Philippe
It was tense, but we were eager
to get going. Everything was ready.
Jean-Louis
I remember the extremely tense silence
in the van.
Alan was absolutely sombre,
Philippe extremely tense.
Annie
As for me I was petrified
very worried.
I was disguised as a workman
with a helmet, a shirt...
Jean-Franois
To look like an American,
I had lot of pens in my pocket.
That's typically American, apparently.
David aka "Donald"
Alan aka "Alberf"
And Philippe said to me:
"I know what's going to happen...
...we are going to go in,
and we're going to get caught."
He could no longer carry on living
without having at least tried to...
...to conquer those towers
because it felt like those towers
belonged to him.
It was as if they had been built
especially for him.
I was twenty years old.
And I was
a painfully shy young girl.
I was very surprised
by this individual.
and even more surprised
when he began to chase me relentlessly,
having just met me.
He would bring me flowers,
arrange little dates,
send me love letters.
I was completely overwhelmed,
bowled over, harpooned,
that's what it was.
He introduced me to his wire.
a wire set up at the end of a garden.
I would spend hours watching him walk.
He wasn't that experienced at the time.
He was just beginning his life
as a tightrope walker.
We became inseparable.
In fact my life
was completely consumed by his.
And he never thought to ask me whether
I had my own destiny to follow.
It was quite clear
I had to follow his.
Jean-Louis
Childhood friend
Jean-Louis had told me right away
that it was illegal.
Jean-Franois
Accomplice
So I knew it was illegal, but of course
that's what got me a bit excited!
Against the law,
but not wicked or mean.
It was wonderful!
Notre Dame Cathedral
Paris, June 197 1
Then Philippe appeared on the wire.
It was amazing.
I went inside, all excited,
and I leant over the nave
and saw that a huge ceremony
was taking place in Notre Dame.
There were a dozen or so priests
dressed all in white, arm crossed.
They were lying on the floor,
their heads against the floor.
I was staggered, dumbstruck.
The organist asked me:
"What are you doing here?"
I said to him: "There's a wirewalker
up there on the towers!"
This gentleman looked at me
with an expression of wonder.
and he said;
"Oh, really! A wirewalker!
How amazing!"
South Tower 3.58pm
We drove the van inside.
We got through
the first security barrier.
We presented the company documents
and the fake invoices.
Everything
was quite carefully planned.
North Tower 4.25pm
The time had come for us to part.
There was a real madness
in his eyes, a real rage.
It was truly: " I'm going to do this,
no matter what, now is the time" .
And he held me in his arms as if
we would never see each other again.
Sydney, Australia
June 1973
Mark
"The Australian"
One day he showed me a photo
of two buildings in a magazine.
And then I was a bit frightened.
It was inhuman to want to go
and walk up there, 450 meters high.
This was all becoming demonic.
I just wanted to say: "Stop!"
Barry Greenhouse
"The Inside Man"
South Tower 4.27 pm
This beam was over the elevator shaft
that had a drop of 400 meters.
North Tower 6.22pm
South Tower 7.44pm
Jim Moore
A minute ago you said the whole place
was swarming with cops.
This is what they'll make you do
when you're prison.
They'll make you clean the windows
in all the tall towers.
South Tower 8. 10pm
His foot was up my nose
and my foot was stuck
between his arms,
we were completely entwined.
I guess you could say
we really got to know each other.
I've rarely known a man
that way before!
North Tower 9.38pm
Mark
"The Australian"
He wanted to set up a wire
to correspond exactly to the
distance between the two towers.
And to practice on it
a much as he could.
Someone had spoken to him
about the elasticity of the building
and the fact that the wind could cause
the towers to sway.
So there was a moment
of great concern.
There was always and still is, this
'bad boy' side to Philippe's character.
He had a very strict upbringing.
And he would never have strayed
too far down that illegal road.
But he got great pleasure
from taking certain 'liberties'.
He's so excessive, so creative,
so each day
is like a work of art for him.
What excited him most
about this adventure
aside from being a beautiful show
was that it was like
a bank robbery.
And that pleased him enormously.
Gradually things began
to get more serious
because a proper plan
had to be worked out.
And then the arguments
between Jean-Louis and Philippe
really got started.
Ok, so we get through the main gate,
however we decide to do it.
The trick is going to be on the top
floor, coming out of the elevator.
It is better to be dressed
as office workers.
- No! As workers...
- Wait! Let me finish!
