Philippe Petit was born in France in 1949, a name that no one had heard of before August 7, 1974. But on that very day, he completed a unique feat that could no longer be replicated— performing a tightrope walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Today, the Petronas Twin Towers are gone, but the story has been left behind. Words, images, pictures... None of them are enough to tell the whole story, and perhaps only Philippe Pat himself can imprint the feelings of that moment in his heart forever.
Forty-two years later, another film that tells this story was released on January 22 in mainland China. That's right, this film is Walk in the Clouds.
Let's enjoy a set of movies first (people with fear of heights can close their eyes first)
Imagine if you watched the 3D version on a giant screen in the theater, would your legs go weak... Yes.
(There are surprises at the end of the article that can satisfy your imagination)
Walking in the Clouds is based on Philip Pat's personal autobiography To Reach the Clouds, as well as the story's documentary The Tightrope Walker, which won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
The director of the film, Robert Zemeckis, has directed well-known films such as "Forced Landing Flight", "Iron Fist", "Stickman", "The Rest of the Desert Island", "Back to the Future" trilogy, but the most glorious stroke in his directorial history is, of course, the 1994 film history classic "Forrest Gump".
In addition to being good at expressing stories, Zemeckis is also a "technical touch". In 2004, he used CG animation live-action capture technology for film, shooting the film Polar Express. As the first film to use all digital capture technology, the film was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Although "Walking in the Clouds" is a biographical drama, it uses 3D technology to show the thrilling scene of the protagonist walking on the tightrope in the air, and I heard that male audiences were directly frightened and vomited...
We will not be strangers to the male protagonist - Joseph Gordon-Levitt has starred in many films such as "The Ring Messenger" and "Inception". In this film, Lutherf speaks French English in a similar way, playing Philippe Pat, who was not yet 25 years old at the time, but maintained his obsession with his dreams.
In the face of a police pursuit, a wayward turn
Philip Pat himself taught him to walk a tightrope. They trained for 8 days in a special workshop, and Luceff also learned how to walk a tightrope, which he called "bittersweet and joyful."
I believe that like Xiao Dianjun, everyone wants to know, from a street juggler to an artist who has completed a pioneering work, how far is it? What are the costs? Philippe Pat gave everyone the answer with his practical actions, and let's walk into his story together...
Philip Pat
In 1962, in a dental clinic in France, Philippe, 13, saw in a magazine the news that the construction of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York had begun. Suddenly, at that moment, he felt his dream become concrete. At that time, like a thief, he could no longer take care of the pain in his teeth, tore off the page of the magazine and rushed away from the clinic. Since then, he has been chasing this dream for 12 years.
Philippe Pat said: "Everyone has a dream, but at that time, my dream was not yet built.
Of course, he has not been idle in these 12 years:
Put a rope between two trees in the park in the middle of the street – success √
In 1971, a rope was erected on top of Notre Dame Cathedral – successfully √ – and × arrested
In 1973, a rope was erected over the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia — successfully √ — and × arrested
Philip said: My dream is not to conquer the universe one day, but to become a poet who conquers wonderful heights.
In addition to "juggling" in various places, Philip also had a crushing love affair, met the woman who knew him best in his life, Annie, and also made a group of friends like him, crazy, eccentric, passionate and passionate about their dreams.
Anne is played by Canadian actress Charlotte Le Bon
In the 6-year road of Philip's dream, there is a group of friends who help and support him
They are still getting old together... In the documentary "Tightrope Walker" released in 2008, the lovers and friends of that year appeared one by one and recalled the wonderful past they experienced together.
Philip Pat saw the news of the capping of the Twin Towers in the newspaper, and he knew that the day that belonged to him had finally come. His girlfriend Anne also really realized for the first time that her lover was about to step on more than 400 meters in the air - "this is not what people do". But at the same time, she also knew that Philip could not even continue to live without conquering these two towers, and the two twin towers seemed to belong to him, as if they had been built for him.
Philip said: How magnificent it would be if I died, and I would die to realize my passion.
So, after a sophisticated deployment and countless photographs, Philip Pat and his companions finally transported tons of equipment to the top floors of the South and North Towers on August 6, 1974, through various disguises and forgeries of documents, and evaded the surveillance of the building's security, spending several hours erecting a steel cable between the towers.
Philip and his partner climbed to the top of the 110-story Twin Towers several times before the final implementation, and made sufficient preparations
The next morning, August 7, Philippe Pat finally stepped on the steel cable.
Using a custom-made 8-meter-long, 25-kilogram balance bar, he manipulates a 200-kilogram steel cable to maintain his balance in the air at a height of 417 meters, walking, dancing, kneeling down in salute, lying down on a tightrope... He walked back and forth between the Twin Towers in its entirety 8 times, a total of 45 minutes.
Philip Pat was lying on a tightrope
After Philip finished the entire performance, he was immediately arrested and sent to prison by the police guarding the roofs of the two buildings. But even the police officers who arrested him praised him in television interviews as "It's magnificent way he did it."
Why did you do that? Why? Why? Why? Why? ）
This is the question that the Yankees have repeatedly asked him.
Philippe said the beauty of the incident was that there was "no reason."
Eventually, of course, New York City dropped charges against him for trespassing and disorder on the condition that he would perform tightrope walking for free for kids a few feet above Turtle Pond in Central Park.
Philip Pat's verdict reads man on wire
In this way, a "crime" that had been planned for 6 years came to a perfect end. The movie "Walking in the Clouds" also completed all the climactic parts at this moment, and ended hastily. But in reality, what happens when all dreams come true?
The day Philip was released from the police station, he went to the hotel with an actress who adored him and enjoyed a spring supper (yes, he is what we now call scumbag). Although he talks about himself at that time in the documentary, expressing his guilt - "very disgusting", he can't hide a little pride in his eyebrows. He gained everyone's admiration, great honor and fame, and he accomplished a pioneering achievement.
And the girlfriend Anne, who had always worried about him, was proud of him, and was fascinated by him, had been abandoned by him.
When he hopes to continue to carry out his series of "steel cable crimes", but is opposed by his friends, they have a dispute before, the future of the two is also going in different directions, and the friendship is slowly broken.
In the documentary, Jean Louis, who has been accompanying Philippe, chokes up 30 years later about the friendship between the two people at that time
30 years later, they still have an unforgettable memory for Philip, but they all know that the achievement belongs only to Philip, he started a new life, and the others just spent 6 years making his wedding dress.
After losing his lover and best friend, Philip had no time to grieve, he continued to walk on the high ropes he loved, crossing the Niagara River in 1986, climbing the Eiffel Tower in 1989... He has performed dozens of public performances in New York, Paris and other cities, and has written six books.
Philip Pat's autobiography To Reach the Clouds
Philip said that life should be on the brink of danger, that you must resist, do not follow the rules, and never stop.
Later in life, we all know that the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. PhilipPe Pat's feat has since become a masterpiece of history, never to be repeated, and together with the building, forever integrated into the urban memory of New York...
Philip Pat left his name on the Twin Towers
He is now a resident artist at St. John's Church in New York City. He currently lives in the town of Woodstock, New York, where he teaches tightrope walking courses and workshops.
Here is the welfare dividing line that people with fear of heights must participate in
In order to let everyone better feel the thrill of walking in the clouds, Xiao Dianjun sent out the redemption code of the film as usual!
It is still the old rule, leave a message under this article, and get the most likes of the first 6 fans, will each get 2 "Walking in the Clouds" movie redemption code!
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