Man on Wire

Man on Wire
Man on Wire
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James Marsh
Produced by	Simon Chinn
Starring	Philippe Petit (as himself)
Cinematography	Igor Martinovic
Edited by	Jinx Godfrey
Music by	Michael Nyman; J. Ralph ("WTC Heist Music");
Production; companies	UK Film Council; BBC Storyville; Discovery Films; Red Box Films; Wall to Wall;
Distributed by	Icon Film Distribution (United Kingdom); Magnolia Pictures (United States);
Release dates	22 January 2008 (Sundance); 25 July 2008 (US); 1 August 2008 (UK);
Running time	94 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom; United States;
Languages	English; French;
Budget	£1.1 million (approx. $1.9 million)
Box office	$5.3 million

Man on Wire is a 2008 documentary film directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center. It is based on Petit's 2002 book, To Reach the Clouds, released in paperback with the title Man on Wire. The title of the film is taken from the police report that led to the arrest (and later release) of Petit, whose performance lasted for almost an hour. The film is crafted like a heist film, presenting rare footage of the preparations for the event and still photographs of the walk, alongside re-enactments (with Paul McGill as the young Petit) and present-day interviews with the participants, including Barry Greenhouse, an insurance executive who served as the inside man.^[4]

Man on Wire competed in the World Cinema Documentary Competition^[5] at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize: World Cinema Documentary and the World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary.^[6] In February 2009, the film won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary. As of 2022, it is one of only six documentary films to ever sweep "The Big Four" critics awards (LA, NBR, NY, NSFC) and the only one of those to also win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

^ "MAN ON WIRE (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 17 June 2008. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
^ "Case study - Man On Wire's soaring success | News | Screen". screendaily.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
^ Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ A.O. Scott (25 July 2008). "Walking on Air Between the Towers". NY Times. Archived from the original on 31 May 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
^ "2008 Sundance Film Festival Announces Films in Competition" (PDF). 28 November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
^ "2008 Sundance Film Festival Announces Awards" (PDF). 26 January 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2008.

[1] "MAN ON WIRE (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 17 June 2008. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.

[screendaily-2] "Case study - Man On Wire's soaring success | News | Screen". screendaily.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2014.

[mojo-3] Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] A.O. Scott (25 July 2008). "Walking on Air Between the Towers". NY Times. Archived from the original on 31 May 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2015.

[2008fac-5] "2008 Sundance Film Festival Announces Films in Competition" (PDF). 28 November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2008.

[2008winners-6] "2008 Sundance Film Festival Announces Awards" (PDF). 26 January 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2008.

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