and Good Legs：

At 10 am， on the morning of August 7， 1974， Philippe Petit went to work. His commute couldnt have been shorter； he simply picked up his 60 lb balancing pole and stepped off the edge of the south tower of the World Trade Center onto a length of twisted steel no wider than the big toe of his left foot.

He proceeded to walk between the twin towers， 100 stories and a quarter of a mile up in the air， with no harness1） or safety net； then he turned on the wire and did it again. He twirled， pirouetted2） and knelt on the wire， performing a kind of aerial ballet that only came to an end 45 minutes later when he finally leapt into the arms of the waiting， sweating NYPD3）. Below him， New Yorks more earthbound commuters had been looking on， thunderstruck and spellbound： “Now Ive seen everything，” said one.

That wasnt exactly the case， however. Petits bravura4） achievement， dreamlike enough on the day， has gone on down the decades to acquire the patina5）of myth， inspiring a childrens picture book （The Man Who Walked Between the Towers6））， a novel （Colum McCann7）s Let the Great World Spin）， a documentary （Man on Wire8））， and now a Hollywood rewiring in Robert Zemeckis9） The Walk， a vertigo10）-inducing 3D extravaganza11） starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit.

“The wire serves as a great metaphor for life，” says Gordon-Levitt， attempting to pin down12） the storys enduring appeal. “We all have those moments in our lives when we have the choice of going out on a limb13） or playing it safe， and life can often shine brightest if you grasp the nettle14） rather than shying away from it. Philippes story tells us that the reward is worth it.”

For Petit himself， “its the kind of thing that fairy tales are made of， no？ This guy who is not a superhero achieves the seemingly impossible. Children smile at that， and so does the child in every adult. And with this film， youre invited right on to the wire， to share in the joy and the marvel of it.”

Watching The Walk， however， youre made acutely aware of the months， and sometimes decades， of meticulous15） planning that culminates in those minutes of “joy and marvel.” Since Petit has completed close to 90 of what he calls his high-wire “coups”—some， like the WTC walk， guerrilla-style， others legitimate—you also admire the single-minded obsession， if not monomania16）， of a life dedicated to ... well， what， exactly？ How would Petit describe himself？

He disdains the “cheap tricks” of the circus tightrope walker， and even the more rococo17） term “funambulist18）” doesnt quite cover Petits balleticarabesque19）-ing. McCann says that Petit “reappropriates public space，” while Zemeckis describes him as “a benevolent anarchist.” For Petit， “what I do goes beyond a stunt or an acrobatic feat. I like writing in the sky， creating a kind of performance art thats akin to opera， theatre or movies.”

Petit grew up in the suburbs of Paris， the middle child of a solidly bourgeois family. He rebelled early， burning through various passions—magic， juggling， fencing， bullfighting—before teaching himself to walk on a rope at 16 by stretching a bunch of them between two trees in a meadow on the familys country estate and removing them one at a time， thus trying the patience of his father （a French Army pilot） and academia （he was kicked out of five schools）. He was mentored by an irascible20） Czech funambulist named Rudolf Omankowsky， aka Papa Rudy.

“I think， by focusing on the wire， I was creating a space that was truly for myself， where no one else could get to me，” says Petit. “Theres a purity of experience on the wire that you dont get anywhere else， because youre above the earth， a lonely little dot in the sky. That physical distance elevates the experience， and the feeling， to the sublime.”

Petits first “coup” occurred when he walked between the towers of Notre Dame in 1971， and its ad hoc21） staging set the pattern for all his subsequentexploits22）. Three years and countless visits in touristic “disguise” to plot and strategise； a tight-knit crew of volunteer assistants enlisted to smuggle in several hundred pounds of cable and other equipment the previous night； the cable passed from one tower to the other by throwing a rubber ball across with a fishing line attached to it （for the WTC， a bow and arrow was used）； and a resulting performance of traffic-stopping notoriety.

A walk between the pylons23） of the Sydney Harbour Bridge followed， but the World Trade Center was already uppermost in Petits mind； just as in The Walk， he read an article on the towers construction in a dentists waiting room and immediately took possession of them. “From then on，” he laughs， “they were my towers.”

