Man on Wire

1 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:12,074 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm 2 00:00:31,553 --> 00:00:34,338 [ Rain pattering ] 3 00:00:40,823 --> 00:00:42,825 [ Thunder rumbling ] 4 00:00:42,868 --> 00:00:45,175 [ Man with French accent ] In the middle of the night 5 00:00:45,219 --> 00:00:47,830 I have almost like a nightmare... 6 00:00:47,873 --> 00:00:49,832 I wake up and I had forgotten 7 00:00:49,875 --> 00:00:53,053 to nail shut the crate. 8 00:00:53,096 --> 00:00:55,881 So I go there. I know it was raining. 9 00:00:55,925 --> 00:00:59,189 I must have wake up the whole neighborhood, you know. 10 00:00:59,233 --> 00:01:02,671 It was not closing the box. It was nailing the coffin. 11 00:01:02,714 --> 00:01:05,195 I am nailing the coffin. I see it as that. 12 00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:08,503 Why this expression? Why this thought? 13 00:01:08,546 --> 00:01:11,593 Well, maybe death is now looking 14 00:01:11,636 --> 00:01:14,161 through the golden frame of this dream. 15 00:01:14,204 --> 00:01:17,120 And now reality is gonna maybe choke me to death. 16 00:01:17,164 --> 00:01:19,557 Man on TV: Does it make any sense to conduct surveillance 17 00:01:19,601 --> 00:01:21,081 when somebody knows about it? 18 00:01:21,124 --> 00:01:23,083 Philippe: So now I am Tuesday, 19 00:01:23,126 --> 00:01:25,172 the 6th of August. 20 00:01:25,215 --> 00:01:27,957 President Nixon: The surveillance involved not what he was doing... 21 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,307 [ Speaking French ] 22 00:01:33,789 --> 00:01:36,661 President Nixon: The secret service did maintain surveillance. 23 00:01:36,705 --> 00:01:39,316 They did so for security reasons 24 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:40,970 and I will not go beyond that. 25 00:01:41,013 --> 00:01:44,669 I have never obstructed justice. 26 00:01:44,713 --> 00:01:47,759 And I think too that I could say 27 00:01:47,803 --> 00:01:50,414 that in my years of public life, 28 00:01:50,458 --> 00:01:53,113 that I welcome this kind of examination 29 00:01:53,156 --> 00:01:55,115 because people have got to know 30 00:01:55,158 --> 00:01:57,117 whether or not their president's a crook. 31 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,511 Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got. 32 00:02:08,824 --> 00:02:11,957 Man: Everybody was getting more and more nervous. 33 00:02:12,001 --> 00:02:15,613 And finally we are all ready and said, "okay, let's go." 34 00:02:15,657 --> 00:02:18,442 So we jump in the truck. 35 00:02:25,536 --> 00:02:27,495 "We're not going to die. 36 00:02:27,538 --> 00:02:30,150 We're going to live." 37 00:02:56,915 --> 00:03:00,615 [ Man speaking French ] 38 00:03:11,060 --> 00:03:14,106 Man: I was gonna be on the crew in the south tower. 39 00:03:14,150 --> 00:03:16,108 We were gonna go at closing time 40 00:03:16,152 --> 00:03:18,241 with a big hamper 41 00:03:18,285 --> 00:03:20,504 with all the gear in it 42 00:03:20,548 --> 00:03:22,526 and there were gonna be some guys in the north tower 43 00:03:22,550 --> 00:03:24,508 dressed for business 44 00:03:24,552 --> 00:03:26,510 with much less gear... 45 00:03:26,554 --> 00:03:28,860 An architect's tube. 46 00:03:28,904 --> 00:03:31,254 And I believe that was holding the bow. 47 00:03:31,298 --> 00:03:33,658 There's electricity in the air between Jean-Louis and Albert. 48 00:03:33,691 --> 00:03:35,650 I can read it in Jean-Louis's face... 49 00:03:35,693 --> 00:03:37,652 He doesn't trust Albert. 50 00:03:37,695 --> 00:03:40,263 I had a bad feeling... "there's something wrong with this guy. 51 00:03:40,307 --> 00:03:43,092 He's not at all in the same truck that we are." 52 00:03:44,572 --> 00:03:47,052 Albert: Fear was in the air. 53 00:03:47,096 --> 00:03:50,360 I assumed that even in the best possible situation 54 00:03:50,404 --> 00:03:52,710 we were all gonna be arrested. 55 00:03:52,754 --> 00:03:54,712 There was no doubt of that. 56 00:03:54,756 --> 00:03:57,280 [ Distant sirens wailing ] 57 00:03:57,324 --> 00:04:00,544 I can't imagine how they didn't feel the same way. 58 00:04:02,372 --> 00:04:05,419 I felt that the horizontality 59 00:04:05,462 --> 00:04:07,595 of driving through the streets of Manhattan 60 00:04:07,638 --> 00:04:10,075 suddenly became a slant. I was on the ramp. 61 00:04:10,119 --> 00:04:12,600 I was being engulfed by the monster. 62 00:04:22,305 --> 00:04:24,438 It was suddenly not a dream anymore. 63 00:04:24,481 --> 00:04:26,875 It was tangible. 64 00:04:59,081 --> 00:05:01,301 [ Construction noise ] 65 00:05:49,871 --> 00:05:52,439 Philippe: Once upon a time... 66 00:05:52,482 --> 00:05:54,484 Now that's how you start fairy tales. 67 00:05:54,528 --> 00:05:57,792 And actually my story is a fairy tale. 68 00:06:01,056 --> 00:06:03,014 [ Drill buzzing ] 69 00:06:03,058 --> 00:06:05,277 Here I am, young, 17 years old, 70 00:06:05,321 --> 00:06:07,497 with a bad tooth in one of those 71 00:06:07,541 --> 00:06:10,413 uncolorful waiting rooms of a French dentist. 72 00:06:10,457 --> 00:06:13,938 And it's lit with a little 40-watt bulb. 73 00:06:13,982 --> 00:06:16,071 And you have old ladies and people, you know, 74 00:06:16,114 --> 00:06:18,465 sheepishly looking at magazines, quiet. 75 00:06:18,508 --> 00:06:20,510 And suddenly I freeze 76 00:06:20,554 --> 00:06:23,861 because I have opened a newspaper at a page 77 00:06:23,905 --> 00:06:25,863 and I see something magnificent, 78 00:06:25,907 --> 00:06:29,214 something that inspires me. I see two towers. 79 00:06:29,258 --> 00:06:32,696 And the article says, "one day those towers will be built." 80 00:06:32,740 --> 00:06:35,438 They're not even there yet. "And when they are, 81 00:06:35,482 --> 00:06:38,615 they will become the highest in the world." 82 00:06:38,659 --> 00:06:40,617 Now I need to have that... This little 83 00:06:40,661 --> 00:06:42,619 tangible start of my dream. 84 00:06:42,663 --> 00:06:45,492 But everybody is watching. But I need that page. 85 00:06:45,535 --> 00:06:47,494 So what I do is, under the cover of a sneeze... 86 00:06:47,537 --> 00:06:50,235 [ Sneezes ] I tear the page, 87 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:52,847 put it under my jacket and go out. 88 00:06:52,890 --> 00:06:56,111 Now of course I would have a toothache for a week, 89 00:06:56,154 --> 00:06:58,113 but what's the pain in comparison 90 00:06:58,156 --> 00:07:00,115 that now I have acquired my dream? 91 00:07:02,813 --> 00:07:04,772 Usually when you have a dream, 92 00:07:04,815 --> 00:07:06,948 the object of your dream is tangible. It's there. 93 00:07:06,991 --> 00:07:09,472 It's quixotic but it's there, 94 00:07:09,516 --> 00:07:12,432 nagging you, you know, confronting you. 95 00:07:12,475 --> 00:07:14,434 But the object of my dream doesn't exist yet. 96 00:08:07,617 --> 00:08:09,880 [ Birds twittering ] 97 00:08:29,117 --> 00:08:32,033 [ Annie speaking ] 98 00:10:00,991 --> 00:10:03,907 Philippe: Annie, who knows me better than everybody, 99 00:10:03,951 --> 00:10:06,257 Annie, who was at my side 100 00:10:06,301 --> 00:10:08,608 during my discovery of the wire, 101 00:10:08,651 --> 00:10:10,784 whose large green eyes 102 00:10:10,827 --> 00:10:13,743 move me. 103 00:10:13,787 --> 00:10:16,267 When we embrace we look like two kids 104 00:10:16,311 --> 00:10:19,488 plotting our next piece of mischief. 105 00:10:23,318 --> 00:10:25,799 [ Bells tolling ] 106 00:10:27,322 --> 00:10:29,454 I started as a young, 107 00:10:29,498 --> 00:10:31,456 self-taught wire Walker 108 00:10:31,500 --> 00:10:35,939 to dream of not so much conquering the universe, 109 00:10:35,983 --> 00:10:37,767 but as a poet, 110 00:10:37,811 --> 00:10:40,204 conquering beautiful stages. 111 00:10:51,955 --> 00:10:54,915 Jean-Louis: One day he said, "I really would like 112 00:10:54,958 --> 00:10:57,308 to put a wire on notre dame." 113 00:10:57,352 --> 00:11:00,007 And the first day 114 00:11:00,050 --> 00:11:01,878 I thought it was a joke, 115 00:11:01,922 --> 00:11:03,967 but in the meantime I knew... 116 00:11:04,011 --> 00:11:05,621 I knew that there was something 117 00:11:05,665 --> 00:11:07,623 a little bit real about it. 118 00:11:07,667 --> 00:11:10,974 And then we started to talk more and more about it. 119 00:11:11,018 --> 00:11:14,282 And then we started to plan it. 120 00:11:14,325 --> 00:11:17,677 It took about a year to find a right way to do it. 121 00:11:35,869 --> 00:11:37,566 Jean-Louis: Can you imagine you wake up 122 00:11:37,609 --> 00:11:39,568 in the morning in the city and all of a sudden 123 00:11:39,611 --> 00:11:41,570 you see a highwire Walker 124 00:11:41,613 --> 00:11:43,746 between notre dame? 125 00:11:43,790 --> 00:11:45,705 It's a dream. 126 00:11:49,926 --> 00:11:51,885 That's what really attracts me... 127 00:11:51,928 --> 00:11:53,887 It's the challenge part of doing something 128 00:11:53,930 --> 00:11:55,889 that's supposed to be impossible, 129 00:11:55,932 --> 00:11:57,891 and in the meantime doing something 130 00:11:57,934 --> 00:12:01,198 that's so beautiful that not only doesn't hurt anybody 131 00:12:01,242 --> 00:12:03,679 but gives something to somebody. 132 00:12:03,723 --> 00:12:06,073 [ Annie speaking ] 133 00:13:24,151 --> 00:13:26,109 [ Siren wailing ] 134 00:13:33,116 --> 00:13:35,336 [ Seagulls cawing ] 135 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,079 Philippe: And now we were horizontal again, but we were driving 136 00:14:03,103 --> 00:14:06,280 in the subterranean garage of the two towers. 137 00:14:06,323 --> 00:14:09,109 And we were going... I knew the plan, ha ha... 138 00:14:09,152 --> 00:14:12,939 We were going to the freight elevator 139 00:14:12,982 --> 00:14:15,245 of the south tower. 140 00:14:15,289 --> 00:14:17,378 The whole plan was in the making. 141 00:14:24,733 --> 00:14:27,170 Albert: The basic plan was very simple. 142 00:14:27,214 --> 00:14:29,999 We had I.D. Cards. So it was just a matter 143 00:14:30,043 --> 00:14:33,829 of just kind of pushing our way through. 144 00:14:33,873 --> 00:14:36,658 Once we'd gone in the buildings 145 00:14:36,701 --> 00:14:39,226 it was pretty smooth sailing. 146 00:14:43,752 --> 00:14:46,015 [ Annie speaking ] 147 00:15:02,989 --> 00:15:05,905 If I die, what a beautiful death... 148 00:15:05,948 --> 00:15:09,647 To die in the exercise of your passion. 149 00:16:38,345 --> 00:16:41,000 Mark: We broke into the Sydney harbour bridge pylon one night 150 00:16:41,043 --> 00:16:44,046 and carried all this equipment in, 151 00:16:44,090 --> 00:16:46,831 put a tightrope up, disappeared in the morning, 152 00:16:46,875 --> 00:16:48,833 and then sat down on the street 153 00:16:48,877 --> 00:16:51,575 and watched Philippe walk backwards and forwards. 154 00:17:10,551 --> 00:17:14,120 Philippe: The fact that the wirewalking activity 155 00:17:14,163 --> 00:17:16,296 is framed by death... it's great 156 00:17:16,339 --> 00:17:19,299 because then you have to take it very seriously. 