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Man on Wire

August 5, 2011, 8:08 pm

This Reason cover spurred me to watch a movie I had wanted to see for a while called "Man on Wire" about Philippe Petit, who snuck up to the top of the World Trade Center, strung a line between the buildings, and tight-rope walked 110 stories up.  It is a great story, and you get to see a man who is a true eccentric, not to mention being either fearless or totally nuts.   He is exactly the kind of person with an eccentric but harmless passion who tends to be crushed by an ever-more intrusive state.

By the way, the movie is also a homage to the WTC, including a lot of construction footage and skyscraper porn.

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  • steve

    I would go with fearless and totally nuts. But, thats what makes him interesting.

  • coyote little sis

    I really enjoyed this movie. As the cliche says, well behaved people rarely make history....

  • GB

    Similar. The depths the NPS goes to to catch and punish BASE jumpers is absurd. I've been quite pleased lately seeiing the govt go after all sorts of harmless things held dear by larger populations.

  • Watchman

    It's out of print, but if you can find a copy of "Two Towers, I Walk" (Petit's biography) it is a fascinating read. Churchill reportedly said of Lawrence of Arabia that he "was not entirely in touch with the normal," and it certainly fits here as well. But it's quite a story.

  • aaa

    my favorite part. to paraphrase. "You american always ask for the 'why'. There is no 'why'".

  • T J Sawyer

    One of the great movies. Of course, at our house, it got decidedly different ratings from the spouse.

  • Richards in Vancouver

    Glad you finally saw the flick. T J Sawyer is right: it definitely is one of the greats. But painful: while watching The Scene I found that my toes were curled so tight I got an obstinate cramp in #4, right foot.

  • Chip Hessenflow

    Based on your recommendation, I watched this movie early this morning. Life is for the living. Petit, as crazy as he is, is living.