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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
8.3 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 67 Ratings

Your Score
10 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 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. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Reyhan Harmanci
    100
    Delightful.
  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    100
    The film itself is perfectly poised between artistry and audacity. It's beautiful.
  3. 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.

See all 31 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 29
  3. Negative: 4 out of 29
  1. 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
    • 2 of 2 users said yes
  2. CecilT.
    5
    Geezers reminiscing about their glory day -- overlooked in the drama of Watergate -- isn't enough to fill 90 minutes.
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  3. 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
    • 1 of 1 users said yes

See all 29 User Reviews

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