Psycho (1960) #joelkirkland

The film we viewed was Psycho it came out in the (1960) it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock it stared   Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles. I think the film was very phenomenal i liked how every
scene was really productive also i would say they could've did a better job with some of the movie affect back then making
making it look more realistic. For example when the first victim got stabbed in the shower it didn't really seem real because how they made it look 
then when the investigator got stabbed in the face the graphical image didn't seem realistic because he had more than enough time to see and get away from 
psycho son with different characteristics but one thing that shocked me that the mom was really dead. I would've thought they faked her death but instead
it was the son pretending to be the mom messing with everyone head. 

The film we viewed was Psycho.  It came out in 1960.  It was directed by Alfred Hitchcock.  It starred Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, and Vera Miles. I think the film was very phenomenal. I liked how every scene was really productive [???].  SPOILER ALERT!!! Also I would say they could've done a better job with some of the movie’s effects back then making it look more realistic. For example, when the first victim got stabbed in the shower it didn't really seem real because how they made it look.  Then when the investigator got stabbed in the face the graphical image didn't seem realistic because he had more than enough time to see and get away from psycho son with different characteristics but one thing that shocked me that the mom was really dead [consider revising for clarity] I would've thought they faked her death but instead it was the son pretending to be the mom messing with everyone head.

"Sugar" By Siramad Gonzalez

Sugar.
Director Ryan Fleek and Anna Boden.
Feat Algenis Perez Soto,
Sony Pictures Classics, 2009

Sugar is a 2008 sports drama film. This film is directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Main person in this film. It follows a story of Miguel Santos a.k.a Sugar (Algenis Perez Soto). Sugar is Dominican pitcher from San Pedro de Macoris. He is trying to make it to the professional baseball teams. Sugar keeps going to different camps to see what his skills are and see if he world make it in the pros.

The film has a lot of diversity and shows difficulties that people face today with their race and trying to make themselves better as a person. Even though all the downfalls and him being far away from his family he is staying strong and positive.

Norman Bates Isn't The Only Psycho

In Psycho, Hitchcock allows the audience to become a subjective character within the plot to enhance the film's psychological effects for an audience that is forced to recognize its own neurosis and psychological inadequacies as it is compelled to identify, for varying lengths of time, with the contrasting personalities of the film's main characters. Hitchcock conveys an intensifying theme in Psycho, that bases itself on the unending subconscious battle between good and evil that exists in everyone through the audience's subjective participation and implicit character parallels. Psycho begins with a view of a city that is arbitrarily identified along with an exact date and time. The camera, seemingly at random, chooses first one of the many buildings and then one of the many windows to explore before the audience is introduced to Marion and Sam. Hitchcock's use of random selection creates a sense of normalcy for the audience. In other words, the suspicion has not come too strong too soon. The fact that the city and room were arbitrarily identified impresses upon the audience that their own lives could be applied to the events that are about to follow. It’s, very much, realistic. In the opening sequence of Psycho, Hitchcock succeeds in capturing the audience's initial senses of awareness and suspicion while allowing it to identify with Marion's helpless situation. The audience's sympathy toward Marion is heightened with the introduction of Cassidy whose crude boasting encourages the audience's dislike of his character. Cassidy's blatant statement that all unhappiness can be bought away with money, provokes the audience to form a justification for Marion's theft of his forty thousand dollars. As Marion begins her journey, the audience is drawn farther into the depths of what is disturbingly abnormal behavior although they are compelled to identify and sympathize with her actions. It is with Marion's character that Hitchcock first introduces the notion of a split personality to the audience. In the first part of the film, Marion has many interactions with windows and mirrors, symbolically telling us as viewers that we can see the effects of certain situations on her conscious mind. For example, Marion enters the secluded bathroom in order to have privacy while counting her money. The split personality motif reaches the height of its foreshadowing power as Marion battles both sides of her conscience while driving on an ominous and seemingly endless road toward the Bates Motel. Marion wrestles with the voices of those that her crime and disappearance has affected while the audience is compelled to recognize as to why they can so easily identify with Marion despite her wrongful actions.

