Man on Wire

2008 94 min ★ 7.4 Documentary

On August 7th 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit stepped out on a high wire, illegally rigged between New York's World Trade Center twin towers, then the world's tallest buildings. After nearly an hour of performing on the wire, 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan, he was arrested. This fun and spellbinding documentary chronicles Philippe Petit's "highest" achievement.

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Cast

Philippe Petit

Himself

Jean François Heckel

Himself

Jean-Louis Blondeau

Himself

Annie Allix

Herself

David Forman

Himself

Alan Welner

Himself

Barry Greenhouse

Himself

Jim Moore

Himself

Mark Lewis

Himself

Richard Nixon

Self (archive footage)

Details

Director

James Marsh

Tagline

"1974. 1350 feet up. The artistic crime of the century."

Status

Released

Original Language

EN

Revenue

$2,957,978

Production

Red Box Films, Discovery Films, BBC Storyville, UK Film Council, Wall to Wall

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

June 4, 2025

★ 6/10

If you ever saw “Spills and Chills” (1949) then you’ll get a sense of mankind’s obsession with doing daft things at great altitude. This takes that audacity just one step further as it introduces us to French acrobat Philippe Petit who has designs on the ultimate on American daftness. He is going to string some high wires between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and set off in...