It was almost impossible
to imagine them
getting into the tower undetected.
They didn't even know
how they were going to get in.
And I think right from the start,
Jean-Louis felt
an enormous responsibility.
And he wouldn't let Philippe
have it his way,
perhaps because he felt
that Philippe wasn't being realistic.
No! We're being complete idiots.
Jean-Louis knew I sided with him
and Philippe also knew
I was taking Jean-Louis' side.
May 13th 197 4
Guy Tozzoli
President WTC Association
May 28th 197 4
The first attempt had failed.
He called me and asked me
to come over immediately.
Of course my role was
to support and encourage him.
It was always a matter
of trying to understand
what was going on in his head
and of encouraging him.
That was my job
and it was really exhausting.
He would spend the night
watching television.
He only ever watched
detective movies, bank robberies,
stories about cops and robbers.
I'm convinced he was getting
in shape with this.
He was looking for the strength,
so he could break into these towers.
So he went back, again and again,
to the World Trade Center,
to the main entrance hall.
And Philippe observed very carefully
how people went in,
showing their passes, etc.
David aka "Donald"
Rock Singer
Alan aka "Albert"
Quality Guy
I was really very worried.
The team included people
who were totally unreliable.
Jean-Louis reminded me
about Notre Dame,
said it would be
the same kind of thing,
the same adventure, but this time
in New York at the World Trade Center.
He didn't tell me much more,
just asked whether
I wanted to come or not.
When we arrived in New York
on the Boston train,
at one point we went past
the Empire State Building.
At that moment I looked up,
I saw the height
of the Empire State Building
and I was horrified.
My legs started to shake,
it was terrifying!
Especially when I realised the World
Trade Center was even higher.
I kept it all to myself,
but I was terrified.
When Jean-Louis came back,
the tension rose enormously.
It became unbearable.
The problem was the team.
The very night before the coup,
they arrived at the apartment
in a deplorable state.
One of them was stoned.
He was completely gone,
lost in a haze of smoke.
Jean-Louis was absolutely dismayed.
So was Philippe.
There was someone there
that we hadn't expected,
sitting at a desk with a little light.
I remember the vastness of New York!
The altitude!
The Statue of Liberty, the UN building,
all looking so tiny.
It was magnificent.
And the sounds as well,
the police sirens all night long.
It was all so alive!
And we were kings!
The streets were deserted.
I found a taxi willing to take me there.
So I waited with the others.
Other members of the team joined us.
And our eyes were absolutely glued
to the towers.
I was looking out
for the slightest movement,
but we couldn't see a thing.
It was absolutely terrifying.
Suddenly we saw something,
a shape,
just for a second, falling down.
There was a huge cry of relief...
it was only a piece of clothing.
We all thought: " He must have just
dropped something, that's ok."
We all thought: "Of course
it's possible he could fall."
We all thought it,
but we didn't believe it.
We thought it,
but we didn't believe it.
I saw Philippe.
I saw Philippe up there,
it was extraordinary.
It was so, so beautiful.
It was like he was walking
on a cloud.
And there were
such amazing moments.
When he lay down...
...we were thrilled by this image
of Philippe lying down up above.
And another very powerful moment
was when he...
It was so beautiful.
When he knelt down.
There was a moment
when he knelt down and saluted.
I cried out: " Look! Look!"
People started gathering,
but they couldn't see.
They asked me:
"What is it? What do you see?"
I said: " Look, a wirewalker!
He's walking!"
Philippe did provoke them,
naturally,
because that's what
he does, that's his character!
He would come close
to the guards or the police,
who were trying to grab him,
then he would turn around
and be out of their reach,
because they weren't about
to get on the wire!
The place was
a sort of scientific area
where lunatics walk round in circles.
So here we were,
surrounded by mad people.
But we weren't mad,
we were stars!
I saw Philippe discover
what it meant to be famous,
to be recognized, with expressions
of friendliness and enthusiasm.
People would cross the street
to tell him: "You gave us such a gift!"
" It was so beautiful!
It was a breath of fresh air...
thank you!"
It was extraordinary
and I think in Philippe's mind,
many things were changing.
So the judge's sentence
was pretty harsh, I thought.
I was expelled from the United States.
There was a love story.
But it was clear...
...that Philippe had gone through
an incredible moment in his life
and he was starting
something else, a new life.
Strangely, I felt the same way.
Our relationship
was meant to end here
and it was beautiful that way.