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Man on Wire | 
 enlarge | Director: James Marsh
Actor: Philippe Petit
Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $26.98
Buy New: $18.99
You Save: $7.99 (30%)
New (10) Used (6) from $15.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 135
Format: Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 94
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 10156
UPC: 876964001564
EAN: 0876964001564
ASIN: B001E5FYS8
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: December 9, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
On aug 7 1974 a young frenchman names philippe petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the world trade centers twon towers. After dancing for nearly an hour on the wire he was arrested. This documentary incorporates petits footage to show the numerous extraordinary challenges he faced. Studio: Magnolia Pict Hm Ent Release Date: 12/09/2008 Rating: Pg13
Amazon.com
Native New Yorkers know to expect the unexpected, but who among them could've predicted that a man would stroll between the towers of the World Trade Center? French high-wire walker Philippe Petit did just that on August 7th, 1974. Petit's success may come as a foregone conclusion, but British filmmaker James Marsh's pulse-pounding documentary still plays more like a thriller than a non-fiction entry--in fact, it puts most thrillers to shame. Marsh (Wisconsin Death Trip, The King) starts by looking at Petit's previous stunts. First, he took on Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral, then Sydney's Harbour Bridge before honing in on the not-yet-completed WTC. The planning took years, and the prescient Petit filmed his meetings with accomplices in France and America. Marsh smoothly integrates this material with stylized re-enactments and new interviews in which participants emerge from the shadows as if to reveal deep, dark secrets which, in a way, they do, since Petit's plan was illegal, "but not wicked or mean." The director documents every step they took to circumvent security, protocol, and physics as if re-creating a classic Jules Dassin or Jean-Pierre Melville caper. Though still photographs capture the feat rather than video, the resulting images will surely blow as many minds now as they did in the 1970s when splashed all over the media. Not only did Petit walk, he danced and even lay down on the cable strung between the skyscrapers. Based on his 2002 memoir, Man on Wire defines the adjective "awe-inspiring." --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
Man on Wire is Spellbinding! January 8, 2009
Man on Wire is technically a documentary but feels like a good drama with humor, suspense and character development. I was only vaguely familiar with the actual history so I was completely blown away by Petit's incredible feats. I originally saw it on the big screen; I think the DVD will be best appreciated on as large a flatscreen as you can get.
A documentary equal to its subject January 7, 2009
Imagine this: a man stretches a cable between two buildings at a height of a quarter of a mile, walks out to the middle, and lays down on it. What kind of a man could do such a thing? That is the question director James Marsh asks, and answers, in this superb documentary.
In doing so, he skillfully blends present-day interviews with footage and photographs from the past and re-enactment that is so good it takes most of the film before one realizes that some of these scenes could only have been re-created with actors. This is documentary storytelling at its very best.
 An Amazing Individual January 6, 2009
Amazing documentary - not so much for the filming, which is rather amateurish, but for the capturing of the spirit of an extraordinary individual. One man soaring above the dominance of the physical structures, almost angelic compared to the demons who could only destroy them 27 years later.
Looking At The Twin Towers In A Much Different (And Better) Light ... January 2, 2009
What many considered "the artistic crime of the century," French high-wire walker Philippe Petit did what today would be impossible (because they don't exist and because of security) by performing a tightrope walk between New York City's World Trade Center twin towers ...in 1974.
The feat itself isn't as interesting as the preparation and the history behind Philippe's successful walk. Having scaled between the arches at Notre Dame and the Harbor Bridge pillars in Sydney, Australia, Philippe's goal from early on was to walk on a wire much, much higher. At just over 1,350 above street level, the twin towers were his goal.
Friends and even workers within New York's buildings aided Philippe in surprising ways. Many backed out when they realized how close he was to actually doing it, worried that if he fell to his death they would be partially responsible.
But nothing was going to hold Philippe back. Security guards, wind, fog and fearful friends all plagued his attempt ...to no avail.
As stated earlier, the preparation was fascinating, showing the documentary watcher the tensile strength needed to span the buildings, the bypassing of security guards, and the near failure of the entire episode because of a severe sagging of the wire during its initial deployment. The tense nature of how the story unfolded was pretty phenomenal. Looking up from the ground at Philippe as he walked the wire was simply awe-inspiring; he looked like a speck against the higher clouds.
Arrested after his successful walk, the words "Man on wire" appeared on the violation written up by the New York P.D., which is where the film gained its title. But the film is much more than a simple man doing a tightrope walk. It's a historical recounting of one man's goal to achieve what seemed unachievable.
It is strange to see a man doing something artistically dangerous -- and illegal -- on things that no longer exists. Perhaps that added to my enjoyment of the documentary. After watching the horribleness of 9/11 time and time again, it was unique and refreshing to see something being done to the towers of a quaint and beautiful nature. Something that many Americans probably have trouble attributing to the twin towers now. Which is why you should watch this.
Thank you, Philippe.
Captures the Amazement & Exhilaration of History's Greatest High Wire Act. January 1, 2009
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Man on Wire" explores the execution and experience of one of the world's most famous artistic spectacles. Philippe Petit's wirewalk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. When he was 17 years old, Petit read an article about plans for the World Trade Center in New York that inspired the dream that would take 6 1/2 years to realize. James Marsh's film intertwines three threads as it builds toward its climax. It offers a blow-by-blow account of the dramatic feat that played out on August 6-7; it follows the construction of the Towers, seemingly built just for Philippe's ambitions; and it takes us through the years of preparation by Philippe and his accomplices. There are recent interviews, archival footage of Philippe's team, and a moody black-and-white reenactment of the events that unfold as the participants recount their experiences.
This is a competent documentary about an amazing feat of daring and artistry. It's serious in its intensity while embracing humor as well, and the preparation in France and New York is entertaining. But the film's ability to capture the passion and dedication that motivated Philippe Petit make it a great documentary, not just a good one. He's a man with a real lust for life, apparently completely free of neuroses, which he expresses through performance, particularly on the high wire. He might be the only wirewalker in the past 50 years who does not confine his art to the circus. I think the rest are afraid of going splat. Philippe Petit isn't, and, by the end of this film, we understand why. That's its great accomplishment. Philippe is 60 years old, still remarkably youthful and as passionate as he was at 25, so his interviews are terrific.
Director James Marsh emphasizes the human drama through the perspective of Philippe's accomplices, while Philippe's own point of view is more one of concentration and glee. Four men ascended the Towers and rigged the wire after months of scouting the site: Philippe and Jean-Francois Heckel on the roof of the South Tower, Jean-Louis Blondeau and American Alan Welner on the North Tower. Jean-Louis was the only one of the team that planned the walk, apart from Philippe, who stuck with the project, the others having abandoned it for fear it would mean Philippe's death. And Jean-Louis said it was the worst wire he had ever rigged. These men are interviewed, along with those who participated in the preparation, including Philippe's then-girlfriend Annie Allix. In sum, this is an awe-inspiring account of an great feat of diligence and faith. In English and French with subtitles.
The DVD (Magnolia 2008): "Sydney Harbour Bridge Crossing 1973" (20 min) is a short documentary by James Ricketson about Philippe Petit's preparation and execution of his wirewalk between the pylons of the Australian bridge, aided by Mark Lewis, who recounts his role in the feat. "Philippe Petit Interview" (13 min) is a long but interesting interview in which Petit talks about his passion for wirewalking, his approach to life, and what it all means to him. "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers" (10 min) is an animated film for children that recounts the story of the Twin Towers walk. There are optional Spanish subtitles for the feature film. The English subtitles are not optional.
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