On August 7, 1974, Philippe Petit stepped out on a cable strung between the towers of the World Trade Center. It was an act of equal parts lunacy, audacity and artistry. Eight times the Frenchman crossed back and forth above the disbelieving eyes of the crowd gathered below, just managing to stay out of reach of the cops who threatened to haul him in yet who were also awestruck by what they were witnessing.
When Petit was finished, he was taken into custody and became an instant folk hero.
Man on Wire recaptures the glorious madness of Petit’s caper, through interviews with him and his accomplices, vintage film footage and still photos, and re-creations that explain how a handful of men managed to smuggle hundreds of pounds of equipment up 110 flights, evade security guards, and expertly rig a 450-pound cable across the gap in the dead of night.
This wonderful documentary by James Marsh is both a meditation and an adventure story, as it introduces its cast of rogues, then steps back as they tell this tale of the near-impossible. At the center, of course, is Petit, irrepressible and egotistical, and with good reason. Only a man of superhuman confidence can step into the void, separated from sure death only by a wire and an unerring sense of balance. He has much to brag about, and does. (Warning: those with a fear of heights may want to bring along some Dramamine, or whatever else keeps your guts in check.)
Amazingly, conquering the towers was a six-year obsession for Petit, who first read a 1968 magazine story about their construction while in his dentist’s waiting room. He and his crew made numerous trips across the Atlantic to scout out the structures and plot their course of action; the execution of their plan was as suspenseful as any heist film.
The events of Sept. 11, 2001 are never mentioned — they don’t need to be. The ghosts hover over every image of the World Trade Center, especially in one chilling photo of Petit on the wire with an airplane passing overhead. It’s pure nostalgia to recall when the towers were only involved in the “artistic crime of the century.”
Man on Wire will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, and 1 and 2:55 p.m. Sunday in the Jefferson Academic Center at Clark University as part of the Cinema 320 series. o
