DVD: Man on Wire

By: Eli Turner Posted: January 11, 2009

Not the sequel to the 2004 Denzel Washington flick...

Have you ever been to the circus? Or at least to Circus Circus? Have you at least ever witnessed a high-wire act? Well, if you have, I hope it was as impressive to you as it used to be for me. Unfortunately, the high-wire acts you saw were performed by pussies. Pussies on pussy wires protected by pussy safety nets. Philippe Petit puts all other high-wire acts to shame with the performance that is the subject of Man on Wire.

Philippe Petit is a French performance artist who specializes in tight-rope walking. This film is about his obsession with performing a high-wire stunt between the two towers of the former World Trade Center, an act he successfully completed in 1974. What makes the act that much more remarkable was that it was illegal and had to be set up by a group of conspirators. The whole plan was really a plot, and the plot was carried out guerrilla-style after years of preparation. The film tells the story like the act was a noble heist of great infamy, telling the story through interviews of men and women waxing nostalgic as they tell their part of this beautiful crime.

From the first instant Petit read about the twin towers, years before they were even built, he instantly became obsessed with walking a tightrope between the towers. the next years he spent dreaming of the day he would pull it off, which then graduated to concerted plotting and conspiring with friends and colleagues to the end of performing this feat. The story of the plan is interspersed with episodes of planning stages and quasi-"warm-up acts", other illegal high-wire escapades (including traversing between the towers of Notre Dame).

Watching the film, it is stunning the amount of planning and work and detail involved in pulling off this act. The amount of work it would take to perform this act legally was only compounded by the difficulty in performing it illicitly. There are moments of humorous tension and near-misses and near-failures, but the plan ultimately comes to fruition, and years of work pay off in the span of less than an hour.

This film is more than just the story of one crazy man obsessed with pushing the limits of his art. It is about the far greater idea of attaining one's dreams. Philippe Petit dreamed lofty dreams and set his bar, or in this case wire (ba-dum-tish), as high as he could desire. He brought his friends in on his dream, and they all believed in this common hope. Watching the brief high-wire walk almost brought tears to my eyes having watched the process involved in coming to that point. The release was amazing, and it was truly inspiring and encouraging seeing this man attain his life's goal and free himself from the demon of obsession through unflinching perseverance and devotion to his art. Fear of failure or death never gave him pause for a moment, and his life should be a shining example to all who dream near-impossible dreams.

Men like Philippe Petit make this world a greater place, and make life a better journey.

Special Features:

• Audio Commentary
• Deleted Scenes