While Norman Bates is our person that comes out to be our explicit psycho in the end of the story because of past psychological trauma, he isn’t the only being struggling with split personalities. Marion struggles, too, with different people in her mind, or personal demons, if you will. Just as Marion and Norman discuss of personal traps we put ourselves in, we also all struggle with personal demons, those voices that tell and sometimes convince us to do things we “normally” wouldn’t do. Or maybe those “bad things” are apart of our nature to start? Because of these questions, I recommend “Psycho” to everyone. The audience, although they had received a valid explanation for Norman's actions, is left terrified and confused by the last scene of Norman and the manifestation of his split personality. Faced with this spectacle, Hitchcock forces the audience to examine their conscious self in relation to the events that they had just subjectively played a role in. The fear that Psycho creates for the audience does not arise from the brutality of the murders but from the subconscious identification with the film's characters, all of whom reflect one side of a collective character. Hitchcock enforces the idea that all the basic emotions and sentiments derived from the film can be felt by anyone as the unending battle between good and evil exists in all aspects of life. The effective use of character parallels and the creation of the audience's subjective role in the plot allows Hitchcock to entice terror and convey a lingering sense of anxiety within the audience through a progressively intensifying theme. Hitchcock's brilliance as a director has put Psycho's place among the most reputable and profound [horror] films ever made.

Walking on a Thread

Man On Wire. Dir. James Marsh
                        Feat. Philippe Petit
                        Magnolia Pictures, 2008

     Man On Wire often had me feeling like I was on a wire. Philippe Petit a very courageous man who shared his stories of doing what he loved. Petit loved to walk across a tightrope many feet above the ground. He would spend hours practicing in a field with his friends. A couple of places he walked across were between the towers of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and across the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia, but the biggest challenge he gave himself was walking across the Twin Towers in New York City. Being 1,792 feet in the air, walking across a metal wire with nothing to protect yourself if you were to fall is scary to even imagine. Petit was all for taking on the challenge, of course he had his second thought and was nervous but it didn't stop him at all. As he walked across he stopped in the middle and would preform tricks. He leaned back, sat on the wire, and even laid on the wire. Some would say he had a death wish, but it was all about reaching and completing his goal.

          I enjoyed watching this film a lot. Hearing him tell the story was very interesting, but he also had people that were there throughout his journey. The way everyone talked about the event with so much emotion helped the audience of the film really grasp all the thoughts and feelings that everyone was having while helping Philippe train and complete his biggest goal. Not all biographies are interesting and fun to watch, but this now was. This film is one that I would recommend, it keeps you at the edge of your seat watching him preform all those walks at such a high altitude. The only slight downfall to the movie was that the story was told very slowly, but besides this was a great film.

Yasmin: "Endless Possiblities" Review

Rocky. Dir. John G. Avidsen,  Feat. Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa), Burgess Meredith (Mickey), Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed), Talia Shire (Adrian), and Burt Young (Paulie)  MGM, 1976.

   
  This was [is?] a great film; it was very interesting with an inspiring turn of events. At first, I wasn't really understanding the purpose of this film. I just thought it was men fighting to make ends meet, which is tragic [good observation]. Little did I know there a motivational meaning behind the purpose of this film.  The slow start made it difficul,,t for me to focus and become interested. It was an old [older; movies pictures have been around since the late nineteenth/early twentieth century - Rocky is around forty years old] film which made me even more uninterested [okay; at least you are being honest]. However, I had a total change of heart. It showed the true meaning of dedication and motivation for a passion. It demonstrates that opportunities are closer than we think [YES!].