157 00:17:19,342 --> 00:17:24,086 It's a little half a millimeter of a mistake 158 00:17:24,130 --> 00:17:26,045 or a quarter of a second of inattention, 159 00:17:26,088 --> 00:17:27,916 and you lose your life. 160 00:17:46,630 --> 00:17:48,980 Mark: This is the Sydney harbour bridge, 161 00:17:49,024 --> 00:17:53,072 and the traffic was backed up. The police came, of course, within minutes. 162 00:18:12,482 --> 00:18:14,919 Mark: When he was taken away the first thing he did, 163 00:18:14,963 --> 00:18:19,098 he picked the policeman's watch. 164 00:18:19,141 --> 00:18:23,232 Philippe manages to take the guy's watch off his wrist 165 00:18:23,276 --> 00:18:25,278 and hide it in his pocket. 166 00:18:25,321 --> 00:18:27,280 [ Siren wailing ] 167 00:18:36,289 --> 00:18:38,552 [ Cheering ] 168 00:18:42,643 --> 00:18:44,949 Philippe: These dream towers are trotting in my head... 169 00:18:44,993 --> 00:18:46,951 Elles trottent dans ma tete... 170 00:18:46,995 --> 00:18:48,953 You know, galloping in my brain. 171 00:18:54,220 --> 00:18:57,397 As I'm back to Paris... A slap in the face! 172 00:18:57,440 --> 00:18:59,399 "Paris match," double page... 173 00:18:59,442 --> 00:19:01,923 The twin towers are built. 174 00:19:03,185 --> 00:19:05,274 But right now the picture tells me 175 00:19:05,318 --> 00:19:07,711 that those beams are not still covered, 176 00:19:07,755 --> 00:19:09,713 the things are not painted. I see workers. 177 00:19:09,757 --> 00:19:11,846 I imagine maybe for a few moments 178 00:19:11,889 --> 00:19:15,763 or a year, who knows, it's in construction and I can sneak in. 179 00:19:25,860 --> 00:19:27,905 [ Sirens wailing ] 180 00:19:43,704 --> 00:19:45,967 Philippe: The plan was for me 181 00:19:46,010 --> 00:19:49,971 to bring all my equipment to the 82nd floor, 182 00:19:50,014 --> 00:19:51,973 which was Barry's hiding place... 183 00:19:52,016 --> 00:19:54,018 There was one in each tower on the same floor... 184 00:19:54,062 --> 00:19:56,064 And to put all the equipment there 185 00:19:56,107 --> 00:19:58,849 using the freight elevator, saying, "delivery for 82nd floor." 186 00:19:58,893 --> 00:20:01,243 And Barry will be there to receive... okay. 187 00:20:01,287 --> 00:20:05,204 At the time I was an assistant director of research 188 00:20:05,247 --> 00:20:07,858 at the New York state insurance department. 189 00:20:07,902 --> 00:20:09,860 We'd just moved in and I was on 190 00:20:09,904 --> 00:20:12,254 what was then the highest occupied floor 191 00:20:12,298 --> 00:20:14,822 in 2 world trade center. 192 00:20:21,263 --> 00:20:24,832 I knew there was gonna be a team in each tower 193 00:20:24,875 --> 00:20:27,704 and that stuff was gonna be delivered to me 194 00:20:27,748 --> 00:20:29,967 and then it was gonna be carried up... 195 00:20:30,011 --> 00:20:32,579 Would have been 28 floors. 196 00:20:32,622 --> 00:20:35,277 The operator of the freight elevator 197 00:20:35,321 --> 00:20:37,279 had not completely heard 198 00:20:37,323 --> 00:20:39,760 the foreman shouting, "82nd floor." 199 00:20:39,803 --> 00:20:42,110 And it was clearly on our delivery bill 200 00:20:42,153 --> 00:20:44,895 and on the package. He asked to the group, 201 00:20:44,939 --> 00:20:48,072 "what floor again?" Right there I think, "this is it!" 202 00:20:48,116 --> 00:20:50,510 And I said clearly, "104." 203 00:20:50,553 --> 00:20:53,077 He said, "okay, whatever. Watch your hands." 204 00:20:53,121 --> 00:20:56,907 And cling! The gate clanged shut. 205 00:21:02,870 --> 00:21:04,828 Now we are in a plywood box, 206 00:21:04,872 --> 00:21:06,830 in the temporary freight elevator 207 00:21:06,874 --> 00:21:09,659 going all the way up. And it's dark. 208 00:21:09,703 --> 00:21:12,271 It's a travel toward heaven. 209 00:21:12,314 --> 00:21:15,317 And the darkness becomes gray 210 00:21:15,361 --> 00:21:19,016 and I see a square of gray that becomes lighter. 211 00:21:19,060 --> 00:21:21,454 I see a square of light. It is the sky. 212 00:21:21,497 --> 00:21:24,152 We're getting there. And we're arriving 213 00:21:24,195 --> 00:21:26,154 just a few floors 214 00:21:26,197 --> 00:21:28,330 below the roof 215 00:21:28,374 --> 00:21:29,810 with all our equipment. 216 00:21:29,853 --> 00:21:33,117 Annie came to my office and told me 217 00:21:33,161 --> 00:21:37,774 that they had by a great stroke of fortune 218 00:21:37,818 --> 00:21:41,125 gotten on the freight elevator 219 00:21:41,169 --> 00:21:43,432 and saved themselves 20 floors 220 00:21:43,476 --> 00:21:46,392 of carrying up all that equipment. 221 00:21:46,435 --> 00:21:50,396 Philippe: Now I find myself on the deserted floor 104. 222 00:21:50,439 --> 00:21:52,659 And the first thing we do is unpack 223 00:21:52,702 --> 00:21:54,661 and take equipment out. 224 00:21:57,054 --> 00:21:59,143 Suddenly I hear a guard coming! 225 00:21:59,187 --> 00:22:02,973 I just look and I see over there a tarp. 226 00:22:03,017 --> 00:22:06,150 I just grab Jean-francois and I throw him underneath. 227 00:22:06,194 --> 00:22:08,152 And I hear Jean-francois yell, "agh!" 228 00:22:14,811 --> 00:22:16,596 "What? We're going under a...?" 229 00:22:16,639 --> 00:22:18,859 Yeah, we had to hide under a tarp. 230 00:22:18,902 --> 00:22:22,166 Donald starts saying, "hold on, my leg. Hold this. Where can I go?" 231 00:22:22,210 --> 00:22:25,344 And I kind of, like, right on the spur of the moment said, 232 00:22:25,387 --> 00:22:28,608 "you know, man, I can't do this." 233 00:22:28,651 --> 00:22:30,610 And he's like, 234 00:22:30,653 --> 00:22:33,352 "okay, go ahead." 235 00:22:33,395 --> 00:22:36,050 "Go go, quick!" And I think... who was more happy, 236 00:22:36,093 --> 00:22:38,052 was it Donald or I? But anyway, "bye-bye, Donald." 237 00:22:38,095 --> 00:22:41,098 Unbridled glee. 238 00:22:41,142 --> 00:22:44,014 I'm so happy to not have to do this. 239 00:22:44,058 --> 00:22:47,409 I'm running down the stairs 110 flights. 240 00:22:47,453 --> 00:22:50,630 It's like those dreams where you never touch down. 241 00:22:50,673 --> 00:22:53,154 It was so beautiful. 242 00:23:00,204 --> 00:23:02,293 Philippe: So here we are under the tarp, 243 00:23:02,337 --> 00:23:04,426 frozen to death. I don't have to mumble, 244 00:23:04,470 --> 00:23:06,341 murmur to Jean-francois, "don't move." 245 00:23:06,385 --> 00:23:10,214 He feels it in our body connection. 246 00:23:10,258 --> 00:23:12,869 And now the guard comes. 247 00:23:12,913 --> 00:23:14,871 Has he seen US? 248 00:23:14,915 --> 00:23:17,265 [ Radio chatter ] 249 00:23:17,308 --> 00:23:21,312 Has he heard US? Has he seen the tarp move? 250 00:23:21,356 --> 00:23:23,445 But the guard comes 251 00:23:23,489 --> 00:23:25,534 and leans against the structure. 252 00:23:25,578 --> 00:23:28,798 And he seems to be a foot away. 253 00:23:28,842 --> 00:23:31,235 And I hear the crackling of his walkie-talkie. 254 00:23:31,279 --> 00:23:33,237 And I hear he takes a cigarette 255 00:23:33,281 --> 00:23:35,631 and the sound close up now 256 00:23:35,675 --> 00:23:37,285 of the lighter and of his first puff, 257 00:23:37,328 --> 00:23:39,766 the burning of the extremity of the cigarette 258 00:23:39,809 --> 00:23:44,118 and the "pffff." He seems to be almost leaning on my ear. 259 00:23:44,161 --> 00:23:47,469 So we are, I mean, frozen. We don't breathe. 260 00:23:56,522 --> 00:23:59,612 Jean-Louis: We wait for 6:00-6:30. 261 00:24:02,658 --> 00:24:08,359 So we start to climb. 262 00:24:08,403 --> 00:24:10,274 We saw nobody in the stairwell. 263 00:24:10,318 --> 00:24:12,755 There's nobody underneath the roof. Seems pretty safe. 264 00:24:32,601 --> 00:24:35,517 All of a sudden, we hear somebody coming 265 00:24:35,561 --> 00:24:37,519 from the stairway. 266 00:24:37,563 --> 00:24:39,521 So we're scared like hell. 267 00:24:39,565 --> 00:24:41,523 So we run to the hiding place 268 00:24:41,567 --> 00:24:43,482 and we jump in the hiding place. 269 00:24:43,525 --> 00:24:47,529 We hear some steps. We hear the walkie-talkie noise. 270 00:24:47,573 --> 00:24:49,792 [ Radio chatter ] 271 00:24:55,102 --> 00:24:57,365 The noises were very confusing. 272 00:24:58,975 --> 00:25:01,412 Sometimes you don't hear the guy 273 00:25:01,456 --> 00:25:03,806 for 10 minutes, so you think he's gone. 274 00:25:03,850 --> 00:25:06,809 All of a sudden you hear him coughing 275 00:25:06,853 --> 00:25:09,159 or you hear a walkie-talkie noise, 276 00:25:09,203 --> 00:25:13,294 like he's right next to the hiding place. 277 00:25:13,337 --> 00:25:15,426 So we could not talk. 278 00:25:19,082 --> 00:25:23,913 We started to write little notes. 279 00:25:23,957 --> 00:25:25,915 Albert: We kept saying, "do you think now? 280 00:25:25,959 --> 00:25:28,875 Yeah? Let's wait a little longer." 281 00:25:28,918 --> 00:25:32,008 It was uncomfortable, but, you know, 282 00:25:32,052 --> 00:25:34,097 once you understand that you don't have a choice, 283 00:25:34,141 --> 00:25:36,186 you try to settle in and just wait. 284 00:25:38,232 --> 00:25:40,626 [ Radio crackling ] 285 00:25:40,669 --> 00:25:43,106 Jean-Louis: At that point we are in suits... 286 00:25:43,150 --> 00:25:44,847 In business suits. 287 00:25:44,891 --> 00:25:47,546 Being in a business suit with heavy equipment, 288 00:25:47,589 --> 00:25:51,114 hiding behind a pile of boxes... I mean, there is no explanation. 289 00:25:51,158 --> 00:25:53,726 If we are caught at that time... that was it. 290 00:26:06,608 --> 00:26:08,610 Philippe: What if the guard is still around? 291 00:26:08,654 --> 00:26:10,917 What if he is toying with US, 292 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:13,746 waiting for US to make the slightest movement 293 00:26:13,789 --> 00:26:15,965 before he pounces on US? 294 00:26:16,009 --> 00:26:18,359 We must wait. 295 00:26:18,402 --> 00:26:20,753 To ease the torment, 296 00:26:20,796 --> 00:26:23,407 I returned to my memories... 297 00:26:23,451 --> 00:26:28,412 The gold-and-mud years of dreaming, 298 00:26:28,456 --> 00:26:30,980 months of organizing. 299 00:26:31,024 --> 00:26:34,201 I dive back into the past 300 00:26:34,244 --> 00:26:36,638 for a long while. 301 00:26:38,945 --> 00:26:41,077 Man: That it will indeed serve 302 00:26:41,121 --> 00:26:42,862 the purposes intended 303 00:26:42,905 --> 00:26:44,864 and that it will truly promote 304 00:26:44,907 --> 00:26:47,518 not only Harmony between the states 305 00:26:47,562 --> 00:26:50,478 but Harmony and communication 306 00:26:50,521 --> 00:26:53,350 between the nations of the world. 307 00:26:53,394 --> 00:26:55,657 Philippe: It was in January of 1974 308 00:26:55,701 --> 00:26:58,529 I climb on the roof of my little house 309 00:26:58,573 --> 00:27:01,184 and I scream, "I'm coming to america!" 310 00:27:18,332 --> 00:27:20,943 And the minute I got out of the subway, 311 00:27:20,987 --> 00:27:22,945 climbing the steps, looking at them, 312 00:27:22,989 --> 00:27:25,339 I knew that there were no dream. 313 00:27:25,382 --> 00:27:29,473 I knew that my dream was destroyed instantly. 314 00:27:32,694 --> 00:27:36,132 Impossible. Impossible. Impossible. 