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TechnoTV - Man on Wire
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List Price: $26.98
Our Price: $18.99
Your Save: $ 7.99 ( 30% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Starring: Philippe Petit
Directed By: James Marsh
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0876964001564
Format: Color
Label: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2008-12-09
Running Time: 94
Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Man on Wire is Spellbinding!
Comment: Man on Wire is technically a documentary but feels like a good drama with humor, suspense and character development. I was only vaguely familiar with the actual history so I was completely blown away by Petit's incredible feats. I originally saw it on the big screen; I think the DVD will be best appreciated on as large a flatscreen as you can get.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A documentary equal to its subject
Comment: Imagine this: a man stretches a cable between two buildings at a height of a quarter of a mile, walks out to the middle, and lays down on it. What kind of a man could do such a thing? That is the question director James Marsh asks, and answers, in this superb documentary.
In doing so, he skillfully blends present-day interviews with footage and photographs from the past and re-enactment that is so good it takes most of the film before one realizes that some of these scenes could only have been re-created with actors. This is documentary storytelling at its very best.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: An Amazing Individual
Comment: Amazing documentary - not so much for the filming, which is rather amateurish, but for the capturing of the spirit of an extraordinary individual. One man soaring above the dominance of the physical structures, almost angelic compared to the demons who could only destroy them 27 years later.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Looking At The Twin Towers In A Much Different (And Better) Light ...
Comment: What many considered "the artistic crime of the century," French high-wire walker Philippe Petit did what today would be impossible (because they don't exist and because of security) by performing a tightrope walk between New York City's World Trade Center twin towers ...in 1974.
The feat itself isn't as interesting as the preparation and the history behind Philippe's successful walk. Having scaled between the arches at Notre Dame and the Harbor Bridge pillars in Sydney, Australia, Philippe's goal from early on was to walk on a wire much, much higher. At just over 1,350 above street level, the twin towers were his goal.
Friends and even workers within New York's buildings aided Philippe in surprising ways. Many backed out when they realized how close he was to actually doing it, worried that if he fell to his death they would be partially responsible.
But nothing was going to hold Philippe back. Security guards, wind, fog and fearful friends all plagued his attempt ...to no avail.
As stated earlier, the preparation was fascinating, showing the documentary watcher the tensile strength needed to span the buildings, the bypassing of security guards, and the near failure of the entire episode because of a severe sagging of the wire during its initial deployment. The tense nature of how the story unfolded was pretty phenomenal. Looking up from the ground at Philippe as he walked the wire was simply awe-inspiring; he looked like a speck against the higher clouds.
Arrested after his successful walk, the words "Man on wire" appeared on the violation written up by the New York P.D., which is where the film gained its title. But the film is much more than a simple man doing a tightrope walk. It's a historical recounting of one man's goal to achieve what seemed unachievable.
It is strange to see a man doing something artistically dangerous -- and illegal -- on things that no longer exists. Perhaps that added to my enjoyment of the documentary. After watching the horribleness of 9/11 time and time again, it was unique and refreshing to see something being done to the towers of a quaint and beautiful nature. Something that many Americans probably have trouble attributing to the twin towers now. Which is why you should watch this.
Thank you, Philippe.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Captures the Amazement & Exhilaration of History's Greatest High Wire Act.
Comment: "Man on Wire" explores the execution and experience of one of the world's most famous artistic spectacles. Philippe Petit's wirewalk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. When he was 17 years old, Petit read an article about plans for the World Trade Center in New York that inspired the dream that would take 6 1/2 years to realize. James Marsh's film intertwines three threads as it builds toward its climax. It offers a blow-by-blow account of the dramatic feat that played out on August 6-7; it follows the construction of the Towers, seemingly built just for Philippe's ambitions; and it takes us through the years of preparation by Philippe and his accomplices. There are recent interviews, archival footage of Philippe's team, and a moody black-and-white reenactment of the events that unfold as the participants recount their experiences.
This is a competent documentary about an amazing feat of daring and artistry. It's serious in its intensity while embracing humor as well, and the preparation in France and New York is entertaining. But the film's ability to capture the passion and dedication that motivated Philippe Petit make it a great documentary, not just a good one. He's a man with a real lust for life, apparently completely free of neuroses, which he expresses through performance, particularly on the high wire. He might be the only wirewalker in the past 50 years who does not confine his art to the circus. I think the rest are afraid of going splat. Philippe Petit isn't, and, by the end of this film, we understand why. That's its great accomplishment. Philippe is 60 years old, still remarkably youthful and as passionate as he was at 25, so his interviews are terrific.
Director James Marsh emphasizes the human drama through the perspective of Philippe's accomplices, while Philippe's own point of view is more one of concentration and glee. Four men ascended the Towers and rigged the wire after months of scouting the site: Philippe and Jean-Francois Heckel on the roof of the South Tower, Jean-Louis Blondeau and American Alan Welner on the North Tower. Jean-Louis was the only one of the team that planned the walk, apart from Philippe, who stuck with the project, the others having abandoned it for fear it would mean Philippe's death. And Jean-Louis said it was the worst wire he had ever rigged. These men are interviewed, along with those who participated in the preparation, including Philippe's then-girlfriend Annie Allix. In sum, this is an awe-inspiring account of an great feat of diligence and faith. In English and French with subtitles.
The DVD (Magnolia 2008): "Sydney Harbour Bridge Crossing 1973" (20 min) is a short documentary by James Ricketson about Philippe Petit's preparation and execution of his wirewalk between the pylons of the Australian bridge, aided by Mark Lewis, who recounts his role in the feat. "Philippe Petit Interview" (13 min) is a long but interesting interview in which Petit talks about his passion for wirewalking, his approach to life, and what it all means to him. "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers" (10 min) is an animated film for children that recounts the story of the Twin Towers walk. There are optional Spanish subtitles for the feature film. The English subtitles are not optional.
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Editorial Reviews:
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On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire and illegally rigged between the New York's twin towers. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. This documentary complies Petit s footage to show the numerous extraordinary challenges he faced in completing the artistic crime of the century.
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