     Rocky Balboa was a small-time boxer who was very kind-hearted and generous given his situation. At the beginning of the film, I thought that Rocky was one of the worst boxers in the boxing ring. It's the way the movie portrayed him. What I took from the film was that Rocky was a washed up boxer that had no talent. His manager treated him terribly and his value was knocked down. He was fighting the lowest and least skilled boxers, also known as bums. This tells me that if his opponent is a bum than Rocky was surely a lot less than that. The term bum was a recurring phrase in the film and it's [it's with an apostrophe means it is  -  not the possessive] meaning extends outside the ring to me. It gave me a glimpse into how his life was and how the world viewed him. It's clear to me that Rocky had a difficult life, but he was able to turn his life around with the help of his new girlfriend Adrian (Talia Shire). Rocky was chosen to take on the reigning World Heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), one of the toughest and undefeated boxers known to man. Rocky was terrified but also electrified at the opportunity. Imagine a washed up boxer, close to living an impoverished life, all of a sudden gets a golden opportunity that falls right in his lap. There were a lot of pros and cons to the situation but those cons and negative thoughts didn't persuade him to drive the other direction. In fact, it was the fear of a bigger loss and disappointment of not attempting to strive and go not go the distance.

     SPOILER ALERT!!! Rocky trained non-stop determined to go the distance, which in the end he did. He didn't defeat Apollo Creed, but he did gain respect and honor. That achievement made it known to the world that Rocky was much more than just a bum in the neighborhood. He gained that recognition that he always desperately wanted. Rocky knew he was much more than just another small-time boxer and that was definitely proven. His dedication and perseverance was made clear when he achieved his goals like going the distance and running up the Philadelphia Museum of Art staircase while the non-diegetic music was in the background. I would recommend this film to an audience that loves classic, emotional, and inspirational films that is just so breathtaking you would want to watch it again. 

Psycho By: Henry Seyue

          Psycho is a film that many people in 2017 may not even give the time of day because in our age of advanced imagery and graphic affects the thought of  a black-and-white film being entertaining seems a bit ludicrous. Of course when you're comparing across generational lines Citizen Kane wouldn't be as impressive as Forest Gump, but when you think about a films effect specifically within its generation you will see that some just stand outㅡPsycho is one of those films. As far as slashers go, viewers must take into consideration that this is a film that is a product of its time, that is to say that the gore and horror depicted in the film is in accordance with what was acceptable at the time. However, that does little to take away from the film's effect in the horror category as the film reaches it's conclusion.
          I'm not looking to laud Psycho any more than the film industry has already done because there are some flaws that I think must be acknowledged before I give Hitchcock any credit. For starters, the film includes some characters who I don't think add much to the film. By that I am mainly referring to a creepy police officer that appears in the beginning of the film to stalk our supposed main character inconclusively. The creepy stalking that Hitchcock devotes about 15 minutes of run time towards never comes back around to mean anything in the film. I figured the police officer might be of some relevance later in the film but this conjecture never comes to pass. This is something that slightly bothered me but the average viewer may not even pay much attention to it. Actually, it's something that some viewers might even want to give Hitchcock credit for because he adds the prospect of a police officer being our "psycho", however the way it is orchestrated isn't very entertaining. Secondly, the first 30+ minutes of the film is presented with the most inappropriately sinister, non-diegetic sound. A horror film isn't complete without a signature non-diegetic sound to alert the audience when a murder is about occur, or to put viewers on their toes during certain scenes. In this case that sound is inappropriately used when the supposed main character is doing simple things like driving or even having a normal conversation. It gets annoying pretty quickly when you are expecting something to go wrong in every scene and nothing happens. Besides this inappropriate use of horror movie music, my biggest beef with the film is the killing of a character that is in literally every scene for about the first 40 minutes of the film. I don't see why so much time is devoted to creating a connection between a character and the viewers just to kill them off. I will however admit that this leads to an interesting turn of events because you are then left wondering who the film will follow next. Essentially it becomes a film without a main character which is a risky move on Hitchcock's part.
          Aside from these minor complaints, Psycho is actually a pretty satisfying film. It has a low body count when compared to slasher successors like John Carpenter's Halloween, but there are no unnecessary deaths like the Halloween franchise. This is a film that I think may have not only influenced the creation of Halloween, but also 2017's split. Norman Bates dual personality disorder certainly had to have some influence on the mind of M. Night Shyamalan when he decided to create a character with 23 different personalities. While on the topic of influences it would be wrong to not acknowledge that Psycho clearly gave birth to the Netflix Original Bates Motel. Psycho is one of those films that transcends generational confines through it's influences in later generations, something that not many films can do. The film's ending might just be the best part. To find out that our seemingly innocent motel owner was playing both the role of a victim and a killer is a plot twist worthy of a standing ovation, due primarily to the convincing performance put on by Anthony Perkins. This ending is so unexpected that more than 60 years later I can still see why Hitchcock went to such great measures to ensure that the ending would not be spoiled. If I could rate this film off of influence alone I would probably have to give it a 9/10, but because there is so much more to a good film than just influence I'm going to give it a 7/10. That's in comparison to even the technologically advanced horror films that come years after psycho, which says a lot about the timelessness of a good film.