315 00:27:36,176 --> 00:27:38,787 It's clearly impossible not only to walk across this... 316 00:27:38,831 --> 00:27:40,789 I probably hardly thought of it... 317 00:27:40,833 --> 00:27:44,053 But to bring almost a ton of equipment secretly, 318 00:27:44,097 --> 00:27:46,926 to rig a wire for hours, to guyline it. 319 00:27:46,969 --> 00:27:51,800 It's clearly out of human scale. 320 00:27:51,844 --> 00:27:55,064 But something in me pulls me 321 00:27:55,108 --> 00:27:57,197 toward touching it. 322 00:28:05,379 --> 00:28:09,731 That's when he spoke to me about his project. 323 00:28:09,775 --> 00:28:12,647 He said, "well, I want to string a wire 324 00:28:12,691 --> 00:28:15,868 between the two world trade center towers." 325 00:28:15,911 --> 00:28:18,697 I said, "okay, sounds wild." 326 00:28:18,740 --> 00:28:22,135 I mean, I'd never met a highwire Walker before, 327 00:28:22,178 --> 00:28:24,137 so I had no idea what... 328 00:28:24,180 --> 00:28:26,748 Nor did I even entertain the idea at the time 329 00:28:26,792 --> 00:28:30,752 of what the consequences of anything happening would be. 330 00:28:30,796 --> 00:28:33,494 It just sounded like a really fun adventure to get involved in. 331 00:28:33,537 --> 00:28:35,452 So I took it upon myself to say, "sure, 332 00:28:35,496 --> 00:28:37,628 let's work on it." 333 00:28:37,672 --> 00:28:40,501 The first occasion we went up in the elevator, 334 00:28:40,544 --> 00:28:42,851 we basically took the elevator to the 86th floor. 335 00:28:42,895 --> 00:28:45,854 When we got off there was a guard there. 336 00:28:45,898 --> 00:28:47,856 He said, "what are you doing here?" 337 00:28:47,900 --> 00:28:50,206 So obviously we couldn't continue. 338 00:28:50,250 --> 00:28:52,861 So we took the elevator back down again and then we realized... 339 00:28:52,905 --> 00:28:55,385 He actually said, "well, let's just walk up." 340 00:28:57,866 --> 00:28:59,825 And we proceeded to climb up 341 00:28:59,868 --> 00:29:02,436 the 110 flights to the top. 342 00:29:08,137 --> 00:29:10,836 Philippe: We are at the top of the world. 343 00:29:10,879 --> 00:29:13,882 [ Seagulls cawing ] 344 00:29:13,926 --> 00:29:16,450 I see two slabs of concrete 345 00:29:16,493 --> 00:29:19,583 barely inhabited with some construction, 346 00:29:19,627 --> 00:29:21,803 no fence, no net, no nothing. 347 00:29:21,847 --> 00:29:23,892 And I am frozen to death. 348 00:29:26,112 --> 00:29:28,288 I see the other tower 349 00:29:28,331 --> 00:29:30,290 and I imagine the void. 350 00:29:30,333 --> 00:29:34,120 And if I were to run on this slab, 351 00:29:34,163 --> 00:29:37,123 I will just fall to another life. 352 00:29:45,348 --> 00:29:48,177 And slowly I thought, "okay, now it's impossible. 353 00:29:48,221 --> 00:29:50,005 That's sure. So let's start working." 354 00:29:50,049 --> 00:29:52,616 We took pictures of all these things, thinking that perhaps 355 00:29:52,660 --> 00:29:54,662 that might be where the cable would be tied, 356 00:29:54,705 --> 00:29:58,579 or this maybe would be a cable we could use. 357 00:29:58,622 --> 00:30:00,842 He wasn't sure how he was gonna rig it 358 00:30:00,886 --> 00:30:03,105 at that particular time. 359 00:30:03,149 --> 00:30:05,455 Philippe: I decided in the staircase 360 00:30:05,499 --> 00:30:09,938 to draw a little fresco, 361 00:30:09,982 --> 00:30:13,289 as if I needed some tangible proof 362 00:30:13,333 --> 00:30:16,510 to show me that I was going through different steps 363 00:30:16,553 --> 00:30:18,729 and approaching the impossible 364 00:30:18,773 --> 00:30:20,688 of actually finding myself on that wire. 365 00:30:28,174 --> 00:30:30,654 I even rented a helicopter at some point. 366 00:30:30,698 --> 00:30:32,656 Jim Moore was with me taking pictures 367 00:30:32,700 --> 00:30:34,658 of the roof, of the equipment there 368 00:30:34,702 --> 00:30:37,357 for making a model, for measuring. 369 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:39,881 But I also wanted a little bit 370 00:30:39,925 --> 00:30:43,537 to see if it was possible. 371 00:30:43,580 --> 00:30:46,105 Jim Moore: He wanted to get higher than where he was gonna be 372 00:30:46,148 --> 00:30:48,150 when he walked on the wire. 373 00:30:48,194 --> 00:30:50,152 It was a way of tricking his mind 374 00:30:50,196 --> 00:30:52,981 into not feeling fear 375 00:30:53,025 --> 00:30:54,983 by being higher than where he was gonna be 376 00:30:55,027 --> 00:30:56,985 when he actually did the walk. 377 00:30:57,029 --> 00:30:59,161 Jean-Louis: One day I received a post card 378 00:30:59,205 --> 00:31:01,250 with the world trade center. 379 00:31:01,294 --> 00:31:04,036 I'd never heard about the w.T.C. At that time. 380 00:31:04,079 --> 00:31:07,169 And he had drawn a little wire 381 00:31:07,213 --> 00:31:09,345 on top of the towers. 382 00:31:09,389 --> 00:31:11,347 I thought, "of course. That's why 383 00:31:11,391 --> 00:31:13,872 these towers are there"... I mean, for Philippe. 384 00:31:13,915 --> 00:31:16,352 Philippe: So now I go back to France. 385 00:31:16,396 --> 00:31:19,007 The minute I arrive... I didn't even go home... 386 00:31:19,051 --> 00:31:22,576 I run to Jean-Louis, my old friend. 387 00:31:22,619 --> 00:31:24,926 And I said, "I have a new idea." 388 00:31:24,970 --> 00:31:28,190 This we knew... that legally we could not do it. 389 00:31:28,234 --> 00:31:31,802 I mean, nobody knew Philippe petit. 390 00:31:31,846 --> 00:31:33,804 Nobody knew US. You go there and you ask, 391 00:31:33,848 --> 00:31:36,416 "can I put a wire on top of the world trade center?" 392 00:31:36,459 --> 00:31:38,244 They'd say, "get out." 393 00:31:40,246 --> 00:31:43,902 So I tried to get some information from Philippe... 394 00:31:43,945 --> 00:31:45,686 "okay, you have been there. 395 00:31:45,729 --> 00:31:47,688 You've told me you have been 10 times on the top. 396 00:31:47,731 --> 00:31:50,865 But what did you get as... what do we have as information?" 397 00:31:50,909 --> 00:31:52,867 "But I have pictures. Look. 398 00:31:52,911 --> 00:31:55,739 And we can put the wire... I don't know where to put it, 399 00:31:55,783 --> 00:31:58,960 but we'll find out with the pictures." 400 00:31:59,004 --> 00:32:00,527 This is the best. 401 00:32:10,363 --> 00:32:14,454 I started to do a little recap in my head 402 00:32:14,497 --> 00:32:17,587 and I found out we had nothing. 403 00:32:17,631 --> 00:32:20,286 He is not driven by the impetuous feeling 404 00:32:20,329 --> 00:32:22,244 of dancing between the towers. 405 00:32:22,288 --> 00:32:24,246 He is driven by "I want to help Philippe. 406 00:32:24,290 --> 00:32:26,248 I don't want to help him to kill himself. 407 00:32:26,292 --> 00:32:27,989 And I don't want to be caught there. 408 00:32:28,033 --> 00:32:29,948 And we want to succeed. We don't want to fail." 409 00:32:29,991 --> 00:32:31,950 So for plenty of reasons 410 00:32:31,993 --> 00:32:34,169 that are actually noble and understandable, 411 00:32:34,213 --> 00:32:36,171 he becomes almost... 412 00:32:36,215 --> 00:32:38,173 We're fighting a lot. 413 00:32:38,217 --> 00:32:40,610 "You don't have enough elements, Philippe, 414 00:32:40,654 --> 00:32:43,178 to build up a serious plan." 415 00:32:43,222 --> 00:32:45,180 So now I go back. 416 00:32:45,224 --> 00:32:47,835 And this is the second visit to america. 417 00:32:52,361 --> 00:32:55,277 Now I spend my time spying between towers 418 00:32:55,321 --> 00:32:58,411 with all my might. I go day and night. 419 00:32:58,454 --> 00:33:00,413 I note things 420 00:33:00,456 --> 00:33:02,284 and I fill the exercise books 421 00:33:02,328 --> 00:33:04,330 with all those notes and little doodling. 422 00:33:04,373 --> 00:33:07,115 And I look at what commercial vehicles 423 00:33:07,159 --> 00:33:10,118 go underneath for freight delivery. 424 00:33:10,162 --> 00:33:12,642 I go in. I find a way at lunchtime 425 00:33:12,686 --> 00:33:14,557 to disguise myself. 426 00:33:14,601 --> 00:33:18,257 Younger Philippe: Workers to arrive seem to arrive. 427 00:33:18,300 --> 00:33:20,433 No more cops... 428 00:33:20,476 --> 00:33:22,435 Philippe: So I'm so pulled... I'm so much 429 00:33:22,478 --> 00:33:25,394 into taking notes as a spy around the towers, 430 00:33:25,438 --> 00:33:27,396 I don't see... It's a construction site... 431 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:30,356 I don't see one nail sticking out of one plank. 432 00:33:32,619 --> 00:33:35,013 So right there the big nail 433 00:33:35,056 --> 00:33:36,797 goes through my sole. 434 00:33:38,190 --> 00:33:40,148 Three days in bed. 435 00:33:40,192 --> 00:33:42,150 So here I am with crutches, 436 00:33:42,194 --> 00:33:44,152 thinking I am incapacitated. 437 00:33:44,196 --> 00:33:47,503 No no no no. It's the opposite. It's wonderful! 438 00:33:47,547 --> 00:33:50,419 A human being with crutches... the universe is his. 439 00:33:50,463 --> 00:33:52,421 The guards, you know, help me... 440 00:33:52,465 --> 00:33:54,423 "can I help you? Let me hold the door." 441 00:33:54,467 --> 00:33:56,599 People, you know... "sit down, take your time." 442 00:33:56,643 --> 00:33:59,385 Nobody asks me for an I.D. Nobody says, "what are you doing here?" 443 00:33:59,428 --> 00:34:01,387 I have... it's fabulous! 444 00:34:01,430 --> 00:34:04,781 So then now, even though my foot is about to be repaired, 445 00:34:04,825 --> 00:34:07,175 I use the crutches a lot, okay? 446 00:34:07,219 --> 00:34:10,178 And sometimes you would see the man leaving his crutches 447 00:34:10,222 --> 00:34:12,180 and running around to measure something 448 00:34:12,224 --> 00:34:14,922 and coming back and being with crutches. 449 00:34:33,114 --> 00:34:35,073 Jim: One time we went up there 450 00:34:35,116 --> 00:34:37,075 it was very very windy. 451 00:34:37,118 --> 00:34:39,077 And I actually wasn't sure 452 00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:40,948 why we were going up there. 453 00:34:40,991 --> 00:34:42,950 Philippe: I barely had the courage 454 00:34:42,993 --> 00:34:44,952 to get out of my little trapdoor. 455 00:34:44,995 --> 00:34:48,129 And Jim, hanging on, I don't know how, 456 00:34:48,173 --> 00:34:50,131 managed to take a picture of me 457 00:34:50,175 --> 00:34:53,308 hanging onto a post at the very roof of the tower 458 00:34:53,352 --> 00:34:55,702 with my body almost horizontally. 459 00:34:55,745 --> 00:34:59,749 The wind was blowing me away. So what if? 460 00:34:59,793 --> 00:35:02,100 That was very scary. That was maybe one of the first times 461 00:35:02,143 --> 00:35:04,798 I realized how crazy it was up there with that kind of condition 462 00:35:04,841 --> 00:35:07,670 and the height and what we were involved in. 463 00:35:07,714 --> 00:35:11,109 What happens if I'm up there and I rig it and something happens? 464 00:35:11,152 --> 00:35:12,936 I just started thinking about those things 465 00:35:12,980 --> 00:35:14,982 when it got closer to the actual event. 466 00:35:15,025 --> 00:35:17,941 I basically said, "no, I can't help you rig. 467 00:35:17,985 --> 00:35:20,727 I can't be part of that team that goes to the top." 468 00:35:42,314 --> 00:35:44,272 Philippe: Here we are 469 00:35:44,316 --> 00:35:46,753 underneath the top of the world trade center, 470 00:35:46,796 --> 00:35:49,277 under a tarp. 471 00:35:49,321 --> 00:35:51,279 If some way we'd hear a noise 472 00:35:51,323 --> 00:35:53,281 it was very hard to tell 473 00:35:53,325 --> 00:35:55,849 if it was a cardboard flapping in the wind 474 00:35:55,892 --> 00:35:57,938 or a guard coming or a walkie-talkie. 