Petit has always claimed that he takes no risks in what he does， and also that you need no special athletic ability or sense of balance to achieve his feats； hes also used to the snorts of incredulity such assertions provoke. “As far as risks go， my preparation is so thorough that nothing is left to chance，” he says. “The attention to detail， from all the research weve done on atmospheric conditions and prevailing wind24） patterns， to the construction of the rigging25）， protects me and allows me to be super-confident as I take my first step. Of course its a dangerous activity， in that if I dont put my foot in exactly the right place， Ill lose my life. Thats why I take it so seriously. I will never throw the dice and simply hope that I survive.

“Yes， you have to put in the hundreds of hours of practice， but its the passion， soul and spirit that makes the wirewalker. Though，” he adds wryly， “good arms and legs are a bonus.”

Petit says he found the whole package in Gordon-Levitt， who submitted to an intensive eight-day “wire camp” administered by Petit himself. Over that time， he graduated from walking on a 2 ft wire to a 12 ft wire.

To jolly Gordon-Levitt along26）， Petit utilised a “l(fā)ittle invention of mine” known as the Victory Bell： “Its attached to the rigging， and I ask the student to ring it every time they feel like they have a tiny victory， like putting your feet in exactly the right place three times in a row. Its quite a childlike thing， and I thought he might regard it like， hello， what is this stupidity， Im a movie star， but he really got into it， and I would sometimes leave him alone in the studio， and hear him ring the bell.” Petit sighs. “That made me feel wonderful.”

Of course， the chief supporting role in The Walk is played by the twin towers themselves； they loom large behind Gordon-Levitt as he narrates Petits story from a perch27） on the Statue of Libertys torch， and the film （and Petits achievement） is given an extra frisson28） by the knowledge of their eventual fate.

Never lauded—they were once described as “two slabs of architectural ennui29）” by Calvin Tomkins in The New Yorker—Petit did more than most to imbue them with energy and romance， and， post-1974， he was given a permanent pass to their observation deck.

He watched the events of 9/11 unfold at a friends house and says that “you cant compare my reaction when you know that thousands of lives were terminated that day， but， yes， I felt a personal， grievous sense of loss. Many people thought I had given them the element that was missing； humanity， a human scale.”

Petit has completed many walks since the World Trade Center， but none have similarly galvanized30） the public imagination. Still， at 66， he has no intention of retiring； a long-planned Grand Canyon walk， intended to be his most thrilling coup de theatre， might have been scuppered31） due to bureaucratic intransigence32） and the later substitution of a walker named Nik Wallenda33）. But he talks up a proposed walk on Easter Island， “a beautiful celebration with the Moai34） and the Rapa Nui35） people.”

After Petits high-jinks36） between the WTC towers， the NYPD report stated that hed “created a hazardous situation which served no legitimate purpose.” There perhaps couldnt be a more ringing endorsement of Philippe Petits peculiar art if it was pealed on the Victory Bell. He now joins thepantheon37） of other Robert Zemeckis heroes—Marty McFly38）， Forrest Gump—in pitting himself against39） the cruelty of history and the indifference of the universe.

For all his artful qualities on the wire， there remains an artlessness to Petit thats exemplified by the fact that hes the only person who remains immune to The Walks status as the most spoiler-proof movie ever made. “When I saw it， I was on the edge of my seat40），” he says， with a flourish. “I was praying， saying to myself， I hope this guy is going to make it. Thats a compliment to the storyteller， no？ Thats what makes great art.”

1974年8月7日上午10點(diǎn)，菲利普·珀蒂去上班。他上班的路程短得不能再短，只消拿起他那根60磅重的平衡桿，跨過世界貿(mào)易中心南樓的邊沿，踏上一根粗細(xì)不超過他左腳大拇趾的螺紋鋼索就行了。

