[FunOnTheNet] â€œMan On Wireâ€ Remembers Twin Towers

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

[FunOnTheNet] â€œMan On Wireâ€ Remembers Twin Towers

"Man on Wire" Remembers Twin Towers

By: Cluadine Zap

In August 1974, the still unfinished twin towers, at some 1,350 feet, were the tallest buildings in the world. The architectural monument inspired one daring young man, Philippe Petit, to commit what he called the "artistic crime of the century." The tightrope artist stepped out onto an illegally rigged wire 110 stories up, stretching 200 feet long between the two towers -- and essentially danced high above the street for almost an hour.

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

Aerialist Philippe Petit from ' Man on a Wire' arrives at the 81st Annual Academy:

Producer Simon Chinn, performance artist Philippe Petit and director James Marsh accept the Best Documentary award for 'Man on Wire' during the 81st Annual Academy Awards held at Kodak Theatre on February 22, 2009 in Los Angeles, California:

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."

After Petit finally came down from the tightrope (unharmed), he was arrested, jailed, taken for a psychological evaluation, and released. Journalists asked the performer why he did it. The then 24-year-old responded, "When I see three oranges, I juggle. When I see two towers, I walk."
Thanks to "Man on Wire," we can see the twin towers again, too.

Was this a crime or a daring stunt of the century?

You decide.

MAN ON WIRE
Philippe Peti...by 23saibot