The Walk

The Walk

On August 7, 1974, passers-by in Lower Manhattan witnessed one of man's most dangerous and skillfully executed feats. On this day, the French tightrope walker Philippe Petit walked at a height of 450 meters above the ground on a tight wire between the world-famous twin towers. He did not use a net, belts or anything else that would ensure the safety of a person in such an extreme feat. Thousands of witnesses applauded the brave Frenchman, and the police were ready to arrest him for disorderly conduct and trespassing. Before doing this daring act, Philippe Petit spent a long time preparing, in which he was helped by friends and acquaintances. More Thirty years after the 45-minute walk between the twin towers, Philippe Petit wrote the memoir "To Reach the Clouds". In 2008, the book was made into an Oscar-winning documentary. The Robert Zemeckis-directed film was also supposed to carry the source title, but it was later changed to Walking on Clouds, and finally to Walking the Heights. Filming of the tape started in May 2014 in Montreal, and ended in August. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who played Petit, wore blue contact lenses for his role. In order to best play the character, the actor learned how to balance on a rope in just eight days. All the scenes are performed by him. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a French accent in the movie "Walking Tall", which was easy for him to imitate, since he studied the language at Columbia University. The tightrope walker's mentor, Papa Rudy, was played by Oscar winner Ben Kingsley. Robert Zemeckis is a cult director. Among his works are Romance with the Stone with Michael Douglas, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Death Suits Her with Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis, Forrest Gump, Rogue and A Christmas Story with Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman and Colin Firth.