475 00:36:03,465 --> 00:36:06,381 I drill a little hole with a paper clip 476 00:36:06,425 --> 00:36:08,470 and I enlarge this hole in the canvas 477 00:36:08,514 --> 00:36:11,256 with the conic end of a ballpoint pen. 478 00:36:14,389 --> 00:36:18,001 And then with one eye I was able to see 479 00:36:18,045 --> 00:36:20,003 a little bit of the ambiance light 480 00:36:20,047 --> 00:36:22,702 going onto the figure of my watch. 481 00:36:22,745 --> 00:36:24,965 [ Radio chatter ] 482 00:36:25,008 --> 00:36:27,489 What time is it? Is it dark outside? 483 00:36:27,533 --> 00:36:29,839 Oh, I heard noise. Let's try to go out of the tarp. 484 00:36:34,279 --> 00:36:37,151 [ Jean-François speaking ] 485 00:36:50,730 --> 00:36:52,471 Jean-Louis: We kept hearing 486 00:36:52,514 --> 00:36:54,473 more and more noise from the roof, 487 00:36:54,516 --> 00:36:56,475 like voices, like machines, 488 00:36:56,518 --> 00:37:00,043 sometimes far away, sometimes very close, 489 00:37:00,087 --> 00:37:03,221 but really like somebody was walking on the roof. 490 00:37:03,264 --> 00:37:05,266 We thought, "gee, if they are walking at night, 491 00:37:05,310 --> 00:37:07,921 what are we starting? 492 00:37:07,964 --> 00:37:11,620 There's no chance thecoup will happen." 493 00:37:11,664 --> 00:37:13,796 The longer we waited and the longer we hid, 494 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:15,581 the less time we'd have to do 495 00:37:15,624 --> 00:37:17,713 what we had to do, to get up there. 496 00:37:17,757 --> 00:37:19,715 There was tension. 497 00:37:19,759 --> 00:37:22,065 I thought that we were both out of our element, 498 00:37:22,109 --> 00:37:25,634 that neither of US really should have been there. 499 00:37:25,678 --> 00:37:27,636 Jean-Louis: There's something 500 00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:29,638 that I don't trust in this guy. 501 00:37:29,682 --> 00:37:32,380 He's not deeply concerned by the thing. 502 00:37:32,424 --> 00:37:34,600 Why is he here? 503 00:37:44,305 --> 00:37:46,960 When I finished university I flew to Paris. 504 00:37:47,003 --> 00:37:48,962 And I caught up with Philippe. 505 00:37:49,005 --> 00:37:51,269 And he showed me this extraordinary sort of diagram 506 00:37:51,312 --> 00:37:53,271 and this photograph of this building 507 00:37:53,314 --> 00:37:55,969 that was being constructed in New York. 508 00:37:56,012 --> 00:37:58,450 This is a big one now. This is a really big one. 509 00:37:58,493 --> 00:38:01,844 You know, I looked at this huge tower, or towers, 510 00:38:01,888 --> 00:38:05,761 and Philippe was just so enthusiastic about doing this. 511 00:38:05,805 --> 00:38:08,764 So I became, I guess, 512 00:38:08,808 --> 00:38:11,332 one of the first members of the team. 513 00:38:19,645 --> 00:38:21,603 Merde! 514 00:38:21,647 --> 00:38:25,172 [ Laughing ] 515 00:38:34,181 --> 00:38:36,139 Philippe: I intend on a giant Meadow... 516 00:38:36,183 --> 00:38:38,490 It's a giant giant field... to reproduce 517 00:38:38,533 --> 00:38:40,753 not the roof of the world trade center, 518 00:38:40,796 --> 00:38:42,450 I don't have the money for that, 519 00:38:42,494 --> 00:38:45,366 but just, you know, the outline, and practice. 520 00:38:49,370 --> 00:38:51,633 [ Annie speaking ] 521 00:38:57,509 --> 00:38:59,467 - One, two, three. - [ Men laughing ] 522 00:38:59,511 --> 00:39:01,469 Even if I miss, that's not a one, two... 523 00:39:01,513 --> 00:39:03,863 Mark: He had a... I guess it was a little bit of a boot camp 524 00:39:03,906 --> 00:39:07,693 or a training camp. Essentially, we spent time there 525 00:39:07,736 --> 00:39:11,174 conceiving, designing, 526 00:39:11,218 --> 00:39:13,176 trying to work out how to make this thing work 527 00:39:13,220 --> 00:39:14,961 from every aspect. 528 00:39:18,312 --> 00:39:20,880 [ Annie speaking ] 529 00:39:33,414 --> 00:39:35,721 Philippe: So I asked my friends to make the cable dance. 530 00:39:35,764 --> 00:39:38,941 And here is Mark the Australian, here's Jean-Louis, Annie... 531 00:39:38,985 --> 00:39:41,466 Mark: And we would jump up and down on his wire. 532 00:39:41,509 --> 00:39:45,165 We'd try and bounce Philippe off the wire. 533 00:39:45,208 --> 00:39:47,689 [ Chattering, laughing ] 534 00:39:56,437 --> 00:39:59,614 [ Conversing in French ] 535 00:39:59,658 --> 00:40:01,834 Mark: The world trade center was extraordinary 536 00:40:01,877 --> 00:40:04,793 because it was 200' between the towers. 537 00:40:04,837 --> 00:40:07,927 So how do you get a tightrope 538 00:40:07,970 --> 00:40:10,451 from one tower to the other? 539 00:40:10,495 --> 00:40:13,715 - Younger Philippe: Look what you will see. - Man: You like that? 540 00:40:13,759 --> 00:40:16,631 Jean-Louis: We have to find a way to throw something 541 00:40:16,675 --> 00:40:18,590 then you can pull a little string 542 00:40:18,633 --> 00:40:20,592 and then a bigger string and then a rope 543 00:40:20,635 --> 00:40:23,072 and then eventually the wire. 544 00:40:24,987 --> 00:40:26,946 Philippe: At some point I thought even 545 00:40:26,989 --> 00:40:31,254 of a little airplane, radio-guided. 546 00:40:31,298 --> 00:40:33,256 Jean-Louis: "Football and baseball?" "Yeah." 547 00:40:33,300 --> 00:40:35,258 "We have to learn how to play baseball 548 00:40:35,302 --> 00:40:37,565 for two months before we can do that?" 549 00:40:37,609 --> 00:40:39,088 "No no no." 550 00:40:39,132 --> 00:40:40,873 Philippe: And at some point 551 00:40:40,916 --> 00:40:42,744 Jean-Louis comes up with a really silly idea. 552 00:40:42,788 --> 00:40:44,920 I don't even let him finish his sentence. He says, 553 00:40:44,964 --> 00:40:46,922 "Philippe, what about a bow and arrow?" 554 00:40:48,968 --> 00:40:50,926 Mark: We drilled a very small hole 555 00:40:50,970 --> 00:40:52,928 at the end of an arrow. 556 00:40:52,972 --> 00:40:55,931 We attached a monofilament, or a fishing-line wire, 557 00:40:55,975 --> 00:40:58,847 to the arrow. And the whole idea would be 558 00:40:58,891 --> 00:41:00,849 that Jean-Louis would, you know, 559 00:41:00,893 --> 00:41:02,851 send the arrow from one building to another. 560 00:41:02,895 --> 00:41:05,288 And then of course whenever we tried it, 561 00:41:05,332 --> 00:41:07,769 it just didn't work. 562 00:41:07,813 --> 00:41:09,815 Wait a minute. Wait a minute. 563 00:41:36,058 --> 00:41:37,582 Younger Mark: It's pretty useless. 564 00:41:40,846 --> 00:41:43,109 Mark: In the end we designed a spool 565 00:41:43,152 --> 00:41:45,111 that had a conical shape on it, 566 00:41:45,154 --> 00:41:46,852 so that the monofilament would unravel 567 00:41:46,895 --> 00:41:49,855 and go very freely through the air. 568 00:41:52,118 --> 00:41:54,207 C'est genial! 569 00:42:03,129 --> 00:42:06,045 [ Cheering ] 570 00:42:08,177 --> 00:42:10,919 - C'est bon. Regarde. - Juste. Right, exactly. 571 00:42:26,935 --> 00:42:29,808 Philippe: As a child, I loved to climb everywhere. 572 00:42:29,851 --> 00:42:32,027 I'll let the psychiatrists decide why. 573 00:42:32,071 --> 00:42:34,247 Maybe I wanted to escape my time. 574 00:42:34,290 --> 00:42:36,945 Maybe I wanted to see the world from a different perspective 575 00:42:36,989 --> 00:42:39,382 and I was an explorer at heart. 576 00:42:39,426 --> 00:42:42,821 Who knows? And who cares? But I was a little climber. 577 00:42:42,864 --> 00:42:45,388 And nobody... not my parents, not the teachers... 578 00:42:45,432 --> 00:42:47,913 Nobody could stop me. 579 00:42:55,442 --> 00:42:57,444 I heard about wirewalkers. 580 00:42:57,487 --> 00:42:59,446 I was described 581 00:42:59,489 --> 00:43:01,448 how they are magnificent men and women 582 00:43:01,491 --> 00:43:04,016 walking on thin air. And I thought, "well, that's nothing. 583 00:43:04,059 --> 00:43:06,453 With my ropes I do that." 584 00:43:30,129 --> 00:43:32,087 Ah, merde. 585 00:43:32,131 --> 00:43:34,437 [ Speaking French ] 586 00:43:37,876 --> 00:43:40,356 [ Annie speaking ] 587 00:44:39,459 --> 00:44:40,982 - Mark: Oh, no. - [ Laughs ] 588 00:44:41,026 --> 00:44:42,680 Because it's not... 589 00:44:52,472 --> 00:44:54,692 [ Speaking French ] 590 00:45:14,886 --> 00:45:18,237 [ Annie speaking ] 591 00:45:24,809 --> 00:45:27,246 Oui, mais Mark disait... Mark said 592 00:45:27,289 --> 00:45:30,858 if somebody opens the door in the stairs 593 00:45:30,902 --> 00:45:33,513 and sees a very serious man, dark, 594 00:45:33,556 --> 00:45:36,037 - taking big... - Jean-Louis: Yes. No no no. 595 00:45:36,081 --> 00:45:37,909 Now listen. Now listen. 596 00:45:37,952 --> 00:45:40,389 In the stairway we can be discovered by anyone. 597 00:45:40,433 --> 00:45:42,870 - [ Philippe translating ] - So we have to be a combination 598 00:45:42,914 --> 00:45:46,308 - of a workman and an office man. - Philippe: Office man. 599 00:45:46,352 --> 00:45:48,702 I think this is perfect. This is perfect. 600 00:45:48,746 --> 00:45:50,399 And this is no good. 601 00:46:04,326 --> 00:46:08,853 [ Annie speaking ] 602 00:46:29,047 --> 00:46:33,007 [ Annie speaking ] 603 00:46:37,185 --> 00:46:39,144 Philippe: Since long before vary 604 00:46:39,187 --> 00:46:41,146 Annie has been angling 605 00:46:41,189 --> 00:46:43,757 for an invitation to New York, 606 00:46:43,801 --> 00:46:46,673 using tenderness, blackmail, 607 00:46:46,716 --> 00:46:50,590 threats, insults and tears. 608 00:46:51,678 --> 00:46:53,985 But I need absolute detachment, 609 00:46:54,028 --> 00:46:55,987 complete freedom 610 00:46:56,030 --> 00:46:57,989 and must be a castaway 611 00:46:58,032 --> 00:47:00,208 on the desert island of my dreams. 612 00:47:09,435 --> 00:47:12,090 Mark: Philippe and I traveled to New York together. 613 00:47:12,133 --> 00:47:14,875 I remember looking out through this hazy airplane window 614 00:47:14,919 --> 00:47:16,877 and seeing in the far distance 615 00:47:16,921 --> 00:47:19,140 the twin towers. 616 00:47:19,184 --> 00:47:21,142 We'd come all of this way 617 00:47:21,186 --> 00:47:23,710 and this was what we were here for. 618 00:47:25,538 --> 00:47:27,496 Philippe: "Metropolis"... 619 00:47:27,540 --> 00:47:31,109 France's number-one journal of urban planning. 620 00:47:31,152 --> 00:47:33,938 We are preparing a feature profile 621 00:47:33,981 --> 00:47:36,549 of the workers who are presently constructing 622 00:47:36,592 --> 00:47:38,943 the world trade center in New York. 623 00:47:38,986 --> 00:47:42,468 Our credentialed reporter Philippe petit 624 00:47:42,511 --> 00:47:44,687 kindly requests your cooperation 625 00:47:44,731 --> 00:47:47,168 for this article. 626 00:47:47,212 --> 00:47:49,475 He told me he was a French journalist. 627 00:47:49,518 --> 00:47:53,044 And it was just not normal for me to say, 628 00:47:53,087 --> 00:47:55,611 "show me your credentials, if you would." 629 00:47:55,655 --> 00:47:57,918 He was gonna write a story about the world trade center 630 00:47:57,962 --> 00:47:59,920 for the French newspapers. 