on a cable suspended between the tops of the towers.
   We meet the team, see how they conquered the spires of Notre Dame, and then Sydney Harbour Bridge, and learn how they found their way round the World Trade Center’s security system, figuring out how to smuggle the wire and rigging equipment into the towers, to suspend and secure the wire, to rig it by night.
   After dancing on the wire for over three quarters of an hour, walking back and forth between the towers no less than eight times – with no safety net or harness – Petit was arrested.
   Marsh’s documentary makes full use of old home-movie footage, dramatic reconstruction, contemporary photographs and above all, interviewed testimony of Petit and his team. It’s a fascinating piece of editing, well reinforced by an excellent score by Michael Nyman. Petit’s an engaging, if egocentric hero, and his team is made up of enthusiastic hippy-type amateurs and at least one boyhood friend who takes it seriously.
   But is the film any good? The answer is an emphatic “yes”. Even though we know from the beginning that Petit will succeed in the end, Marsh builds the tension with perfect pace. The backdrop is seventies rebellion and there’s a great period flavour. We might still have one or two questions about what some of the characters actually did, but we forget these while we’re laughing at some absurd moment. (How about the Frenchman, for example, who believes people will think he’s American if he carries a lot of pens in his top pocket?)
   Had I been watching the film on television, I might have popped out in the middle to put the kettle on during a slower piece, but it would have taken ages to make the tea as I kept rushing back to see what was next. But watching it on the box, at least for the fist time, would have been a mistake. This is documentary for the big screen. Sit near the front so that you have to crane your neck to see the tiny dot of a man 1350 feet up. Come out of the cinema smiling. 

Hans van Well

[Reviewer’s opinions are not necessarily those of the Film Club]