Man on Wire 1

One can imagine the height of the two World Trade Center towers; 1 World Trade Center standing at 1,368 feet and 2 World Trade Center at 1,362 feet. To the average person, the very thought of being inside one of those buildings at the highest floor might be intimidating. To those same people, the thought of walking across the gap between them is most likely flat out ridiculous; but to Phillipe Petit, a French daredevil from Nemours, it's exhilarating.

The 2008 British-American documentary Man on Wire shows Phillippe's exploits into walking between then-tallest buildings in the world. It contains many of the tropes the average moviegoer would be able to point out in a traditional documentary: interviews, B-roll footage, real world footage, etc., but what makes this 94 minute feature worthy of it's Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature is - by and large - is it's creative usage of these cinema tropes, as well as Petit's almost psychotic enthusiasm towards his great feat. 

This is enhanced by much of the real world footage used in the film, such as actual footage and photos of Petit and his crew's preparation for the unworldly feat. This real world footage allows the viewer to really get intimate with Petit and his crew, and perfectly outlines each detailed step that went towards accomplishing the stunt. It's very easy to see why this was awarded Best Documentary Feature, as its creative usage of basic documentary techniques sets it apart from the rest entirely.