631 00:47:59,964 --> 00:48:01,922 And he had two photographers with him. 632 00:48:01,966 --> 00:48:04,882 And I thought that was pretty good publicity. 633 00:48:04,925 --> 00:48:07,362 Younger Mark: Do you completely trust the building yourself? 634 00:48:07,406 --> 00:48:09,887 - Worker: What, is it safe up there? - Yeah yeah. 635 00:48:09,930 --> 00:48:12,846 You mean, like tumbling down, falling down or something? No no, it's safe. 636 00:48:12,890 --> 00:48:15,327 Mark: Here was this sort of long-haired Australian 637 00:48:15,370 --> 00:48:17,546 and this sort of very volatile frenchman. 638 00:48:17,590 --> 00:48:19,853 He couldn't speak great English. [ Laughing ] 639 00:48:19,897 --> 00:48:22,073 So we were journalists. 640 00:48:22,116 --> 00:48:24,249 And we enlisted Jim Moore 641 00:48:24,292 --> 00:48:26,468 and he was the cameraman. 642 00:48:26,512 --> 00:48:28,470 It was interesting 643 00:48:28,514 --> 00:48:31,038 because, you know, here we are 644 00:48:31,082 --> 00:48:33,780 disguising ourselves as someone who we're not 645 00:48:33,823 --> 00:48:36,652 and perfectly getting away with it. It was wonderful. 646 00:48:36,696 --> 00:48:39,496 Younger Philippe: When you are working here and when the weather changes 647 00:48:39,525 --> 00:48:41,242 do you stop because you cannot work anymore? 648 00:48:41,266 --> 00:48:43,157 Worker: You mean, if we start doing a day up there 649 00:48:43,181 --> 00:48:44,965 and all of a sudden the weather gets bad? 650 00:48:45,009 --> 00:48:46,749 - Oh, we have to finish the day. - Oh, yeah? 651 00:48:46,793 --> 00:48:48,664 - Oh, yeah. - So it happens a lot 652 00:48:48,708 --> 00:48:50,480 to work there on the top with bad conditions? 653 00:48:50,504 --> 00:48:51,102 Oh, yeah. 654 00:48:51,145 --> 00:48:54,105 - And you get a little bit scared of that? - No, not really. 655 00:48:54,148 --> 00:48:56,716 Mark: I remember Jim would act like he was taking 656 00:48:56,759 --> 00:48:58,979 a photograph of a worker, then at the same time 657 00:48:59,023 --> 00:49:01,155 he'd put the camera down and he'd take a photograph 658 00:49:01,199 --> 00:49:03,549 of a pylon or an anchor point 659 00:49:03,592 --> 00:49:05,899 or something like that. 660 00:49:05,943 --> 00:49:09,772 Philippe: The towers were not corners facing corners. 661 00:49:09,816 --> 00:49:11,774 They were askew, 662 00:49:11,818 --> 00:49:15,343 which was a problem for me to decide where to put my wire. 663 00:49:15,387 --> 00:49:17,345 So in principle that's the cable. 664 00:49:17,389 --> 00:49:19,173 It crosses the two roofs. 665 00:49:19,217 --> 00:49:21,436 I decided to attach the cable 666 00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:23,786 to what I believed was the strongest beam 667 00:49:23,830 --> 00:49:25,788 at the top of the roof. 668 00:49:25,832 --> 00:49:27,790 And then I'm gonna tie the wire 669 00:49:27,834 --> 00:49:31,577 to here on the south tower. 670 00:49:31,620 --> 00:49:34,580 A cable between two buildings of a long length... 671 00:49:34,623 --> 00:49:36,582 It sways, 672 00:49:36,625 --> 00:49:38,192 it goes up and down, 673 00:49:38,236 --> 00:49:40,629 and there is almost an invisible move, 674 00:49:40,673 --> 00:49:43,284 which is a torsion on itself. 675 00:49:43,328 --> 00:49:47,462 So what we devise... 676 00:49:47,506 --> 00:49:49,812 It's called a cavalletti in the circus parlance. 677 00:49:49,856 --> 00:49:52,119 It's actually a guyline 678 00:49:52,163 --> 00:49:54,774 that is perpendicular to the axis of the wire 679 00:49:54,817 --> 00:49:56,776 and it goes down to the ground. 680 00:49:56,819 --> 00:49:58,778 Even with permission we couldn't go 681 00:49:58,821 --> 00:50:00,562 a quarter of a mile to the ground, 682 00:50:00,606 --> 00:50:04,697 plus I needed a pair... here's one and here's two. 683 00:50:04,740 --> 00:50:06,873 We know they cannot go down, 684 00:50:06,916 --> 00:50:08,875 so the solution was 685 00:50:08,918 --> 00:50:10,877 asymmetric rigging, 686 00:50:10,920 --> 00:50:12,705 which is like this. 687 00:50:12,748 --> 00:50:14,707 Here's the first attachment. 688 00:50:14,750 --> 00:50:18,145 Each cavalletti had two legs... a short one and a long one. 689 00:50:18,189 --> 00:50:21,322 So this is what I decided 690 00:50:21,366 --> 00:50:24,586 was the best for the situation. 691 00:50:24,630 --> 00:50:28,199 And now I am preparing for le coup. 692 00:50:28,242 --> 00:50:30,810 We are going to do it. 693 00:50:30,853 --> 00:50:34,292 Jean-Louis: I arrive Saturday and thecoup is due on Monday. 694 00:50:34,335 --> 00:50:37,904 He's more and more ready for thecoup, 695 00:50:37,947 --> 00:50:39,906 but thecoup itself is not ready. 696 00:50:39,949 --> 00:50:43,605 And I was very frustrated about that. 697 00:50:43,649 --> 00:50:46,043 I knew we had to act quickly 698 00:50:46,086 --> 00:50:47,914 and I knew we had nothing. 699 00:50:47,957 --> 00:50:51,265 Jean-Louis wants to know... "have you done this that I asked you to do? 700 00:50:51,309 --> 00:50:53,149 And what is my answer about when the guard...?" 701 00:50:53,180 --> 00:50:55,487 And I don't satisfy him with my answer. 702 00:50:55,530 --> 00:50:57,837 So he attacks my non-preparations 703 00:50:57,880 --> 00:51:02,102 while actually I feel that I have prepared immensely. 704 00:51:02,146 --> 00:51:04,104 Mark: I think the longer we were there, 705 00:51:04,148 --> 00:51:06,106 the longer I was cognizant of the fact 706 00:51:06,150 --> 00:51:10,328 that it was a very ambitious pursuit, 707 00:51:10,371 --> 00:51:13,940 what we were doing. We just weren't ready. 708 00:51:18,162 --> 00:51:20,120 Mark: I never doubted Philippe's talent, 709 00:51:20,164 --> 00:51:22,166 his prowess on the wire. 710 00:51:22,209 --> 00:51:26,735 It was the unforeseen things that really worried me. 711 00:51:26,779 --> 00:51:29,390 You know, america's a very litigious society... 712 00:51:29,434 --> 00:51:31,784 You know, "involuntary manslaughter, 713 00:51:31,827 --> 00:51:33,786 assisted suicide." 714 00:51:33,829 --> 00:51:35,396 Then we put everything down. 715 00:51:35,440 --> 00:51:38,530 I didn't want to be liable for the death of a friend. 716 00:51:40,880 --> 00:51:44,579 Jean-Louis: When he could clearly see that we are not ready... 717 00:51:44,623 --> 00:51:46,581 Everybody could see it but Philippe... 718 00:51:46,625 --> 00:51:49,932 And that time he gave up. 719 00:51:49,976 --> 00:51:52,761 Obviously, with the Australian not there... 720 00:51:52,805 --> 00:51:54,763 Obviously, the whole thing 721 00:51:54,807 --> 00:51:57,418 is a total debacle. 722 00:51:59,681 --> 00:52:01,640 Jean-Louis: And I told him, 723 00:52:01,683 --> 00:52:03,859 "okay, so, Philippe, what do you think now? 724 00:52:03,903 --> 00:52:07,820 It's may 30th. We're supposed to do thecoup today. 725 00:52:07,863 --> 00:52:10,170 Do you think we can do it like that?" 726 00:52:10,214 --> 00:52:12,781 And he said, "no." 727 00:52:12,825 --> 00:52:15,610 He said, "no, it's clear that it's impossible." 728 00:52:15,654 --> 00:52:17,612 And I said, "no, it's not impossible. 729 00:52:17,656 --> 00:52:20,093 It is possible. I mean, we are very close to it. 730 00:52:22,226 --> 00:52:24,880 If you want something, nothing is impossible." 731 00:52:24,924 --> 00:52:27,753 I keep repeating, "I'll be back. I'll be back. 732 00:52:27,796 --> 00:52:29,363 We'll prepare it and we'll do it." 733 00:52:29,407 --> 00:52:33,150 [ Annie speaking ] 734 00:53:41,957 --> 00:53:44,525 Barry: I saw him in the lobby. [ Laughs ] 735 00:53:44,569 --> 00:53:47,180 And it was just somebody that didn't belong there, 736 00:53:47,224 --> 00:53:49,617 like someone who would come out... 737 00:53:49,661 --> 00:53:51,619 It just... it was just 738 00:53:51,663 --> 00:53:53,447 a wrong juxtaposition. 739 00:53:53,491 --> 00:53:55,275 It just was very very odd. 740 00:53:55,319 --> 00:53:57,277 "Philippe! 741 00:53:57,321 --> 00:53:59,279 It's wonderful to see you!" 742 00:53:59,323 --> 00:54:02,326 And his name is Barry and he has seen me 743 00:54:02,369 --> 00:54:04,415 street juggling in Paris. 744 00:54:06,504 --> 00:54:08,854 Barry: He started talking and telling me 745 00:54:08,897 --> 00:54:11,813 all this wirewalking that he did. 746 00:54:11,857 --> 00:54:14,033 And I think I said at some point... [ Laughing ] 747 00:54:14,076 --> 00:54:17,079 "If you're thinking of doing the world trade center, forget it." 748 00:54:17,123 --> 00:54:21,170 But he sort of draws you into his world. 749 00:54:21,214 --> 00:54:23,434 And I guess I was the kind of guy 750 00:54:23,477 --> 00:54:27,873 who was not averse to doing that were slightly... 751 00:54:27,916 --> 00:54:30,528 You know, not totally legal. 752 00:54:32,486 --> 00:54:34,271 Philippe: Barry calls me and says, 753 00:54:34,314 --> 00:54:35,924 "Philippe, I'm sorry to tell you, 754 00:54:35,968 --> 00:54:38,100 but the security around the world trade center 755 00:54:38,144 --> 00:54:41,321 in general has changed and now we all are forced to carry an I.D. 756 00:54:41,365 --> 00:54:43,323 But I happen to have mine 757 00:54:43,367 --> 00:54:45,847 freshly unsealed from the envelope 758 00:54:45,891 --> 00:54:47,849 and it will not be too much trouble 759 00:54:47,893 --> 00:54:49,634 to abandon it in your hands for a few hours." 760 00:54:49,677 --> 00:54:51,636 Barry: He did this 761 00:54:51,679 --> 00:54:54,291 incredibly artistic, perfect job 762 00:54:54,334 --> 00:54:56,554 of copying it and getting an I.D. Card 763 00:54:56,597 --> 00:54:58,991 with his own picture on it. 764 00:55:06,259 --> 00:55:08,217 Jean-Louis: One day he called me and he said, 765 00:55:08,261 --> 00:55:11,046 "well, I have found two or three American guys. 766 00:55:11,090 --> 00:55:13,048 They are crazy. They are great. 767 00:55:13,092 --> 00:55:16,313 And they are ready to help." 768 00:55:16,356 --> 00:55:19,881 Philippe: I meet two American young men, 769 00:55:19,925 --> 00:55:22,449 Donald and Chester. 770 00:55:22,493 --> 00:55:24,451 Donald: We met with petit. And I had a friend 771 00:55:24,495 --> 00:55:26,801 named Alan welner who I went to high school with. 772 00:55:26,845 --> 00:55:29,978 He was always up for an adventure, always. 773 00:55:30,022 --> 00:55:33,721 I think petit knew also that this guy was a quality guy. 774 00:55:35,157 --> 00:55:37,116 Philippe: Suddenly smart, 775 00:55:37,159 --> 00:55:40,206 suddenly aware of himself and knowing his limits, 776 00:55:40,249 --> 00:55:42,991 the ideal accomplice. 777 00:55:43,035 --> 00:55:46,168 Albert: He was pitching it. He was presenting it. 778 00:55:46,212 --> 00:55:49,781 He was desperately sort of proposing it 779 00:55:49,824 --> 00:55:51,783 in a way that you would, you know, 780 00:55:51,826 --> 00:55:55,047 sell a timeshare or something. 781 00:55:55,090 --> 00:55:57,049 I knew he was a nut 782 00:55:57,092 --> 00:55:59,051 or a con man or something, 783 00:55:59,094 --> 00:56:02,489 but he seemed harmless enough. 784 00:56:02,533 --> 00:56:05,623 I didn't really take it seriously at that point. 