1974. 1350 feet up. The artistic crime of the century.
On August 7th 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit stepped out on a high wire, illegally rigged between New York's World Trade Center twin towers, then the world's tallest buildings. After nearly an hour of performing on the wire, 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan, he was arrested. This fun and spellbinding documentary chronicles Philippe Petit's "highest" achievement.
Man on Wire (2008) is a documentary film directed by James Marsh, released on August 1, 2008 with a runtime of 1h 34m. It stars Philippe Petit, Jean François Heckel, Jean-Louis Blondeau and Annie Allix. Viewers rate it 7.4 out of 10 across 992 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for Man on Wire before you stream it.
Official trailers, teasers, clips and featurettes for Man on Wire.
Trailer
Trailer
Philippe Petit
as Himself
Jean François Heckel
as Himself
Jean-Louis Blondeau
as Himself
Annie Allix
as Herself
David Forman
as Himself
Alan Welner
as Himself
Barry Greenhouse
as Himself
Jim Moore
as Himself
Mark Lewis
as Himself
Richard Nixon
as Self (archive footage)
Directed by James Marsh, written by Philippe Petit, produced by Simon Chinn.
Average viewer score of 7.4/10 from 992 ratings.
If you ever saw “Spills and Chills” (1949) then you’ll get a sense of mankind’s obsession with doing daft things at great altitude. This takes that audacity just one step further as it introduces us to French acrobat Philippe Petit who has designs on the ultimate on American daftness. He is going to string some high wires between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and set off into the middle for…
Reviewed on June 4, 2025
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Man on Wire (2008) is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Dox Amazon Channel and Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home and FlixFling. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of Man on Wire (2008) includes Philippe Petit, Jean François Heckel, Jean-Louis Blondeau, Annie Allix and David Forman. The film was directed by James Marsh. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
Man on Wire was released on August 1, 2008 and runs for 1h 34m.
Man on Wire (2008) holds an average rating of 7.4 out of 10 from 992 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy documentary films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official Man on Wire trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
