A good six months after the fact, we finally saw the documentary, “Man On Wire,” by James Marsh. Why so late? Well, The Playlist contributor Alex Sherman saw it when it was first released and loved it, so we thought, “cool, we’ve got that covered.” But reviews were so damn soaring we kept thinking, “damn, we need to see this.” Well, now that it’s on DVD, we finally did and let us tell you, despite all the crazy expectations created by the buzz, the documentary completely lived up to the hype, which you know can be a crazy, difficult thing to do these days.
The film is awe-inspiring (we’d give at a solid A) and also, it’s one of those things: It sounds like a decent story, but really that amazing? And then you realize it IS that an phenomenal of a story and the filmmaker does a fantastic job of conveying that, the wonder, the poetry, the sheer beauty and joy of such insane, absurd and magnificent accomplishment. We can’t recommend it enough, but you’ve hopefully been there and done that months ago. In case you’re unaware, it’s about a Frenchman wire walker, who in 1974 illegally strung a tightrope between the top of the WTC buildings and danced between them for 45 minutes, thus committing the “artistic crime of the 20th century.”
The one quibble we have, not with the film, but with the press surrounding it: too little talk about Michael Nyman’s incredible music. There’s an amazing building tension and anticipation to the story arc of that wonderful nut, Philippe Petit and its masterfully supported by Nyman’s music. Some might say, it sounds like the music of Philip Glass and yes, they definitely share a vibe. Nyman’s similar take on the syncopated and minimalistic melodies has a wondrous curiosity to them – almost childlike with a whimsical bent at times which really scores the vibrant energy and balls this kook Petit had. Half of “Man On Wire” the film is made by the use of Nyman’s music it’s that magnificently evocative.
Ah, but the reason why its not getting no award season love or even generating much talk? None of it is original music in fact, most of it is like a greatest hits of Nyman’s music, much of it culled from, The Composer’s Cut Series Vol. II: Nyman/Greenaway Revisited, which is basically a compilation of the film music he already wrote for English director Peter Greenaway.
However, if there was ever a reason to buy a Nyman compilation disc, here’s your perfect excuse. Props should also be given to Josh Ralph who did write original music for the film and provided some of the interior “heist” music. And it’s equally good and thrilling. Some samples provided below. The soundtrack, btw came out in October and is rapidly becoming one of our favorite discs of the year.