Ryan Fleck And Anna Boden "Sugar"

By 2008, more than 25 percent of major league baseball players were born in Latin America. Directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, Sugar is a sports movie about 19 year old Algenis Perez Soto (Miguel "Sugar" Santos) a kid from the Dominican Republican pitcher who grinds his way to the to top make it successful  to make it to the major league and put his family in a better place. To get ahead he plays professionally at a baseball academy in Dominican Republic. After playing very well during one of his game Miguel got the opportunity to go be a part of a major league team in the United States. Miguel joins the Kansas Knights and was signed to their single A team.

Personally I like Sugar  but I think I would of enjoyed the movie more if it was in English and instead of reading the subtitles. I would rate this movie a 6 out of 10 due to the fact I couldn't understand what they were saying. This movie is a perfect example of working hard for what you want. Starting from the bottom and working your way to the top. Miguel had nothing but still grind to put himself in a better position for him and his family.  I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who aspire to achieve anything in life. Now in society everything isn’t handed to you unless you're born with a silver spoon in your mouth. Eighty percent of people do have to work hard for the finer things and life to have a better living situation especially females. There is beauty in the struggle.

Man On Wire By Shanelle Lester

Man on Wire, a Grand Jury Prize that won the World Cinema Documentary and the World Cinema Audience Award, is a documentary directed by James Marsh that enlightens its audience about a man named Philippe Petit who was a tightrope walker with a dream and gained fame from his high wire walk between the Twin Towers in New York (obviously prior to September 11, 2001). Although Philippe was arrested, there was no shame or regrets of what he did, only relief and pride in his accomplishments. What he achieved was something no other man was able to do back in his time. It took Philippe a lot of planning and practicing walking on wires back at home so he could be prepared to take on the Twin Towers. The concept of this documentary was a man who was committed to wanting to achieve his goal. It taught people that they can do anything they want I they put their minds to it and stick with it, but it will be a bumpy road and a struggle  -  i you're committed you can work through it [walk the walk].

This documentary had an incredible background story featuring the struggles that Philippe had went through to accomplish his goals. Philippe hid from the cops, almost getting caught, he had also injured his leg stepping on a nail, but these setbacks didn’t stop him. The injury to his foot was actually an advantage to him because no one expects a man on crutches to be up something illegal. Nothing stopped Philippe from pursuing his belief that he would walk on a high wire between the Twin Towers and that of he doesn’t make it he’d die doing something he loves. Although Philippe was arrested he was neither mad nor sad about thinking of what the consequences would be; he was relieved  that he was able to accomplish something great. Philippe friendships didn't last  -  they kind of split apart once their mission was done. But they all were happy that they were able to be a  part of something so amazing but now it was onto something different something where their time together would come to an end.

A Bird? A Plane?

Man On Wire. Dir. James Marsh.

Feat. Philippe Petit (as himself).

Magnolia Pictures, 2008

Your biggest fear, is always pending. It's growth never stunts, and it's fire never burns out. It's something you've never imagined. Something that hurts to cross your mind, but it never will. Our minds come up with what they can handle, and anything beyond that idea is something we aren't allowing ourselves to believe as possible. It is not until after the fact, when we can look back and see the possibility of what could've happened, that we understand the depth and sincerity of what did happen. If today, you can look back and say that your biggest fear has become your truth, you are wrong. Our biggest fear is always something farther and greater, then what will ever happen, we cannot handle what we cannot predict. And after you survive what you believe the worst possible outcome will be, you will catch a glimpse of what could have been, and even, for a sliver of a second be grateful for this. Many days, fear stunts ambitious humans from completing what they strive to achieve. We are held back by our belief that we are not good enough, and our fear of dying. Although this is the case for many, there are a brave few that don't allow this depressing box we are put in to be our only choice.

