movie film review | chris tookey
 
     
     
 

Man on Wire

 (12A)
© Magnolia Pictures - all rights reserved
     
  Man on Wire Review
Tookey's Rating
6 /10
 
Average Rating
8.47 /10
 
Starring
Philippe Petit, Jean-Louis Blondeau, Annie Allix
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Directed by: James Marsh
Written by: Based on the book To Reach the Clouds by Philippe Petit

 
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Released: 2008
   
Genre: DOCUMENTARY
   
Origin: UK
   
Colour: C
   
Length: 102
 
 


 
This Oscar-winnning documentary is taut and tense, without ever quite hitting the heights.
Reviewed by Chris Tookey



It is a gently amusing, mildly thought-provoking documentary about Philippe Petit (pictured), a monocycling monomaniac who tightrope-walked between the Twin Towers in 1974.

Clever use of some great music by Eric Satie and Ralph Vaughan Williams, and less distinguished music by Michael Nyman, helps give his prank a poetic quality that it might not otherwise have. The aftermath of the walk for the characters is also memorable, with instant stardom going straight to Mr Petit’s head.

Over the whole whimsical exercise, of course, there hangs the unspoken echo of 9/11 and a rather more serious breach of American homeland security.


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