在100層樓高、距離地面1/4英里的半空中，珀蒂開始在雙子塔的兩座大樓之間行走，既沒系安全繩，也沒裝安全網(wǎng)。之后，他在鋼索上轉(zhuǎn)身折返。他在鋼索上轉(zhuǎn)圈，踮起一只腳旋轉(zhuǎn)，然后單膝下跪，仿佛在表演一場(chǎng)空中芭蕾。這場(chǎng)表演持續(xù)了45分鐘，直到最后他躍入那位等候在旁、不停出汗的紐約警察的懷中才結(jié)束。在珀蒂下方，那些待在地面上的紐約行人們吃驚又入神地望著這番景象，其中一人說道：“這下我可是大開眼界了?！?/p>

然而，事情并未就此結(jié)束。珀蒂當(dāng)天那場(chǎng)夢(mèng)幻十足的高難度表演在接下來的幾十年時(shí)光里儼然成了一則熠熠生輝的神話，在它的啟發(fā)下誕生了一本兒童繪本（《高空走索人》）、一部小說（科倫·麥凱恩的《轉(zhuǎn)吧，這偉大的世界》）、一部紀(jì)錄片（《走鋼絲的人》）和如今的一部好萊塢電影。這部由羅伯特·澤米吉斯執(zhí)導(dǎo)的《云中行走》重現(xiàn)了這一事件，為觀眾帶來了一場(chǎng)令人眩暈的3D視覺盛宴，影片中的珀蒂由約瑟夫·高登-萊維特飾演。

“這根鋼索可以看作是對(duì)人生的絕佳比喻，”高登-萊維特試著解釋這個(gè)故事為何有著持久的吸引力，“我們?cè)谝簧卸紩?huì)經(jīng)歷這樣的時(shí)刻，要么選擇孤立無援，要么選擇不冒風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。而如果你選擇迎難而上而不是向后退縮，生命常會(huì)綻放出最閃亮的光芒。菲利普的故事告訴我們，這樣做值得?！?/p>

在珀蒂本人看來，“這就是構(gòu)成童話的那類故事，不是嗎？一個(gè)并非超級(jí)英雄的人完成了一個(gè)看似不可能完成的任務(wù)。孩子們喜歡這樣的故事，每個(gè)童心未泯的成年人也會(huì)對(duì)此會(huì)心一笑。通過觀看這部電影，你被邀請(qǐng)來到鋼索上，分享走鋼索的那份喜悅和驚奇”。

不過，觀看《云中行走》會(huì)讓你非常清楚地認(rèn)識(shí)到，那幾分鐘的“喜悅和驚奇”背后是數(shù)月乃至數(shù)十年一絲不茍的籌劃。由于珀蒂已經(jīng)完成了將近90次被他稱為“壯舉”的高空走鋼索表演——有些和世貿(mào)中心那次一樣屬于打游擊的性質(zhì)，有些則是合法的——你也會(huì)佩服他這種一心一意的執(zhí)著（如果不是偏執(zhí)的話），他將一生都奉獻(xiàn)給了……嗯，到底是什么呢？珀蒂會(huì)如何形容他自己呢？

珀蒂瞧不起馬戲團(tuán)里走鋼絲表演者的“拙劣把戲”，即便是更具洛可可風(fēng)格的詞語“走鋼索演員”也不足以概括他那優(yōu)美的阿拉貝斯克舞姿。麥凱恩說珀蒂“重新盜取了公共空間”，澤米吉斯形容他是“一個(gè)善良的無政府主義者”。珀蒂自己則認(rèn)為：“我所做的超出了特技或雜技的范疇。我喜歡在天空中書寫，創(chuàng)造出一種與歌劇、戲劇或電影相似的表演藝術(shù)。”

珀蒂出身于巴黎郊區(qū)一個(gè)殷實(shí)的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)家庭，在家里排行居中。他自小叛逆，沉迷于各種狂熱的愛好——魔術(shù)、雜耍、擊劍、斗牛。到了16歲，他又開始自學(xué)走繩索。他在自家莊園草地上的兩棵樹中間拉起很多根繩子，每走一陣就撤掉一根。這令他的父親（一名法國(guó)空軍飛行員）和校方（他被五所學(xué)校開除過）忍無可忍。為他提供指導(dǎo)的是性格暴躁、綽號(hào)為“魯?shù)侠系钡慕菘俗咪撍魉嚾唆數(shù)婪颉W曼科夫斯基。