In Man on Wire Philippe Petit is one of the people who thrives off of fear, rather than shivering away from it. The documentary shares a progressive storyline that reminisces on Philippes journey in life, learning about his own fears. Rather than running away from them he strides to reach them. Although I do not believe that everyone should walk across two extremely high skyscrapers on a thinly stretched wire (unless you put as much thought and practice into it at Petit and his friends did.) I believe everyone has a lesson to be learned from this documentary. If every single person who watched this ninety-four minute long factual movie took away one thing, I believe the overall view of it would be to do the impossible. Each person will take it differently because in our own minds we are holding ourselves back from something we are afraid of. To create the moral of the story, a person needs to watch it for themselves and take it from there.

Man On Wire

Man On Wire. Dir. James Marsh.

      Feat. Philippe Petit (as himself).

Magnolia Pictures, 2008.

A zealous, daring wire walker — the French word funambule is a more lyrical, as well as a somewhat more ridiculous-sounding term — he conceived a passion for the structures even before they were built."Man on Wire," directed by James Marsh , has access to all of Petit's film, video and photographs of the assault on the towers. But there is more than that. Ingeniously using actors and restaging events, Marsh fleshes out the story with scenes that could never have been filmed, such as the episode when Petit and a partner crouched motionless under tarps on a beam near the top floor as a security guard nosed around. Petit has gathered a motley crew, including a pot-addled musician and an executive who actually works in an office in one tower. He trains these amateurs on how to rig a high wire. Properly, he hopes. Even as a child, he liked to climb things. No telling why. He taught himself to walk on a wire, practiced endlessly, dreamed of conquering the clouds. He rehearsed on wire strung up in country fields. His first great feat was to walk on a wire between the two bell towers of Notre Dame. Then he walked between the towers of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia. As the World Trade Center was growing, so were his ambitions. He never just "walked" on a wire. He lay down, knelt, juggled, ran. Every wire presented its own problems, and in rehearsing for the WTC, he built a wire the same distance in France. To simulate the winds, the movements of the buildings and the torsion of the wire, he had friends jiggle his wire, trying to toss him off. His balance was flawless. He explains how a wire can move: Up and down, sideways, laterally, and it also can sometimes twist. The installation of a wire between the two towers was as complicated as a bank heist. He and his friends scouted the terrain, obtained false ID cards, talked their way into a freight elevator reaching to the top -- above the level of the finished floors. Incredibly, they had to haul nearly a ton of equipment up there. Their plan worked. And on the morning of that Aug. 7, Petit took the first crucial step that shifted his weight from the building to the wire, and stood above a drop of 1,350 feet. Many people know he crossed successfully. I had no idea he went back and forth eight times, the police waiting on both sides. His friends shed tears as they remember it happening. It was dangerous, foolhardy, glorious. His assistants feared they could be arrested for trespassing, manslaughter or assisting a suicide. Philippe Petit was arrested and eventually found guilty. The charge: Disturbing the peace.

By drawing a line between the world’s largest towers, Philippe achieved an action many wouldn’t even imagine possible. The Twin Towers were a dream in themselves, and with Philippe wire walking between the two was like a dream being accomplished on a dream. Him and his friends were able to pull off a stunt that completely defied expectations and redefined what is possible. Petit also had a strong urgency overflowing with obsession.  In order to pull off his tightrope walk, Petit had to convince many people that it was possible. Surely his talent helped persuade them, but Petit’s passion was so enchanting, it motivated others to believe in his vision. His obsessive drive helped him achieve his goal, but perhaps also explains why he cast off his friends after his goal was achieved. Petit’s dreams could not have been realized without a band of friends who were with him every step of the way. This film rejects the myth of the “solitary artist” and reminds us that achieving something of such greatness requires loyalty and partnership. Petit’s accomplices put their egos aside to make way for Petit. After the project was realized, many of these friendships faded away, perhaps because Philippe no longer found them useful and he let the fame get the best of him. The film examines the collateral damage of great art and amazing feats. It asks the viewer to consider where an artist’s true loyalties lie—are artists beholden only to their art, or also to the people who help them achieve their vision?

