Philippe Petit - "Man on Wire" Remembers Twin Towers WTC

Music by: Leon Russell
Song: Tightrope

On Wednesday, August 7, 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit accomplished the amazing feat of crossing a cable stretched between New York's World Trade Center towers. His spectacular stunt was documented in the 2008 Academy Award winning film, "Man on Wire". Ten years after the towers came down in the Sept. 11 attacks, Petit still treasures the memory of his 1974 adventure as, "an intimate, romantic, poetic, joyful feeling that will continue...for the rest of my life."

French tightrope walker Philippe Petit, 24, looks back at the photographer as he rests between walks across a cable stretched between New York's World Trade Center towers high above the city on Wednesday, August 7, 1974. Petit crossed the cable twice and at one point, hung by his heels. The Frenchman and two assistants apparently hid in one of the towers and set the cable up before dawn, police said.

French aerialist Philippe Petit walks on a cable suspended between the not-yet-completed twin towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, Aug. 7, 1974. After rigging a wire across the 140-foot gap during the night, Petit, 25, stepped onto the cable at 7 a.m. with his balancing pole and walked back and forth as a crowd watched from the streets below. In this Aug. 7, 1974 file photo, Philippe Petit, a French high wire artist, walks across a tightrope suspended between the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York. Philippe Petit stars in "Man on a Wire," directed by James Marsh.
French aerialist Philippe Petit performs for a crowd in Washington Square Park August 6, 2005 in New York City.

Former tightrope walker Philippe Petit attends the Gotham Independent Film Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008 in New York.
Petit walks between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City August 7, 1974.
Aerialist Philippe Petit from ' Man on a Wire' arrives at the 81st Annual Academy Awards held at Kodak Theatre on February 22, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
Performance artist Philippe Petit juggles oranges during the 'Man On Wire' press conference at Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel on May 19, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan.

George Willig, left, and Philippe Petit prepare to catch a bite at the base of New York's twin World Trade Center Towers Wednesday, April 12, 1978. The two adventurers are more familiar with the skyscrapers from a different perspective; Petit for his tight rope walk between the two buildings, and Willig for his facade-climbing journey up the 110-story building in 1977.

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[Areseesee]

If you haven't seen the movie "Man on Wire" it was a real joy and since I am a bit afraid of heights it made me sweat. Leon Russell's "Tightrope" also makes me sweat but for different reasons... Thanks for posting!

[shakirachan12]

i remeber my fourth grade teacher read us a book and it was true that crazy i cant do it im afraid of heights

[BMark1966]

Thanks Joe ! Great video.

[wendywalkoe]

LOVED that movie and this great clip to remind me of....the love. thanks for walking that wire, Philippe.

[wendywalkoe]

LOVED that movie and this great clip to remind me of....the love.

[oncearoundthesun]

The wonder of the construction of those towers surpassed by another wonder: a man walking a tightrope between them. It is a beautiful story that will forever link them together in my mind. When I remember the towers, i will remember the images in the film "Man On Wire" and the joy of it all.

[flipside1545]

thanks joe..great song choice for this vid!!

[PampersPete]

Wow. I'd never heard of this before. Thanks, Joe.