James Marsh, 2008 (7*)
Best Documentary (AA)
[Note: it's hard to be a spoiler here, it's on the dvd cover and the film description.. plus it's well documented history by this point]

This was an amazing event in 1974, and James Marsh has done an admirable job in assembling the story from the present day to re-create a documentary looking backwards. He's used the technique of interspersing interviews with the participants with documentary footage, similar to the style Warren Beatty perfected in Reds, and taken to its extreme by Ken Burns, best used in his Civil War, Jazz, and Baseball series for PBS. All that said, this may have had more impact if released either in 1975, or in 2002.

Philippe Petit is a French tightrope walker who liked to dazzle crowds and thumb his nose at authority by doing things like walking between the two towers of Notre Dame. He has to prepare these events at night when no one can see, then perform in the daylight to the delight of people below, then go to his expected arrest and public scolding. When he saw the plans of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, he became obsessed with walking between them when they were near completion.

Marsh carefully re-constructs the story leading up to the final event and tries to add as much drama as possible, but such an event is hardly earth-shattering in light of the events of 9/11, which oddly are never mentioned here. This is more in the realm of Cirque de Soleil, which is dazzling and athletic entertainment, this performance carrying a bit more risk of death than usual but as Philippe begins the film being interviewed from the present day, we already know the outcome from the beginning. However, this is a well-crafted film by Marsh and won the Oscar® for best documentary of 2008.