albertoveronese James Marsh's Man On Wire is a marvelous cinematographic moment. Philippe Petit's very first vertiginous step on a steel cable anchored at a height of 1,368 ft (417 m)) transcends the laws of man's commonly acknowledged senses and defies how every one of us experiences existence. It's all about human immensity - It reminds me the first powered flight of the Wright brothers in 1903, but first and foremost it calls to mind Lumière brothers' first public screening of their short films in 1895, hand cranked through a projector. It's the extraordinary talent, the creative touch of filmmaker James Marsh in the making of Man On Wire that breathes new life into Petit's sublime walk in the sky. Despite having recourse to still pictures - a step becomes a walk, a walk becomes a dance, a dance becomes life of on a tightrope. Fine-grained clays, of which this motion-picture is made of, are the restored archival color footage and newsreel material, the captivating black and white photographs, the bright and sighted scenes reenactment, the lively present-day interviews and the perceptive use of music. - "It was a misty day, there was a little bit of air that morning." - "I had to make a decision... of shifting my weight from one foot anchored to the building to the foot anchored on the wire." - "Look a wire-walker! He's walking!" - "Something that I could not resist... called me upon that cable." - "It was so... so beautiful". Once more - It is James Marsh's commitment and profound emotional engagement to moviemaking that makes it possible. It is James Marsh's skill that arranges the polyphonic montage of visuals and voices, and directs their interactions. 7th August 1974, Twin Towers, New York City. Philippe Petit was 24 when he completed Le Coup. Philippe Petit is still with us today - "There is no why."

John Brooks As a cinematic experience, this is good. It's got a compelling story, which it explains the intricate technicalities of well and drops the viewer right in the thick of a suspenseful undertaking, while the back and forth between the interviewed parties (all playing themselves) and the older filmed footage and documents makes for a solid platform to deliver the goods.But ultimately, at heart, this is a terribly futile, vain story built around a man who evidently was the loneliest soul in the world who was in such dire need of attention he would illegally pull a tightrope walking stunt right on the highest point of New York city. The film attempts to make it more poetic than what it really is; the illegal act of a psychopath; and seems to push for an emotional climax that feels unnecessary and forced, and really it highlights the various different aspects of the vanity behind that main character (his superficial attachments to close friends, the emptiness of life and how everyone is interchangeable and nothing exceeds the present moment or has profound meaning...).The film also tries hard to ride the aesthetic wave: there's a sort of overt appreciation for the Frenchness on display, the french accents and spirit, the poetry... obviously, this is an entire film-documentary about a ludicrous and totally ephemeral gig.

Michael Radny Man On Wire is possibly one of the best known stories of this century, telling about the amazing tightropist who crossed from the Twin Towers. However, it may be too well known, which makes this documentary dwindle in essence, giving us a prolonged account of the tightropist coming to his passion of crazy stunts. But in saying that, for those who don't know the story, this will be an exciting gem to view, giving a superbly directed documentary and some fascinating accounts of the illegal, yet not bad, stunt. Interesting to say the least, but all you want to see is the footage of a man crossing a wire 400 metres above the ground. You will feel terrified at stages, and the way they pulled off this daredevil trick feels like a real Oceans Eleven escapee. In all honesty though, not much is left to the imagination of you know the story beforehand, but still an exciting true story of one of the most feared phobias ever.

Johan Dondokambey The movie sure did a great job in coming up with a screen time duration of more than one and a half hours out of this story, which is not really supported with adequate footage. The approach sets the movie way back by telling the background of Phillipe Petit. The thing is, it's strange that the movie consists heavily of interviews and with less dramatization or narration. It makes the movie didn't feel like a movie, but instead more like an expose. Another weird thing to see is that not all the people interviewed has the story-telling instinct as good as Petit himself. His expressiveness brings the whole thing to life, even without enough footage of the feats he's done.