Man on Wire

James Marsh’s Man on Wire (2008) is perhaps the most purely entertaining documentary I’ve ever seen—and one of the few documentaries I’ve ever watched of my own volition more than once. This is partly because it plays fast and loose with the documentary form. It’s actually almost a docu-drama, since it blends real footage and photographs with dramatic recreations. The film’s greatest accomplishment, though, lies in making the illegal tightwire walk between the World Trade Towers that Philippe Petit undertook on Aug. 7, 1974 suspenseful. We already know it happened, so that’s a trick of no little note. I reviewed the film at great length in 2008, so you might want to check out the original review at www.mountainx.com/movies/review/man_on_wire.