Man on Wire (2008)

Documentary directed by James Marsh that details Philippe Petit's iconic 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Adapted from Petit’s own memoir, To Reach the Clouds, it reconstructs the complicated plans and schemes leading up to the big event. The narrative is presented like a crime story, introducing the various characters who worked with him – often against the law – to gain access to the towers and help make the carefully plotted sequence of events come together. 

Petit’s descriptions and recollections are fascinating, but he seems prone to a degree of self-mythologising. Perhaps surprisingly, it’s the accounts of his colleagues that really bring this story to life. It’s especially notable how emotional they feel about the wire walk – a moment that clearly took on symbolic significance beyond mere hair-raising spectacle.