I believe that anyone striving to achieve something should watch this film, for not only will they be inspired but they’ll also see what it took one artist to achieve the unimaginable. “Man On Wire” has received 26 awards worldwide including the 2009 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and is a must-see for anyone who finds the poetic pleasure in seeing a French man do what makes him content.

Sugar The All American

Sugar "Azúcar"
Sugar. Dir Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden
           Feat. Algenis Perez Soto

Sony Pictures Classics, 2009




      Algenis Perez Soto played the role of Miguel "Sugar" Santos, he was just another young man trying to go after his dream. Santos wanted to become a famous baseball player because he loved the game and he wanted to make enough money to send back to the Dominican Republic to support his family. One day he gets noticed while pitching by a recruiter from the United States to play for a minor league baseball team. Santos learns ways to improve his pitching and even learns to throw the perfect curve ball. After a couple of months of doing an amazing job things change. He suddenly loses the confidence he had because of a couple of mess ups, seeing his best friend get kicked off the team, and seeing an old friend take his spotlight. Santos feels as if the don't need him and that he won't get recognized so he leaves and tries to support himself all alone in New York. After leaving a big opportunity that was given to him he struggles to find a job because he had no experience and he didn't speak much English. The story doesn't have a sad ending, he finds a way to make money and where to live and joins a small local league to do what he loves in his free time.
   I personally enjoy movies about sports and since I have some knowledge to how the recruitment and the process after that happens this movie had my attention. I would recommend this film to someone who loves the slow but intense game of baseball or even if they enjoy movies about sports. The only thing I wish was better was the ending--I feel like if the film ended a different way then it would make it better, but after thinking about why the film ended the way it did it helped me realize that not all stories have to have a perfect ending.

A Walk Across The Towers

Man On Wire. Dir. James Marsh.

Feat. Philippe Petit (as himself).

Magnolia Pictures, 2008.

The 2008 documentary Film Man on Wire composed of events that transpired in the year 1974 when a Frenchman by the name of Philippe Petit had an extraordinary dream: to walk across the Twin Towers. Some people said that Philippe was out of his mind, Philippe said “that is just the person I am.” Phillippe was not crazy, it was simply a dream he had; to do something as daring as can be was something he always wanted to do.

This movie was based around the themes of courage and determination. Phillippe is not a stranger when it comes to completing daring acts. In 1971 Petit secretly installed wires between the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. He then stepped out onto the wire, danced, and juggled balls as the crowd below stood and watched in awe. Perhaps this was the beginning of the creative crime life for Mr. Petit. Many people learn to do these extraordinary things from others, Petit did not. He was 100% self taught, and had to learn how to do many things like tie cables, and wire walk all by himself. After a whole year's worth of continuous hard work and dedication, Petit was able to secretly get to the top of the towers and tie a cable in between the two. It was a slightly overcast day and tons of people looked on as Petit walked across the wires. They all found it very fascinating, the only ones who didn’t was the port authority police. They stood at the top of the tower and waited for Petit to step down so they could take him into custody. Bare in mind, this courageous act is still a crime. Petit didn’t care. He walked back and forth on the wire as the police watched him, and the only way to get him down was to tell him that they would send a police helicopter up to get him down.

This may seem like a thriller to many, but to me it wasn’t. Although it was based around an interesting story, and fulfilled the themes of courage and determination the movie seemed boring to me. I am an avid documentary viewer, but this was one that I would not have watched. Documentaries as supposed to be composed of a lot of tell, but this one was overly pressed with tell and displayed little show. By no means am I asserting that this was a bad movie, I am just saying it is not one that I would view at my leisure.