785 00:56:07,407 --> 00:56:10,105 Philippe: I need to practice a little bit on the wire 786 00:56:10,149 --> 00:56:13,500 and I need mostly to show my two... three American friends 787 00:56:13,544 --> 00:56:16,329 how to hook the cable, how to help Jean-Louis. 788 00:56:19,898 --> 00:56:22,683 Donald: That's when I saw him on a cable. 789 00:56:22,727 --> 00:56:26,208 I had never seen concentration like that. 790 00:56:26,252 --> 00:56:28,341 And I think I never have to this day. 791 00:56:28,385 --> 00:56:30,343 And his face became 792 00:56:30,387 --> 00:56:33,955 this ageless mask of concentration. 793 00:56:33,999 --> 00:56:36,393 I mean, he became like a sphinx. 794 00:56:36,436 --> 00:56:38,395 It was amazing. 795 00:56:51,886 --> 00:56:54,236 Albert: He did it beautifully and calmly 796 00:56:54,280 --> 00:56:56,456 and he just did it, in fact, 797 00:56:56,500 --> 00:56:58,458 literally, with his eyes closed. 798 00:56:58,502 --> 00:57:00,460 It was just what he does. 799 00:57:00,504 --> 00:57:02,941 Everything he told me was true. 800 00:57:17,346 --> 00:57:19,914 [ Annie speaking ] 801 00:57:32,449 --> 00:57:35,321 Jean-Louis: I don't remember right now when we fixed the date, 802 00:57:35,364 --> 00:57:38,150 but we had fixed the date for August 7th. 803 00:57:53,644 --> 00:57:57,343 Jean-Louis arrives and I go and pick him up at the airport. 804 00:57:57,386 --> 00:57:59,843 He is with Jean-francois. And of course I remember Jean-francois, 805 00:57:59,867 --> 00:58:02,000 the adorable little apparition. 806 00:58:02,043 --> 00:58:04,568 And he's all smiles. He doesn't have any questions. 807 00:58:04,611 --> 00:58:08,485 He just will follow. He is here to help. 808 00:58:39,080 --> 00:58:44,042 ♪ When I was a boy 809 00:58:44,085 --> 00:58:47,393 ♪ I dreamed of Phillip marlowe... ♪ 810 00:58:49,613 --> 00:58:53,530 [ Annie speaking ] 811 00:59:00,537 --> 00:59:04,628 ♪ ...gave me shotgun fever... ♪ 812 00:59:04,671 --> 00:59:06,673 Jean-Louis: I met the first two guys 813 00:59:06,717 --> 00:59:10,068 and one of them was a musician. 814 00:59:10,111 --> 00:59:13,201 The other one, I think, was a carpenter, I don't know what. 815 00:59:13,245 --> 00:59:16,770 And they really looked like losers. 816 00:59:16,814 --> 00:59:18,772 I mean, I'm sorry, 817 00:59:18,816 --> 00:59:21,209 but like... 818 00:59:21,253 --> 00:59:24,212 When I saw these guys I thought, "my god." 819 00:59:24,256 --> 00:59:29,087 ♪ ...loves me. 820 00:59:49,324 --> 00:59:51,718 It's likely I probably had been smoking pot. 821 00:59:51,762 --> 00:59:55,592 Yeah, likely as all hell. 822 00:59:55,635 --> 00:59:58,464 I smoked pot every day for 35 years. 823 00:59:58,507 --> 01:00:00,945 There's no reason to think I didn't smoke that day. 824 01:00:03,687 --> 01:00:06,428 Philippe: And Jean-Louis meets Albert. 825 01:00:06,472 --> 01:00:09,083 He has a little intuition. I can read it in Jean-Louis's face... 826 01:00:09,127 --> 01:00:11,608 He doesn't trust Albert. 827 01:00:11,651 --> 01:00:14,785 Jean-Louis: You know, you have this feeling with people 828 01:00:14,828 --> 01:00:16,787 and sometimes it's wrong, 829 01:00:16,830 --> 01:00:19,093 but you can't help it anyway. 830 01:00:21,182 --> 01:00:23,141 Albert: We shook hands, said hello. 831 01:00:23,184 --> 01:00:26,405 They didn't speak English. I spoke no French. 832 01:00:26,448 --> 01:00:29,756 So there wasn't too much to say, 833 01:00:29,800 --> 01:00:32,454 just "nice to meet you. Good luck. 834 01:00:32,498 --> 01:00:35,370 Let's do what we have to do." 835 01:00:57,218 --> 01:00:59,177 Philippe: When I felt that the whole floor 836 01:00:59,220 --> 01:01:01,788 finally was silent and the darkness is there, 837 01:01:01,832 --> 01:01:04,878 I ventured out. 838 01:01:04,922 --> 01:01:07,838 Imagine staying three hours on a beam. 839 01:01:07,881 --> 01:01:10,536 You cannot walk. You need reeducation. 840 01:01:10,579 --> 01:01:12,886 A normal human being staying completely unmoving 841 01:01:12,930 --> 01:01:15,541 on a beam for three hours cannot walk. 842 01:01:22,330 --> 01:01:24,289 Jean-Louis: After a while I said, 843 01:01:24,332 --> 01:01:26,291 "we cannot wait anymore." 844 01:01:26,334 --> 01:01:28,772 I told Albert, "you know what? 845 01:01:28,815 --> 01:01:31,513 You should go because if I go, if I'm caught 846 01:01:31,557 --> 01:01:33,777 there's no way we can do the rigging, 847 01:01:33,820 --> 01:01:35,779 because I'm the only one who knows 848 01:01:35,822 --> 01:01:38,651 about Philippe's habits and how to do it." 849 01:01:40,958 --> 01:01:43,090 So he goes on the top 850 01:01:43,134 --> 01:01:45,919 and comes back five minutes later. 851 01:01:45,963 --> 01:01:47,834 Albert: I'm sure I just said, 852 01:01:47,878 --> 01:01:50,358 "okay, let's go. Let's just get this done." 853 01:01:50,402 --> 01:01:52,360 So I said, "great. 854 01:01:52,404 --> 01:01:55,886 We don't know where this noise come from, but let's go." 855 01:01:55,929 --> 01:01:57,888 And now we moved 856 01:01:57,931 --> 01:02:01,239 and we go for the most important equipment. 857 01:02:01,282 --> 01:02:04,895 I mean, a wirewalker needs a cable to walk on. 858 01:02:04,938 --> 01:02:06,897 Now we are walking 859 01:02:06,940 --> 01:02:09,464 toward a tiny little construction staircase, very narrow. 860 01:02:09,508 --> 01:02:12,337 And he's in front and I'm in the back. 861 01:02:12,380 --> 01:02:14,861 I see a nightmare... a policeman. 862 01:02:14,905 --> 01:02:18,082 And the policeman has his eyes open and he's looking at me. 863 01:02:23,261 --> 01:02:25,742 I decide to hold him. 864 01:02:25,785 --> 01:02:28,614 But hold on, he is pushing me. 865 01:02:28,657 --> 01:02:31,486 The same way I am holding him, the same way he is pushing me. 866 01:02:31,530 --> 01:02:33,837 What is happening? 867 01:02:33,880 --> 01:02:36,578 There's no way I can get Jean-francois to turn around, 868 01:02:36,622 --> 01:02:38,972 so let's play his game. Let's follow. 869 01:02:42,628 --> 01:02:45,762 We were very silent because we didn't have shoes on. 870 01:02:45,805 --> 01:02:48,460 And when we arrive on the top I whisper, "did you see the guard?" 871 01:02:48,503 --> 01:02:50,462 He said, "of course I saw the guard. 872 01:02:50,505 --> 01:02:52,769 And I was trying to alert you by pushing you. 873 01:02:52,812 --> 01:02:55,597 But why did you resist?" I said, "well, I was trying to resist 874 01:02:55,641 --> 01:02:58,296 to have you turn around and for me to explain without words..." 875 01:03:00,777 --> 01:03:04,781 [ Jean-François speaking ] 876 01:03:21,188 --> 01:03:23,147 Philippe: The most beautiful moment 877 01:03:23,190 --> 01:03:26,150 is when I see a shape... Actually, two silhouettes 878 01:03:26,193 --> 01:03:27,804 on the other tower. 879 01:03:27,847 --> 01:03:29,806 And I recognize immediately in the darkness 880 01:03:29,849 --> 01:03:32,504 it is a silhouette of Jean-Louis and the silhouette of Albert. 881 01:03:32,547 --> 01:03:34,506 They made it. 882 01:03:34,549 --> 01:03:37,509 Jean-Louis: When I saw them on the roof I was so happy. 883 01:03:37,552 --> 01:03:39,511 And the impression I got... 884 01:03:39,554 --> 01:03:41,513 I dream about that all the time... 885 01:03:41,556 --> 01:03:43,820 It's you go on the roof, it's all dark 886 01:03:43,863 --> 01:03:46,126 and there's this red light for the planes, you know, 887 01:03:46,170 --> 01:03:50,304 that's turning and that's like a metronome 888 01:03:50,348 --> 01:03:52,306 giving you an idea 889 01:03:52,350 --> 01:03:54,961 of timing going by. 890 01:03:55,005 --> 01:03:56,963 There was peace and immensity. 891 01:03:57,007 --> 01:03:59,705 And in the middle of all this madness 892 01:03:59,748 --> 01:04:02,099 I suddenly had hope and joy. 893 01:04:11,891 --> 01:04:14,285 [ Distant sirens wailing ] 894 01:04:23,860 --> 01:04:26,166 So I put... like a bat, actually, 895 01:04:26,210 --> 01:04:28,168 I put Jean-francois upside down 896 01:04:28,212 --> 01:04:29,909 in that little staircase opening, 897 01:04:29,953 --> 01:04:31,998 just his head showing. 898 01:04:32,042 --> 01:04:35,523 So imagine what the guard must have seen if he were awake. 899 01:04:35,567 --> 01:04:37,525 He would have seen a human being's head 900 01:04:37,569 --> 01:04:39,223 looking at him upside down. 901 01:04:46,926 --> 01:04:48,885 Jean-Louis: The first thing I did, 902 01:04:48,928 --> 01:04:51,409 I prepared my bow... 903 01:04:58,068 --> 01:05:00,026 Prepared the arrow 904 01:05:00,070 --> 01:05:02,028 and prepared the fishing line 905 01:05:02,072 --> 01:05:04,465 and waited for him. 906 01:05:11,429 --> 01:05:14,040 Philippe: So there was this signal 907 01:05:14,084 --> 01:05:17,348 for Jean-Louis to say, "I am ready to shoot." 908 01:05:17,391 --> 01:05:19,350 And there was a signal for me to say, 909 01:05:19,393 --> 01:05:21,918 "I saw your signal. I am ready." 910 01:05:21,961 --> 01:05:24,137 And I'm going to count till 10 911 01:05:24,181 --> 01:05:25,922 and then he will shoot. 912 01:05:25,965 --> 01:05:28,185 But there was no signal for "I am not ready." 913 01:05:28,228 --> 01:05:30,274 I had not thought of that. 914 01:05:30,317 --> 01:05:32,580 And I was not ready. 915 01:05:32,624 --> 01:05:36,541 Finally they give this big signal. 916 01:05:36,584 --> 01:05:38,369 I am ready. 917 01:05:38,412 --> 01:05:40,371 Jean-Louis: I have been waiting for so long 918 01:05:40,414 --> 01:05:43,243 that when he finally gives the signal, 919 01:05:43,287 --> 01:05:46,246 instinctively I took the bow, 920 01:05:46,290 --> 01:05:49,075 I aimed, and I aimed at him. 921 01:05:49,119 --> 01:05:51,077 And he was almost at the edge 922 01:05:51,121 --> 01:05:52,949 of the building. 923 01:05:55,560 --> 01:05:58,911 Philippe: I go hunting for the arrow... 924 01:05:58,955 --> 01:06:01,740 Nothing! 925 01:06:01,783 --> 01:06:04,438 Out of frustration, I take all my clothes off 926 01:06:04,482 --> 01:06:06,266 and I think that the line... 927 01:06:06,310 --> 01:06:09,966 I will feel the line on my naked skin. 928 01:06:13,665 --> 01:06:15,972 With a defeated heart 929 01:06:16,015 --> 01:06:18,322 I climb down to the edge 930 01:06:18,365 --> 01:06:21,020 and I feel a dancing fishing line 931 01:06:21,064 --> 01:06:23,283 caressing my thigh. 932 01:06:23,327 --> 01:06:25,285 The arrow was actually 933 01:06:25,329 --> 01:06:28,810 balancing precariously 934 01:06:28,854 --> 01:06:32,336 on the very edge of the building's corner. 935 01:06:32,379 --> 01:06:34,207 A little... [ Blows ] 936 01:06:34,251 --> 01:06:37,602 A little blow... And it was breezy... 937 01:06:37,645 --> 01:06:39,996 Would have simply made it fall. 938 01:06:42,346 --> 01:06:45,784 The first thing we did after a fewcordinas, 939 01:06:45,827 --> 01:06:48,569 a few little ropes, getting bigger and bigger and stronger, 940 01:06:48,613 --> 01:06:52,138 was to bring a burlap bag. 941 01:06:52,182 --> 01:06:54,140 And this bag was carrying 942 01:06:54,184 --> 01:06:57,013 a very important item 943 01:06:57,056 --> 01:06:59,928 of the communication... The interphone. 