It was a daring balancing act when wire walker Philippe Petit stunned watchers by walking on a wire stretched between the World Trade Center towers in 1974. (Oops, I just gave away the plot. Sorry about that, but don't worry. I watched it twice and it was just as exiting the second time.)
They made a documentary about it last year titled Man on Wire using some contemporary interviews, archived clips and still shots.
Mr. Petit has a superhuman ability to balance. We see him juggle, we see him ride a unicycle, we see him juggle on a unicycle, and we see him walking a high wire, a very, very high wire. But as impressive as that particular stunt was, there was a gripping subplot of the heist-like scheme to get into the building with almost a ton of equipment, get it onto the roof undetected, set it up, and get Mr. Petit out on the wire before someone showed up to stop them.
The towers had been topped off in 1970, but by 1974 the upper floors were still under construction. So late one August afternoon the two teams were able to get into the buildings with fake IDs. And they spent the night hiding near the roof. In the early morning hours when they thought it was safe the team in the South Tower hauled the cable up to the roof inadvertently walking right past a guard. They must have seemed like they were doing what they were supposed to be doing, and the guard didn't bother them.
The North Tower team shot an arrow tied to a fishing line onto the roof of the South Tower, and Philippe tied it to a larger string which the North team pulled back. That string was tied to a larger string, then a rope, then a wire, then a 7/8 inch cable which they anchored to each roof.
The sun was up, and the elevator wheel started to turn. Mr. Petit placed one foot on the cable and had to make a momentous decision. Once he shifted his weight to that foot either the wire held or he would fall to his death. It held, and he walked out between the buildings putting on a show New Yorkers would never see again while causing no small amount of anxiety to the Port Authority Police.
Eventually, the police convinced his friend on the roof that they would use a helicopter to pluck him off the wire, and Philippe walked back to the roof to surrender.
It's a great movie and well worth the rental fee. And it's a wonderful story to add to whatever memories anyone may have about the Twin Towers.
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