Man on Wire
Man on Wire Image
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Metascore
89 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 31 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.4 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 84 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Starring: Philippe Petit
  • Summary: On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he w was finally released. Following six and a half years of dreaming of the towers, Petit spent eight months in New York City planning the execution of the coup. Aided by a team of friends and accomplices, Petit was faced with numerous extraordinary challenges: he had to find a way to bypass the WTC’s security; smuggle the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; pass the wire between the two rooftops; anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the winds and the swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done by night in complete secrecy. At 7:15 AM, Philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan… James Marsh’s documentary brings Petit’s extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as “the artistic crime of the century.” (Magnolia Pictures)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    100
    The film itself is perfectly poised between artistry and audacity. It's beautiful.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Man on Wire is about the vanquishing of the towers by bravery and joy, not by terrorism.
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Reyhan Harmanci
    100
    Delightful.
  4. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    80
    History has made his midair stroll meaningful, but the film shows how even then, everyone - from Petit to his accomplices to the cops who were waiting for him atop the North Tower - recognized the stunt's crazy poetry.

See all 31 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 32
  3. Negative: 4 out of 32
  1. jdicksteihn
    10
    It's about a man's pursuit of his dream to walk on a tight rope between the World Trade Center towers. The story and characters are compelling enough on their own. But Marsh matches visuals to music in a way that makes this story more a work of art than a retelling. This movie owned me the first time I saw it. And I watch it again from time to time to remind myself how to dream.… Expand
  2. grandpajoe6191
    8
    "Man On Wire" is a documentary filled with joy and tension. It makes you feel as you are the characters and in the situation they are experiencing. The film's light pace also doesn't disappoint other movie geeks who expect fast ones. A amusing documentary in general that you might want to see.… Expand
  3. CecilT.
    5
    Geezers reminiscing about their glory day -- overlooked in the drama of Watergate -- isn't enough to fill 90 minutes.
  4. RichardS
    2
    I don't understand why people like this movie at all. The best I can think of is that it involves some kind of symbolic recoding of the WTC event of 2001. I thought the movie was overwrought and that everyone in it seemed stupid. I was not surprised when one of the accomplices said his memory was foggy because he used to smoke too much pot; they all talk like pot-heads. This film is like an exercise in mind control; you have these lunatics histrionically telling you how amazed you're supposed to be and then they don't give you anything to be amazed at. If the tone had been less strident, it would have been a better film. In fact, I feel that the filmmaker's tendency to blow up every detail out of proportion deflates any value that might be inherent in this dumb story.… Expand

See all 32 User Reviews

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