944 01:06:59,972 --> 01:07:04,585 Albert: The little teeny toy intercom is connected 945 01:07:04,629 --> 01:07:07,501 and we hear Philippe's voice on the other end. 946 01:07:07,545 --> 01:07:09,808 And that was an important moment. 947 01:07:09,851 --> 01:07:11,810 Now the four of US are together. 948 01:07:11,853 --> 01:07:13,812 The work is truly gonna begin. 949 01:07:13,855 --> 01:07:15,814 Philippe: The guard leaves. 950 01:07:15,857 --> 01:07:17,816 Jean-francois hardly can talk, 951 01:07:17,859 --> 01:07:20,166 his head has been upside down for so long. 952 01:07:20,210 --> 01:07:22,734 But we go back. We rush. We get our shoes. 953 01:07:22,777 --> 01:07:25,258 And now we bring the equipment like mad people 954 01:07:25,302 --> 01:07:28,653 and I put a little trap in the staircase. 955 01:07:30,437 --> 01:07:32,396 And that will be like an alarm clock... 956 01:07:32,439 --> 01:07:35,268 "uh, somebody's getting on your roof." 957 01:07:35,312 --> 01:07:37,488 Jean-Louis: By that time everything was perfect. 958 01:07:37,531 --> 01:07:39,881 I mean, it was not even midnight. 959 01:07:39,925 --> 01:07:42,101 With normal rigging 960 01:07:42,145 --> 01:07:44,103 that means within three hours 961 01:07:44,147 --> 01:07:46,714 everything would have been perfect. 962 01:07:48,716 --> 01:07:51,023 Now we are ready to pull the wire. 963 01:07:51,067 --> 01:07:52,894 Philippe has the wire ready. 964 01:07:52,938 --> 01:07:57,247 The nylon rope is in our hands. We are ready. 965 01:07:57,290 --> 01:07:59,249 At some point 966 01:07:59,292 --> 01:08:02,426 I gave probably too much cable. 967 01:08:03,775 --> 01:08:06,430 And all of a sudden I see the wire going, 968 01:08:06,473 --> 01:08:08,214 shh-hh! Tremendous noise. 969 01:08:08,258 --> 01:08:12,218 I said, "my god, what's going on?" 970 01:08:12,262 --> 01:08:13,480 We almost lost the wire. 971 01:08:13,524 --> 01:08:15,743 - [ Buzzes ] - Ee-eeh! 972 01:08:15,787 --> 01:08:17,745 So I called Philippe... "what's going on?" 973 01:08:17,789 --> 01:08:19,573 He said, "yeah, we could not hold it," 974 01:08:19,617 --> 01:08:21,575 which is... [ Laughs ] 975 01:08:21,619 --> 01:08:24,709 Very unfortunate. 976 01:08:24,752 --> 01:08:27,233 Albert: The fact that I didn't speak French, 977 01:08:27,277 --> 01:08:29,931 so I couldn't hear the details 978 01:08:29,975 --> 01:08:31,933 of what was going wrong 979 01:08:31,977 --> 01:08:33,631 was probably just as well. 980 01:08:36,199 --> 01:08:39,637 Jean-Louis: So we have to pull 981 01:08:39,680 --> 01:08:44,424 probably more than 100 meters of wire plus rope. 982 01:08:44,468 --> 01:08:46,644 Albert: I don't remember how much we gained 983 01:08:46,687 --> 01:08:48,646 with each attempt. Maybe we worked hard 984 01:08:48,689 --> 01:08:51,562 for one minute, two minutes, three minutes, four minutes 985 01:08:51,605 --> 01:08:55,218 and got a tiny bit of this endless cable up there. 986 01:08:55,261 --> 01:08:57,220 Within, I don't know, half an hour? 987 01:08:57,263 --> 01:08:59,657 It became almost impossible. 988 01:09:02,312 --> 01:09:04,401 Here we are in big trouble. 989 01:09:05,924 --> 01:09:08,013 Philippe: Somebody is coming on the roof. 990 01:09:12,017 --> 01:09:15,934 Jean-francois hears also and he hides immediately. 991 01:09:15,977 --> 01:09:19,155 And I see him. He's like a dead animal. 992 01:09:19,198 --> 01:09:21,983 As a child, have you ever played hide-and-seek in a park 993 01:09:22,027 --> 01:09:23,985 and take refuge 994 01:09:24,029 --> 01:09:26,031 behind a giant tree trunk? 995 01:09:26,074 --> 01:09:27,946 And a policeman comes to the roof. 996 01:09:27,989 --> 01:09:31,079 And then your companion comes, circles the trunk. 997 01:09:31,123 --> 01:09:33,647 He walks, you walk. He stops, you stop. 998 01:09:33,691 --> 01:09:35,475 The man starts turning around 999 01:09:35,519 --> 01:09:37,216 this obstacle in the center of my tower 1000 01:09:37,260 --> 01:09:40,176 and I turn around on the side diametrically opposed. 1001 01:09:40,219 --> 01:09:42,700 This little pas de deux could go on forever 1002 01:09:42,743 --> 01:09:45,833 until one of you turns around and you bump into each other. 1003 01:09:45,877 --> 01:09:47,705 Well, this is exactly what happened. 1004 01:09:47,748 --> 01:09:50,186 He turns, I turn. He stops, I stop. 1005 01:09:50,229 --> 01:09:52,188 He goes on, I go on. 1006 01:09:52,231 --> 01:09:54,842 Now of course if he would have turned around... oops! 1007 01:09:54,886 --> 01:09:56,366 Hide and seek. 1008 01:10:12,817 --> 01:10:16,342 Jean-Louis: Albert was starting to give up, to argue, 1009 01:10:16,386 --> 01:10:18,344 to say, "no, I don't want to do this anymore. 1010 01:10:18,388 --> 01:10:21,129 It's not possible. We're not going to do it." 1011 01:10:21,173 --> 01:10:23,784 Albert: It was clear we weren't gonna get this job done, 1012 01:10:23,828 --> 01:10:25,786 but there was no arguing with him. 1013 01:10:25,830 --> 01:10:29,312 There was just... it was useless. 1014 01:10:29,355 --> 01:10:32,445 He was just gonna go ahead regardless. 1015 01:10:32,489 --> 01:10:34,273 It's impossible... 1016 01:10:34,317 --> 01:10:36,275 Impossible that he thought 1017 01:10:36,319 --> 01:10:39,104 we were gonna be able to rig this before daylight. 1018 01:10:39,147 --> 01:10:43,064 Imagine being... after these months of preparation, 1019 01:10:43,108 --> 01:10:45,371 these months of all that 1020 01:10:45,415 --> 01:10:49,245 and finally being on the roof 1021 01:10:49,288 --> 01:10:52,291 and having to stop because the wire is like that. 1022 01:10:52,335 --> 01:10:53,771 I mean, whew! 1023 01:10:53,814 --> 01:10:56,077 At dawn I assumed, well, the jig is up. 1024 01:10:56,121 --> 01:10:58,950 You know, we did the best 1025 01:10:58,993 --> 01:11:02,170 and now, you know, let's get out of here. 1026 01:11:11,136 --> 01:11:13,399 [ Seagulls cawing ] 1027 01:11:15,358 --> 01:11:17,534 [ Annie speaking ] 1028 01:11:47,215 --> 01:11:49,174 Donald: It was a misty day and I thought, 1029 01:11:49,217 --> 01:11:52,351 "ugh, that sucks." 1030 01:11:52,395 --> 01:11:54,658 And it wasn't windless either. 1031 01:11:54,701 --> 01:11:57,617 There was a little bit of air that morning. 1032 01:11:57,661 --> 01:12:00,141 And you could see 1033 01:12:00,185 --> 01:12:02,318 when the cable was up there 1034 01:12:02,361 --> 01:12:04,668 and it looked very very slack. 1035 01:12:04,711 --> 01:12:07,018 [ Distant sirens wailing ] 1036 01:12:21,032 --> 01:12:24,165 Jean-Louis: I pulled like crazy, like crazy, like crazy. 1037 01:12:24,209 --> 01:12:26,167 Finally I got the wire. 1038 01:12:26,211 --> 01:12:28,648 For some reason the last meters 1039 01:12:28,692 --> 01:12:31,477 were the ones that came the easiest. 1040 01:12:31,521 --> 01:12:35,612 Philippe: Despite the abandon of his accomplice, 1041 01:12:35,655 --> 01:12:39,355 Jean-Louis... his last communication almost was, 1042 01:12:39,398 --> 01:12:41,357 "Philippe, I did it! I did it! 1043 01:12:41,400 --> 01:12:43,663 I've got two clamps. We did it! The cable is anchored!" 1044 01:12:49,234 --> 01:12:52,716 All of a sudden we see this black spot 1045 01:12:52,759 --> 01:12:54,718 coming down off the top of the towers. 1046 01:12:54,761 --> 01:12:56,459 We didn't know what the hell it was. 1047 01:12:56,502 --> 01:12:58,025 It was like, "oh my god, what is that?" 1048 01:13:03,553 --> 01:13:06,382 I saw this thing falling down 1049 01:13:06,425 --> 01:13:10,037 and i... I couldn't believe it. 1050 01:13:10,081 --> 01:13:12,823 And I said to myself, "that's it. 1051 01:13:12,866 --> 01:13:15,086 You've been fooling yourself this whole time. 1052 01:13:15,129 --> 01:13:18,872 He went straight down with the first step off the roof. 1053 01:13:18,916 --> 01:13:21,048 He might be dead." 1054 01:13:40,503 --> 01:13:43,680 On the top of Philippe's roof 1055 01:13:43,723 --> 01:13:46,726 there was a big wheel of the machines. 1056 01:13:46,770 --> 01:13:49,207 So as soon as the elevator would move 1057 01:13:49,250 --> 01:13:51,209 we would see the wheel 1058 01:13:51,252 --> 01:13:53,559 starting to turn. 1059 01:13:56,475 --> 01:13:59,391 Philippe: I scream, "la roue! La roue!" 1060 01:13:59,435 --> 01:14:01,393 To Jean-francois... "the wheel! The wheel!" 1061 01:14:01,437 --> 01:14:04,701 Because I see the giant wheel starting in motion 1062 01:14:04,744 --> 01:14:06,877 and I know my fate has been written now. 1063 01:14:06,920 --> 01:14:09,227 Time is no longer smiling at me. 1064 01:14:12,317 --> 01:14:14,624 Jean-Louis: At that time I was really worried. 1065 01:14:14,667 --> 01:14:17,931 I think for the first time I was really scared... 1066 01:14:17,975 --> 01:14:21,152 "oh my god, he is exhausted like I am. 1067 01:14:21,195 --> 01:14:24,285 Maybe not as much, but for what he has to do 1068 01:14:24,329 --> 01:14:26,940 it's really not a good thing. 1069 01:14:26,984 --> 01:14:31,467 The wire is the worst wire we ever did." 1070 01:14:31,510 --> 01:14:34,557 And I was really scared. 1071 01:14:51,182 --> 01:14:54,446 Philippe: And I had to 1072 01:14:54,490 --> 01:14:56,230 make a decision 1073 01:14:56,274 --> 01:14:58,232 of shifting my weight 1074 01:14:58,276 --> 01:15:00,626 from one foot anchored to the building 1075 01:15:00,670 --> 01:15:03,281 to the foot anchored on the wire. 1076 01:15:05,370 --> 01:15:07,590 This is probably... I don't know, 1077 01:15:07,633 --> 01:15:10,549 probably the end of my life, to step on that wire. 1078 01:15:10,593 --> 01:15:13,987 On the other hand, something that I could not resist, 1079 01:15:14,031 --> 01:15:16,729 and I didn't make any effort to resist, 1080 01:15:16,773 --> 01:15:19,210 called me upon that cable. 1081 01:15:21,734 --> 01:15:24,650 And death is very close. 1082 01:15:54,724 --> 01:15:57,814 I start walking as a wirewalker 1083 01:15:57,857 --> 01:16:00,599 who is studying his cable. 1084 01:16:00,643 --> 01:16:03,341 And instead of doing an entire study of the cable 1085 01:16:03,384 --> 01:16:06,736 for the whole length... seeing the first cavalletti and keep walking; 1086 01:16:06,779 --> 01:16:09,216 seeing the middle, which is so soft and treacherous; 1087 01:16:09,260 --> 01:16:11,567 seeing the second cavalletti, how it is... 1088 01:16:11,610 --> 01:16:14,091 No, I do only... Go to the first cavalletti 1089 01:16:14,134 --> 01:16:16,572 and I know enough. 1090 01:16:16,615 --> 01:16:18,922 Now I'm gonna perform. 1091 01:16:22,012 --> 01:16:24,231 Jean-Louis: I saw his face changing. 1092 01:16:24,275 --> 01:16:26,233 He was very tense 1093 01:16:26,277 --> 01:16:28,235 and all of a sudden there was 1094 01:16:28,279 --> 01:16:30,411 something like a relief in him. 1095 01:16:30,455 --> 01:16:32,413 And from that time I thought, 1096 01:16:32,457 --> 01:16:35,808 "that's it. He is secure. It's good." 1097 01:16:35,852 --> 01:16:38,463 And wow, that's... 1098 01:16:38,506 --> 01:16:40,683 [ Laughs ] 1099 01:16:53,391 --> 01:16:54,958 [ Annie speaking ] 1100 01:18:09,859 --> 01:18:12,252 Philippe: I sit down on the wire in one of my crossings 1101 01:18:12,296 --> 01:18:14,254 and I did something that amazed people... 1102 01:18:14,298 --> 01:18:16,343 Actually looked all the way down 1103 01:18:16,387 --> 01:18:19,738 to look at something that I would never in my life see again. 