“通過把注意力集中在鋼索上，我覺得我創(chuàng)造出了一個(gè)真正屬于自己的空間，其他任何人都無法接近，”珀蒂說，“在鋼索上，你有一種純粹的體驗(yàn)，這是你在其他任何地方都沒有的，因?yàn)槟銘矣诘孛嬷?，是半空中一個(gè)孤獨(dú)的小點(diǎn)。這段物理距離將這種體驗(yàn)和感受升華到了崇高的境界。”

珀蒂的第一次“壯舉”是1971年在巴黎圣母院的雙塔之間走鋼索，這次臨時(shí)以巴黎圣母院雙塔為布景的表演為他日后所有的大膽表演確立了模式。他花了三年時(shí)間無數(shù)次扮作游客來構(gòu)思和策劃此次表演。他有一個(gè)緊密團(tuán)結(jié)的志愿者助手團(tuán)隊(duì)，他們?cè)诒硌莸那耙惶煲估锿低祵装侔踔氐匿撍骷捌渌O(shè)備運(yùn)往現(xiàn)場(chǎng)。在連著鋼索的一根釣線上系著一個(gè)橡皮球，把橡皮球拋到對(duì)面的塔上，鋼索就架在雙塔之間了（世貿(mào)中心那次用的是弓箭）。接下來就是一場(chǎng)名聲遠(yuǎn)揚(yáng)、令交通為之癱瘓的表演了。

繼巴黎圣母院之后，珀蒂又跑到悉尼海港大橋的橋塔之間走鋼索，但那時(shí)他心里最惦記的已經(jīng)是世貿(mào)中心了。正如影片《云中行走》所描述的那樣，他在一家牙醫(yī)診所的候診室里讀到一篇有關(guān)雙子塔建造的文章，然后立刻將雙子塔視為己有。“從那以后，那就是我的塔了?！彼笮χf。

珀蒂一直宣稱，他在行動(dòng)中從不冒險(xiǎn)，而且要想取得他那樣的成就也無需特別的運(yùn)動(dòng)能力或平衡感。他也習(xí)慣了這類言辭所招致的懷疑的嗤笑?！霸陲L(fēng)險(xiǎn)方面，我的準(zhǔn)備非常充分，不會(huì)抱絲毫僥幸，”他說，“從我們對(duì)大氣條件和盛行風(fēng)規(guī)律所做的各項(xiàng)研究到鋼索的架設(shè)，對(duì)于細(xì)節(jié)的關(guān)注保護(hù)著我，使我能夠超級(jí)自信地跨出第一步。當(dāng)然，這是種危險(xiǎn)的舉動(dòng)，其危險(xiǎn)之處在于我如果腳下略有差池，就會(huì)喪命。這就是我如此認(rèn)真對(duì)待它的原因。我決不會(huì)抱著賭博的心態(tài)，然后只是希望自己能僥幸活下來。

“是的，你必須投入成百上千個(gè)小時(shí)來練習(xí)，但是真正造就一名走鋼索者的是激情、靈魂和精神。不過，”他做了個(gè)鬼臉，補(bǔ)充道，“手腳靈活就更好了?！?/p>

珀蒂說他在高登-萊維特身上看到了所有這些品質(zhì)。后者參加了由珀蒂親自主持的為期八天、高強(qiáng)度的“走鋼索訓(xùn)練營(yíng)”。在此期間，高登-萊維特所走的鋼索高度從兩英尺逐漸提高到了12英尺。

為了鼓勵(lì)高登-萊維特的興趣，珀蒂使用了“我的一個(gè)小發(fā)明”——“勝利鈴”。“鈴鐺系在鋼索上，我要學(xué)生們每當(dāng)感到自己取得了微小的勝利——比如連續(xù)三次踩準(zhǔn)正確的位置時(shí)——就搖響它。這是個(gè)非常孩子氣的東西，我以為他（指高登-萊維特）會(huì)想：嘿，這是什么破玩意兒，我可是電影明星啊。但他真的對(duì)它很感興趣，有時(shí)我把他一個(gè)人留在練功房里，會(huì)聽到他搖那個(gè)鈴，”珀蒂舒了口氣說，“那讓我感覺好極了?！?/p>

