On 7 August 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's Twin Towers (World Trade Center), then the world's tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, then brought to jail and finally released.
Following six and a half years of dreaming, Petit spent eight months in NYC planning the execution of the coup. Aided by a team of friends and accomplices, Petit had to find a way to bypass the WTC's security; to smuggle the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; to pass the wire between the two rooftops; to anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the winds and the swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done under cover of 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".
DVD Special Features
- Interview with Philippe Petit
- Audio Commentary by director James Marsh, producer Simon Chinn & Executive Producer Jonathan Hewes
- SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE CROSSING - a short film by James Ricketson
- Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Study Guide.
- Original theatrical trailer