1104 01:18:23,307 --> 01:18:26,179 So I can tell you, and yes, probably it's a lie 1105 01:18:26,223 --> 01:18:28,834 but to me it's not... I heard the crowd. 1106 01:18:28,878 --> 01:18:32,185 I saw the crowd. I hear them murmur. 1107 01:18:36,929 --> 01:18:39,802 Beyond anything you could ever imagine. 1108 01:18:39,845 --> 01:18:42,587 It was just mind-boggling. 1109 01:18:44,458 --> 01:18:46,983 The awe of the event 1110 01:18:47,026 --> 01:18:49,376 and the overwhelming largeness 1111 01:18:49,420 --> 01:18:51,378 of the scale of the situation 1112 01:18:51,422 --> 01:18:55,295 took my mind into a place where I really wasn't that concerned about him. 1113 01:18:55,339 --> 01:18:57,863 It just... it was magical. 1114 01:18:57,907 --> 01:19:00,866 It was just... It was just profound. 1115 01:19:05,741 --> 01:19:08,265 [ Distant sirens wailing ] 1116 01:19:20,277 --> 01:19:23,280 Officer meyers and I observed 1117 01:19:23,323 --> 01:19:26,457 the tightrope dancer, 1118 01:19:26,500 --> 01:19:29,547 because you couldn't call him a Walker, 1119 01:19:29,590 --> 01:19:33,420 approximately halfway between the two towers. 1120 01:19:33,464 --> 01:19:35,422 And upon seeing US 1121 01:19:35,466 --> 01:19:37,947 he started to smile and laugh. 1122 01:19:40,340 --> 01:19:43,735 They don't know how to react to a daydreaming wirewalker 1123 01:19:43,779 --> 01:19:46,042 lying down and dialoguing with a seagull, 1124 01:19:46,085 --> 01:19:48,218 so they were really mad. 1125 01:20:06,366 --> 01:20:08,325 When he got to the building 1126 01:20:08,368 --> 01:20:10,457 we asked him to get off the highwire, 1127 01:20:10,501 --> 01:20:13,460 but instead he turned around and ran back out into the middle. 1128 01:20:13,504 --> 01:20:17,813 Everybody was spellbound in the watching of it. 1129 01:20:17,856 --> 01:20:20,076 When we observed to the fact 1130 01:20:20,119 --> 01:20:23,557 that he wasn't about to come in because he seemed to be enjoying it so much, 1131 01:20:23,601 --> 01:20:25,908 we mentioned the fact to his associate 1132 01:20:25,951 --> 01:20:28,693 that if he did not come in, we would have a helicopter 1133 01:20:28,736 --> 01:20:30,869 pluck him up off the wire, 1134 01:20:30,913 --> 01:20:33,872 at which time his associate 1135 01:20:33,916 --> 01:20:36,483 spoke to him in French, 1136 01:20:36,527 --> 01:20:38,790 being that he is a frenchman. 1137 01:20:38,834 --> 01:20:40,792 "Philippe!" you know? 1138 01:20:40,836 --> 01:20:44,709 And he said, "the police are going to dislodge you and you should stop." 1139 01:20:44,752 --> 01:20:48,669 And I was madly enraged by that, 1140 01:20:48,713 --> 01:20:50,715 but also it saved my life. 1141 01:20:50,758 --> 01:20:53,128 Man over radio: There is somebody out there on a tightrope walk 1142 01:20:53,152 --> 01:20:55,415 between the two towers of the world trade center, 1143 01:20:55,459 --> 01:20:58,244 right at the tippy-top. 1144 01:20:58,288 --> 01:21:01,857 I personally figured I was watching something 1145 01:21:01,900 --> 01:21:05,730 that somebody else would never see again in the world. 1146 01:21:05,773 --> 01:21:08,994 I thought it was once in a lifetime. 1147 01:21:15,653 --> 01:21:18,177 Philippe: I had no reason to stay on that wire anymore. 1148 01:21:18,221 --> 01:21:20,179 And also I felt 1149 01:21:20,223 --> 01:21:23,879 humidity in the air and wind growing. 1150 01:21:23,922 --> 01:21:25,881 My friends later told me, 1151 01:21:25,924 --> 01:21:27,883 "you spent 45 minutes." 1152 01:21:27,926 --> 01:21:30,363 They said, "you know, you did eight crossings." 1153 01:21:32,452 --> 01:21:35,934 They grabbed me and grounded me, 1154 01:21:35,978 --> 01:21:37,936 handcuffed, actually, hands in the back. 1155 01:21:37,980 --> 01:21:39,720 I was thrown down the staircase... 1156 01:21:39,764 --> 01:21:41,809 The most dangerous part of this whole adventure. 1157 01:21:41,853 --> 01:21:44,290 I almost break my head on the narrow staircase 1158 01:21:44,334 --> 01:21:46,292 that leads to the elevator. 1159 01:21:46,336 --> 01:21:48,904 We got it from the port authority that it took 1160 01:21:48,947 --> 01:21:50,775 about three days to rig it up. 1161 01:21:50,818 --> 01:21:54,170 I'd say it's about $1000 worth of cable. 1162 01:21:54,213 --> 01:21:56,128 And the rigging outfit itself... 1163 01:21:56,172 --> 01:21:58,043 It's magnificent the way he did it. 1164 01:21:58,087 --> 01:21:59,579 Man: Did he say anything about why he was doing it? 1165 01:21:59,603 --> 01:22:00,108 No. 1166 01:22:00,132 --> 01:22:03,744 - Why did you do it? - I will explain. 1167 01:22:03,788 --> 01:22:05,921 Philippe: You know, "why? Why?" 1168 01:22:05,964 --> 01:22:07,942 And that was a very... again, in my way of seeing it... 1169 01:22:07,966 --> 01:22:10,534 American, a very American finger-slapping question. 1170 01:22:10,577 --> 01:22:13,493 I did something magnificent and mysterious 1171 01:22:13,537 --> 01:22:15,408 and I got a practical "why?" 1172 01:22:15,452 --> 01:22:18,629 And the beauty of it is that I didn't have any "why?" 1173 01:22:18,672 --> 01:22:20,761 Reporter: Why did you do this? 1174 01:22:20,805 --> 01:22:22,850 That's the thousand whys in this morning. 1175 01:22:22,894 --> 01:22:24,940 There is no why. 1176 01:22:27,812 --> 01:22:29,770 Philippe: I was then taken 1177 01:22:29,814 --> 01:22:31,816 for a psychiatric examination 1178 01:22:31,859 --> 01:22:33,687 by a psychiatrist. 1179 01:22:36,821 --> 01:22:40,303 [ Jean-François speaking ] 1180 01:22:51,053 --> 01:22:54,012 I keep asking for water because I was so dehydrated. 1181 01:22:54,056 --> 01:22:56,536 And he said, "when was the last time you drank?" 1182 01:22:56,580 --> 01:22:58,538 And I said, "are you crazy? You're mad! 1183 01:22:58,582 --> 01:23:01,106 I mean, do you know what I did? I danced at the top of the world. 1184 01:23:01,150 --> 01:23:03,108 I am in the front page of all the world. 1185 01:23:03,152 --> 01:23:05,632 300 journalists are waiting to talk to me. And you're asking me 1186 01:23:05,676 --> 01:23:07,852 when was the last time I drank. You're completely mad." 1187 01:23:07,895 --> 01:23:09,985 So he wrote, you know, "the guy is completely normal 1188 01:23:10,028 --> 01:23:11,769 and he's just very thirsty." 1189 01:23:11,812 --> 01:23:14,163 Reporter: Police took a humorless view of the act. 1190 01:23:14,206 --> 01:23:16,861 They took petit and the companion into custody 1191 01:23:16,904 --> 01:23:18,863 and finally decided to charge them 1192 01:23:18,906 --> 01:23:21,474 with trespassing and disorderly conduct. 1193 01:23:21,518 --> 01:23:24,477 Philippe: The district attorney offered me a deal 1194 01:23:24,521 --> 01:23:26,827 and he said, "Philippe, if you agree 1195 01:23:26,871 --> 01:23:29,830 to do a little show, you know, like juggling three oranges 1196 01:23:29,874 --> 01:23:32,137 in front of four kids, but on camera, 1197 01:23:32,181 --> 01:23:34,574 the New York news and all that, 1198 01:23:34,618 --> 01:23:37,142 then we'll drop all the charges. So I said, "sure." 1199 01:23:46,543 --> 01:23:49,198 [ Cheering and applause ] 1200 01:23:49,241 --> 01:23:52,157 Philippe: And now I climb down the steps 1201 01:23:52,201 --> 01:23:54,159 of thepalais de justice. 1202 01:23:54,203 --> 01:23:56,161 I saw in the crowd an admirer. 1203 01:23:56,205 --> 01:23:58,946 She was smiling beautifully. And she came to me 1204 01:23:58,990 --> 01:24:01,427 and she put her hands on my neck 1205 01:24:01,471 --> 01:24:04,778 in a loving way and she amorously said, 1206 01:24:04,822 --> 01:24:07,825 "Philippe, I would like to be the first person 1207 01:24:07,868 --> 01:24:10,262 to welcome you 1208 01:24:10,306 --> 01:24:12,656 and, you know, to celebrate with you. 1209 01:24:12,699 --> 01:24:15,615 Let's... I can follow you anywhere." 1210 01:24:19,141 --> 01:24:21,404 So yes, it did end up 1211 01:24:21,447 --> 01:24:23,536 on a waterbed in a loft somewhere. 1212 01:24:23,580 --> 01:24:27,671 But here I went for a very short little moment 1213 01:24:27,714 --> 01:24:29,760 of, I don't know... 1214 01:24:29,803 --> 01:24:33,111 Of pleasure of the flesh. How disgusting. 1215 01:24:33,155 --> 01:24:36,636 But but but I am sorry, how beautiful too. 1216 01:24:36,680 --> 01:24:38,899 I mean, my friends were waiting for me, 1217 01:24:38,943 --> 01:24:40,901 Annie, my girlfriend. 1218 01:24:40,945 --> 01:24:42,903 It was a betrayal of my friends. 1219 01:24:42,947 --> 01:24:45,558 I remember I called and said, "no, I have many interviews to do, 1220 01:24:45,602 --> 01:24:48,387 so I'll see you soon." 1221 01:24:48,431 --> 01:24:52,739 This magnificent explosion of pleasure, let's say it, 1222 01:24:52,783 --> 01:24:56,265 and then I went back, oh, frightened to death, 1223 01:24:56,308 --> 01:24:59,355 you know, to my friends, thinking, "I'm really a guilty guy." 1224 01:25:28,253 --> 01:25:30,212 Philippe: I am a celebrity in New York. 1225 01:25:30,255 --> 01:25:33,867 People say, "are you the guy who walked between twin towers?" 1226 01:25:33,911 --> 01:25:36,783 I say, "yeah yeah, it's me." "This is incredible." 1227 01:25:36,827 --> 01:25:39,022 And then some people say, "are you the guy who...?" I say, "yeah." 1228 01:25:39,046 --> 01:25:41,606 And then people say, "are you the guy...?" I say, "yeah, it's me." 1229 01:25:51,320 --> 01:25:53,626 Jean-Louis: We talked about it on the plane 1230 01:25:53,670 --> 01:25:55,889 and Jean-francois was... He was so happy. 1231 01:25:55,933 --> 01:25:57,891 He said, "well, I'm ready for the next time." 1232 01:25:57,935 --> 01:25:59,893 I said, "no, 1233 01:25:59,937 --> 01:26:01,895 there will not be any more... 1234 01:26:01,939 --> 01:26:04,159 Any more story like that." 1235 01:26:04,202 --> 01:26:07,162 There was something broken probably 1236 01:26:07,205 --> 01:26:11,209 in this friendship. 1237 01:26:11,253 --> 01:26:13,733 Doesn't matter because... 1238 01:26:15,518 --> 01:26:17,476 Well, basically because we did it. 1239 01:26:17,520 --> 01:26:20,000 And basically... 1240 01:26:23,961 --> 01:26:27,225 I mean, you cannot take away what happened. 1241 01:26:27,269 --> 01:26:30,141 And yeah, 1242 01:26:30,185 --> 01:26:32,143 what happened is that... 1243 01:26:49,726 --> 01:26:52,207 [ Annie speaking ] 1244 01:27:58,882 --> 01:28:02,233 Philippe: To me it's really... it's so simple 1245 01:28:02,277 --> 01:28:04,235 that life should be lived 1246 01:28:04,279 --> 01:28:06,237 on the edge of life. 1247 01:28:06,281 --> 01:28:08,370 You have to exercise rebellion... 1248 01:28:10,459 --> 01:28:14,637 To refuse to tape yourself to rules 1249 01:28:14,680 --> 01:28:16,639 to refuse your own success, 1250 01:28:16,682 --> 01:28:18,728 to refuse to repeat yourself, 1251 01:28:18,771 --> 01:28:20,730 to see every day, every year, 1252 01:28:20,773 --> 01:28:24,168 every idea as a true challenge. 1253 01:28:24,211 --> 01:28:26,431 And then you are going to live your life 1254 01:28:26,475 --> 01:28:28,477 on the tightrope. 1255 01:30:37,344 --> 01:30:39,608 [ Dramatic music playing ] 1255 01:30:40,305 --> 01:31:40,369