I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

You got to know a little more about Phillipe ' s training as a high wire performer. The movie was very accurate to the documentary, but I don't think it's something I would watch many times. Sort of like how the moment in 1974 was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the story would be more exciting if I was there, but I wasn't born yet.

The guy who accomplished this, is not only insane but he's also a great storyteller. The way he describes the tiny details of what was going through his head during this whole thing is very enjoyable. This documentary is about the guy who illegally walked on a tightrope between the two world trade center buildings.

One of the best documentaries I have ever seen. Who would have thought such a gently funny man would be drawn to such dangerous stunts. It's hard to put this movie into words but I would say it a analysis of what it takes to truly live life free. Please see this movie and not the remake which is not so good as this to be honest.

Like Twin towers, like hero — A film review on Man on wireTowers have always been important symbols in myth, film and real life. Babel tower witnessed human's unity turning into chaos. The Two Towers represent something powerful but evil and need to be destroyed in the Lord of the Rings. Back to real life, Eiffel tower is an eternal symbol of love to all. So what does the Twin Towers mean in the film Man on Wire? It is a dream that lures and motivates Philippe to reach, and a place where legend and glory are created. However, such high places like the Twin Towers can be conquered, and such beautiful things like the Twin Towers can be destroyed. Heroes and towers are alike, glorious, lonely, and can even be defeated. But it doesn't matter, because they once stood on the top of the world.The documentary, Man on Wire, tells us a story that happened between the Twin Towers where Philippe made his epic walk. From his early days to his preparations, from his lover to his friends, from the glorious walk to his later deeds, the 90 minute award-winning film give us a chance to witness the whole process of Philippe's legendary life. Unlike the recent adaptation the Walk, which uses advanced visual effect technology that gives the audience heart-beating experience and poetic way of storytelling that makes Philippe a hero with almost no flaws, Man on Wire did a great job as a documentary for its respect for reality and depth of theme. As a documentary, the director uses several unique film technologies in accordance with different scenes. All these details give the audience a sense of how Philippe's great dream turns into reality step by step. The director uses iris shot when Philippe was presenting his show on the street in his early days in most of the past scenes. This gives us a feeling that we are peeping Philippe's performance together with the crowd through the hole of history. At first, you may ignore this special scene, but as it shows again and again, you feel that you actually witnessed the whole process of Philippe's life and growth starting from his early street performing times. You have a sense that you are noticing every detail of the event, and this is foreshadowing the greatness that Philippe will achieve in the future. Furthermore, the director chose to use binocular shot to present the scenes of Philippe's second observation of the twin towers when he came back to America. This telescope-like scene not only coincides with the plot since Philippe observed the tower in more details, but it also reinforces the bond between the character and the audience, since we are actually seeing things from Philippe's perspective. We get to see the character better, and we start to regard Philippe as an embodiment of tower with bright future.These old scenes of the documentary are not as colorful and eye-catching as those magic Hollywood blockbuster or more recent film like the Walk does with the help of technology, and we may say less "Wows" when watching these. However, what we can feel is a sense of the credibility of history and the spirit of the respect to the fact. We not only just can see the things, but we can actually feel the colorful future through the shadow of the black and white. The open themes of the film make this good documentary a great one. One is definitely the success of the pursuit of one's dream. A dream is more valuable when others are constantly mocking it. In the film, the word "impossible" is repeated multiple times. The repetition of this word supports the theme by giving the audience a sense of the difficulty of the work and an expectation to Philippe for overcoming the "impossible". The overcome of the tower is also the overcome of Philippe's own heart regardless of all these disagreements. We can never forget the excitement when Philippe found his dream seeing the news that the Twin Towers was under construction at the age of 17. We can never forget how this magic tower, a symbol in his heart, lures Philippe to break the rules, to build the line, and to walk the air. If you have a dream, pursuit it! If you have a tower, overcome it! One must find one's own tower to overcome!But the theme doesn't just stop here. The ten-minute ending brings about a thought-provoking theme. After Philippe's success, he did not share the happiness with his companions. Instead, he chose to cheat his girlfriend, to abandon all his companions, and to take the honor alone. His friends suffered more severe punishments, and his girlfriend also left him right after the success. All these facts were shown to the audience without reserve or polish. The director doesn't make the judgment, instead, he present the truth to the audience to let them to judge on their own.Can we blame Philippe for doing so? Can we say what makes a hero is his loneliness? Must a hero be without any flaws? I have no answers to these questions at first. But seeing all his friends cried with smile at last when talked about the success when they were old, seeing the old Philippe again walked alone on wire, seeing them forgive about each other and move on, seeing the permanent tickets to the Twin Towers. I figure I have already had the answers in my heart.I don't know if it is related to the reason of making this film, even with such glorious history, great towers like Twin Towers cannot avoid the destiny of being destroyed in 911. Heroes like Philippe can be defeated as well. But it doesn't matter, because they once shined before, they once stood on the top of the world. Because they are like towers, they can reach the cloud.