Man on Wire

[Fatter Hipper]

A quite beautiful film this, about Phillipe Petit's wirewalk between the twin towers in 1974. A simply done mix of reconstruction, interviews and archive footage. It works because of the poetic nature of the walk and the sheer, brilliant lunacy of everyone involved. Petit is an incredible character- the angular looks of a post-punk singer, an almost autistic obsession and a brilliant hyperactive mode of storytelling.

Strange choice of recycled music though. The 'Twin Towers theme' is a Michael Nyman piece from The Cook, The Thief, The Wife and His Lover (which worked), but there was another Nyman piece which sounded a little too English Country House to work in New York.

Anyway, recommended.

[wingco]

Man on Wire

I'm really looking forward to this one.

[Fatter Hipper]

Man on Wire

It made my hands go all cold and sweaty. I've not got a massive problem with heights- I'd say I'm sensibly in awe of them (!)- but this really freaked me out.

[Guest]

Man on Wire

I really want to see this. Speaking as someone who struggles on the third rung of a stepladder, I can't even imagine how this guy managed to do it.

[Squid Ink]

Man on Wire

I saw this last night. As Fatter Hipper says, it's really quite beautiful. I felt like crying on a number of occasions, and I didn't expect to have that response at all. And it's so well made. It's shot like a great drama, with tons of tension, a compelling lead character, meticulously laid plans, stomach churning moments, and even a little romance.

I'm not afraid of heights and even I could barely watch as he made it across the twin towers. I think it needs to be seen on the big screen to reach full impact. I'd seen photos of Petit making the walk and they had no real effect on me. Then suddenly I was sitting in the cinema feeling extremely dizzy and disorientated as he made his way across. And he went back and forth between the towers EIGHT times! Fuck me. Amazing film.

[Carcass]

Man on Wire

Really? I thought it was mediocre - as signified by the will-this-do? default documentary music by PCO and Nyman.

[Ek weet nie]

Man on Wire

The shots of him at the WTC, Sydney and Notre Dame were breathtaking. I'd recommend seeing it just for that.

I was left a bit cold by the reconstructions and the lead up though. Apart from the dynamic with the best friend (Jean-Philippe I think?) - I wish they delved into that a bit more rather than the story of the girlfriend.

I'd agree with having to see it on a full screen, the picture of him lying down on the wire was sensational.

[Lucia Lanigan]

Man on Wire

Everything Squid Ink said: an unexpectedly fantastic film. It's basically a great heist movie, only with a grand poetic gesture in place of a theft.