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60
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72
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27
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78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
72
Woman on the Beach
72
Ghost Town
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
66
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
64
Brideshead Revisited
64
Pineapple Express
64
Appaloosa
63
Changeling
63
Burn After Reading
62
Duchess, The
61
Bustin' Down the Door
61
Wackness, The
60
Traitor
60
Blind Mountain
58
Midnight Meat Train, The
58
Express, The
58
City of Ember
57
Towelhead
57
Body of Lies
57
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
57
Flash of Genius
56
Save Me
56
Religulous
55
House Bunny, The
55
Ping Pong Playa
54
Hamlet 2
53
Quarantine
53
RocknRolla
53
Rocker, The
53
Lucky Ones, The
51
Mamma Mia!
51
Savage Grace
51
Holly
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
49
Family That Preys, The
47
Swing Vote
47
Lakeview Terrace
45
Pride and Glory
43
Eagle Eye
43
Death Race
40
Igor
36
Righteous Kill
35
Mirrors
34
My Best Friend's Girl
32
Repo! The Genetic Opera
31
Max Payne
31
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The
28
Fireproof
27
Women, The
26
Babylon A.D.
24
Bangkok Dangerous
20
American Carol, An
19
Saw V
16
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15
Disaster Movie
15
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xx
Eden Lake
xx
Alphabet Killer, The
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Man on Wire
Magnolia Pictures
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MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some sexuality and nudity, and drug references
Starring
Philippe Petit
On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. Following six and a half years of dreaming of the towers, Petit spent eight months in New York City planning the execution of the coup. Aided by a team of friends and accomplices, Petit was faced with numerous extraordinary challenges: he had to find a way to bypass the WTC’s security; smuggle the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; pass the wire between the two rooftops; anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the winds and the swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done by night in complete secrecy. At 7:15 AM, Philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan… James Marsh’s documentary brings Petit’s extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as “the artistic crime of the century.” (Magnolia Pictures)
| GENRE(S): |
Documentary
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
James Marsh
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| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: December 9, 2008
Theatrical: July 25, 2008
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| RUNNING TIME: |
90 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
UK |
| LANGUAGE(S): |
English | French |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Variety
Robert Koehler
One of the most wildly entertaining docs of recent years.
100
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
The gorgeous music includes Ralph Vaughan Williams' wafting tone poem ''The Lark Ascending'' -- apt in describing an artist who might well be part bird.
100
Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips
The film itself is perfectly poised between artistry and audacity. It's beautiful.
100
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Man on Wire is about the vanquishing of the towers by bravery and joy, not by terrorism.
100
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
James Marsh's documentary raises the bar for the genre to skyscraper height.
100
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
This is a police procedural, if you will, about what's been called the artistic crime of the century.
100
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
Thanks to Marsh's sensitive storytelling, Man on Wire manages to put Petit's performance into another, more ineffable realm: What began as a caper turned into poetry, and poetry became a prayer.
100
San Francisco Chronicle
Reyhan Harmanci
Delightful.
100
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
One of the favorite sayings of journalists and politicians is "You don't want to see how the sausage is made." Marsh's movie says you do want to see how a miracle is made, even if the details can be just as unsavory.
100
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
The sight is magical and heartbreaking in equal measure. Look, the movie says: Where so many would fall, a man walks on air.
91
Portland Oregonian
Marc Mohan
Takes on the air of a heist film as the preparations proceed, and even knowing the outcome, tension still remains.
91
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
An engrossing study in abnormal psychology, an inspirational drama that tells us a determined man really can do anything his mind can envision and is the first film that plays on what could become a phenomenon of the new millennium: World Trade Center nostalgia.
91
Christian Science Monitor
Peter Rainer
Petit, by the way, is still very much alive and spry. I saw him at a screening of the film at the Sundance Film Festival where he spoke to the audience afterwards. On his way up to the podium, he tripped.
90
The New York Times
A.O. Scott
Thorough, understated and altogether enthralling documentary.
89
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
Hauntingly beautiful film.
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Kamal AL-Solaylee
Marsh's most remarkable directorial achievement, however, is preserving the original sense of amazement and awe when watching historical footage and still photographs of Petit walking that tightrope up in the sky.
88
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
He had the fearlessness of a 104-story man and something more than a daredevil's brass.
88
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
As suspenseful as a full-blown thriller.
88
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
Wallenda once said, "Life is being on the wire; everything else is just waiting." This film makes that motto ring true.
88
TV Guide
Ken Fox
The film runs 95 minutes, and you'll be holding your breath for most of them.
88
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
Engrossing and exhilarating documentary.
80
New York Daily News
Joe Neumaier
History has made his midair stroll meaningful, but the film shows how even then, everyone - from Petit to his accomplices to the cops who were waiting for him atop the North Tower - recognized the stunt's crazy poetry.
80
Salon.com
Andrew O'Hehir
Speaking as one New Yorker who lived through 9/11 and saw this film with a packed house of natives at its Tribeca Film Festival premiere, I experienced Man on Wire as an almost mystical incantation.
80
Slate
Dana Stevens
Man on Wire brings back a time when the towers were still symbols of aspiration and possibility.
80
Village Voice
Anthony Kaufman
While largely lighthearted, Petit's walk and Marsh's film take on new meaning post-9/11. Man on Wire never mentions the events of that day, but the Trade Center's collapse continues to weigh on Petit, as if its destruction was every bit as tragic as the human lives lost that day.
80
Film Threat
Margot Gerber
Pre the events of 9/11, the film might have simply been an entertaining, high risk tale of a death-defying feat related in both interviews, archival footage and photos and Marsh's usual meticulous and creative re-enactment vignettes. Post 9/11 you find yourself marveling that a man in far away France became smitten with the twin towers long before they became the target of terrorist attacks.
80
New York Magazine
David Edelstein
The most miraculous thing about Man on Wire is not the physical feat itself, 1,350 feet above the ground, but that as you watch it, the era gone, the World Trade Center gone, the movie feels as if it's in the present tense. That nutty existentialist acrobat pulled it off. For an instant, he froze time.
75
Premiere
Priya Jain
Much of this story is indeed entertaining: there's a tone of lighthearted mischievousness to the plotting and scheming of an illegal act that is essentially harmless.
75
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
A fascinating time capsule: a combination of talking-head interviews, actual footage, and re-creations that evokes a kinder, gentler world and provides insight into one of the most audacious stunts of the 20th century.
70
Chicago Reader
J.R. Jones
In archival photos Petit seems to float between the towers, a tiny black figure against a vivid blue sky; the images are all the more poignant for the unstated fact that Petit is still around when the buildings aren't.
67
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Noel Murray
It's a story worth telling, yes--but after 90 minutes, it's hard not to wonder if the storyteller can talk about anything else.
 The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 32 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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