Man On Wire

Blog # 3 Man on Wire

Considered “The artistic crime of the century” by Philippe Petit, a tightrope walker who decided to perform a high wire routine across the New York City’s World Trade Center’s twin towers in 1974. His act was among the most illegal and daring of that time. Directed by James Marsh, this documentary walked us through the memories of Petit and his acquaintances that led him to his fame. They used contemporary interviews and footage they had previously taken at the time of those events to put together this film. It took them months of preparation, obtaining false ID cards, they made their way up to the top, above the level of the unfinished floors in the freight elevator taking with them about a ton of equipment.

On the morning of August 7, 1974, Petit walked across that wire and risked his life above the 1,350ft drop. Going back and forth several times, his friends shed tears at his glory. When he got back to one of the towers he was arrested and later charged for “disturbing the peace.” After getting a taste of what being famous felt like he eventually left his girlfriend and those who stood by him throughout his struggles. I was shocked at Petit's reaction to fame it seemed arrogant and wrongful of him, after they helped him through everything he then just pushed them aside. To me this film was dissatisfying and uninteresting. Therefore I would not recommend it to others and I would say that as far as to my understanding, even though his ambition led him to somewhere good for him, his friends did not deserve to end that way.