''Man on Wire'' by Latrese

In 1974 a French man name Philippe decided he wanted to make a difference in his life and the world. This documentary was told about the start and finish of his life and how he become known for his talent. Philippe was a wire walker and street performer. He had an idea to walk on wire from rooftops on really tall buildings. He first walked across the Twin Towers. He also walked across the towers of Notre Dame and Sydney Harbour Bridge. He didn't do this alone. He has his closest friends and girlfriend to help him make his success

Philippe and his friends made a lot of progress setting up the wire and making sure they didn't get caught in the process. Him and his friends would set up their equipment over night to prepare for the walk the next day. They would have to hide from guards in order to complete their success. Many would watch Philippe as he took the risk of walking that wire. He did get arrested for doing this but it didn't stop him.

His fame started getting to his head and he forgot who most importantly was there to support him with his dreams. He depended on people he never knew to help him as well. You had to be reliable and brave in order to make this happen. These walks were illegal and many put their life on the line. Especially his girlfriend who continued to always be by his side.Philippe forgot about that and didn't remember the true reason why his dream became true. Those people could have been doing anything else with their lives. Legal authority was always on the back on their minds and what could possibly happen, if they got caught. 

Moral of the story is never give up on your dream. But also remember who was there from the start. His journey was long but it was worth it. If you believe in making your dream come true and that hard work pays off, then you should watch this documentary.

Jonah Nazier Galan- Man on Wire

Man on Wire

Director- James Marsh

Distributor- Magnolia Pictures

Starring- Philippe Petit, Annie Allix, Paul McGill, Jean François Heckel

    Man on Wire is definitely seen as a documentary of uniqueness and creativity. It is not a typical mundane, explanatory, and tiring documentary. I viewed it as a thrilling and enlightening. The film explains the journey of a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit, who stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the New York World Trade Center’s twin towers. This extraordinary documentary incorporates Petit’s personal footage to show how he overcame continuous challenges to achieve the artistic crime of the century.

    Throughout the film, we view countless moments of determination and risk. Whether it be Philippe Petit performing his art of, wire walking or his courageous journey of performing the most incredible wire walk to be performed, on the World Trade Center. Through it all, he is truly inspiring and brings insight but on a deeper level that needs analyzation. He is inspiring through his determination to fulfill his dream of walking across the World Trade Center since the early age of nine. Through countless hours of preparation, failure, practice, and his crazy decisions to make sure it would work. But through all of this, he was trying to bring life lessons out of it all. His message was "Intuition is essential in my life." He didn't just walk the wire from one World Trade Center to another, there was a process, a journey he had to fulfill in order to get to that life-changing moment. The journey was harsh, no one taught him how to wire walk, he had to use intuition in order to learn, through constant practice and viewing of high-wire walkers at a circus. As he stated, "Within one year, I taught myself to do all the things you could do on a wire. I learned the backward somersault, the front somersault, the unicycle, the bicycle, the chair on the wire, jumping through hoops. But I thought, "What is the big deal here? It looks almost ugly." So I started to discard those tricks and to reinvent my art" This then lead to his first major wire walk in June 1971. Petit secretly installed a cable between the two towers of Notre Dame de Paris. On the morning of June 26, 1971, he juggled balls and pranced back and forth as the crowd below applauded. Through all of the success, he had to become innovative and creative, wire walking was an everyday hobby, it was unheard of. Through the documentary, Philippe carried the message, we must learn to live life with risk. We must be able to deal with all the troubles and issues that life throws at us and be able to balance it all while walking on our fine wire to the path to success.
  Although people may view his biggest challenge of all is when he stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the New York World Trade Center’s twin towers. However, his biggest challenged was his dance on the wire with Annie Allix. Annie Allix was crucial to Petit's accomplishment, but, unlike Petit, she appears to prefer to stay out of the public eye. This is what had led to their separation. During the conclude of the documentary, they spoke very brief of their reasoning of separation, only explaining that due to brief obsession for fame. During that time, he lost part of the close members who been apart of the treacherous journey from the beginning and became consumed by the temporary love of his viewers, costing him to lose Annie Allix essentially his balance beam on his walk on life.

    I would highly recommend this movie to people who have a talent for seeing the deeper messages in what they view. This movie may have been unorthodox for a documentary however, there are many messages spread throughout the movie that cannot be uncovered through just one viewing.