《云中行走》一片的主要配角自然非雙子塔莫屬。當(dāng)高登-萊維特高踞在自由女神像的火炬上講述珀蒂的故事時(shí)，雙子大廈在他身后赫然聳立。而知道了雙子塔最終的命運(yùn)就給影片（及珀蒂的壯舉）額外增添了一份震撼力。

世貿(mào)雙子大廈從未受到過贊美——卡爾文·湯姆金斯曾在《紐約客》上將其形容為“兩塊無趣的板式建筑”。在為它們注入活力和浪漫氣息方面，珀蒂居功至偉。1974年后，他獲得了前往世貿(mào)中心觀景臺(tái)的永久通行證。

珀蒂在一個(gè)朋友家里收看了“9·11”事件的實(shí)況報(bào)道，他說：“與當(dāng)天被奪走的數(shù)千條生命相比，我的反應(yīng)不值一提。但是，我確實(shí)切身感到一種極大的失落感。許多人認(rèn)為我賦予了雙子塔一種它們?cè)救狈Φ奶刭|(zhì)——人性，一種人的尺度?！?/p>

在世貿(mào)中心之后，珀蒂又完成了多次高空行走，但是哪一次都沒有像那次那樣激起公眾的想象。如今66歲的他仍然沒有退休的打算。他計(jì)劃了很久大峽谷之行，本想讓其成為自己最激動(dòng)人心的一次戲劇性演出，但很可能因?yàn)檎块T拒絕讓步以及后來被一位名叫尼克·瓦倫達(dá)的走鋼索者取代而化為泡影。不過，他饒有興味地談起了計(jì)劃中的復(fù)活節(jié)島之行，稱之為“與莫埃石像和拉帕努伊島居民同樂的一場(chǎng)美好慶典”。

珀蒂在世貿(mào)中心雙子塔間的“胡鬧”結(jié)束后，紐約市警察局在報(bào)告中寫道，他“制造了一個(gè)危險(xiǎn)的局面，且毫無任何正當(dāng)目的”。如果這句話能在“勝利鈴”上回響，那么對(duì)于菲利普·珀蒂的獨(dú)特藝術(shù)而言，恐怕不會(huì)再有比這更明確的認(rèn)可了。在與歷史的殘酷和世界的冷漠的對(duì)抗中，珀蒂如今也加入了羅伯特·澤米吉斯所執(zhí)導(dǎo)的電影中一些主角——馬蒂·麥克弗萊和阿甘——的光輝行列中。

盡管在鋼索上表現(xiàn)出精湛的技藝，珀蒂卻保有純真的一面，例證之一就是對(duì)于《云中行走》這部最不怕劇透的電影，他是唯一為影片結(jié)局揪心的人?！翱催@部電影時(shí)，我全神貫注又很緊張，”他揮舞著手臂說道，“我心里默默祈禱，并對(duì)自己說，我希望這個(gè)人成功。這是對(duì)電影創(chuàng)作者的贊美，不是嗎？偉大的藝術(shù)正是由此創(chuàng)造的?！?/p>

Practice，

Passion

Classics

如果有人宣稱要跑到100層樓高的地方去走鋼索，你的第一反應(yīng)一定是：這人瘋了！他不可能做到！然而，1974年8月的一個(gè)早上，菲利普·珀蒂征服了不可能。他不僅成功走過架設(shè)在紐約世貿(mào)中心雙子塔之間的繩索，還在高空中完成了長(zhǎng)達(dá)45分鐘的高難度動(dòng)作表演。如果你以為這不過是一個(gè)雜耍藝人在冒險(xiǎn)玩兒命，那你就錯(cuò)了。因?yàn)樵阽甑傩闹?，高空行走是一門藝術(shù)，而他，就是這門獨(dú)特藝術(shù)的踐行者。

珀蒂在巴黎圣母院雙塔間表演

珀蒂在悉尼海港大橋的橋塔間表演

珀蒂在雙子塔表演結(jié)束后被警方逮捕

珀蒂在雙子塔表演結(jié)束后接受采訪