Man on Wire

Director: James Marsh

2008 / 94min / 35mm

Artist and daredevil Philippe Petit’s fabled 45-minute tightrope walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center on the morning of August 7, 1974 is presented as something like a heist without a cash haul in Marsh’s critically lauded, tautly constructed nonfiction thriller, made with the close participation of Petit and his co-conspirators, and using archival footage, clever dramatic reenactments, and new interviews to retell the story of the planning, execution, and aftermath of the high-wire feat that made headlines all across the country. “Riveting. This exhilarating film makes you shake your head in amazement.” —The Los Angeles Times