The Walk - Blu-ray

Film: All his life, Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has been a rebel and a dreamer. As a street performer in Paris, he can only partially live out his passion for tightrope acrobatics. Even a spectacular feat in which he illegally balanced between the towers of Notre Dame didn't bring him quite the fulfillment. For there is a much bigger, more dangerous challenge he wants to take on in the early 1970s: he wants to stretch a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, which are about to be completed, and then walk from one tower to the other at a height of 417 metres. With the help of a small squad of initiates, the roofs of the towers are scouted and the materials smuggled into the World Trade Center. But when, after many months of preparation, this actually succeeds, it is only the beginning of a spectacular operation that will make history.

The true story told by Academy Award winner Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future) in his latest film, The Walk, has already been covered in extremely stirring fashion in the Academy Award-winning documentary Man on Wire. The film managed to do that in such a gripping and involving way that there was really no need for a feature film to tell the same story again. But there is one particularly outstanding reason to watch this version. But more about that in a moment. First, though, let's assess the film in general.

Zemeckis has chosen to start the story in the form of a biopic, which then seems to morph into a sweet romance, only to mutate into an amusing heist movie. Thanks to the good-humored acting of lead actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt and a script bursting with wonderful ideas and great dialogue, the individual parts of the story also work extremely well. And if the whole thing then becomes a magnificently filmed declaration of love for New York and the Twin Towers, then The Walk is finally quite great entertainment cinema.

The equipment and the effects let the early 1970s perfectly come alive again. Zemeckis prepares his audience for the titular balancing act with plenty of wit and charm, and it's perfectly executed in every way. The dramaturgical build-up is excellently directed, so that even though you already know the outcome, you're extremely rooting for it from the moment Petit and his team enter the World Tradecenter. And that reaches a dizzying climax as soon as he steps onto the tightrope. And that brings us to the reason that makes this movie a real experience: 3D!

It seems like this technology was made just for this movie. Because the really great 3D effects really make the viewer feel like they are balancing above the streets of New York. It's as dizzying as it is spectacular, as sweaty as it is mesmerizing. What Robert Zemeckis offers his viewers here is pure magic. Thrilling like a thriller, yet full of poetry and magic. This also makes The Walk one of the very few films that you definitely have to see in 3D. Far too often, the three-dimensional effects are a rather unnecessary gadget. Quite pretty to look at, but ultimately not worth the premium on the admission fee. Here, it's a very different story. Here, the 3D not only makes for wonderful images, but also for real experiential cinema, which can be a real challenge, especially for viewers with a fear of heights.

The reason why I didn't go into the great 3D effects right away is a very simple one: although it's especially the last half hour that makes the film's very special appeal, and although everyone will probably talk about the 3D effects first and foremost, it should also be pointed out that The Walk has become a really good and very beautiful film overall. A charming and rousing plea to live out one's dreams, as crazy as they may be. And for that, it definitely gets a: Absolutely worth seeing!!!

Picture + Sound: The technical realization of the Blu-Ray is, as could be expected, on quite a high level. The very clean picture has a very good overall sharpness and even in the 2D version a pleasant depth, as well as coherently mixed black levels, through which even in the numerous darker scenes hardly any details are swallowed. Just as much fun as the visuals is the sound, which transports the numerous small and large surround effects excellently into the home theater. The dialogues are thereby mixed very powerfully and well understandable in most moments. Very good!

Extras: Unfortunately, there are not as many extras here as one would have liked. In addition to seven deleted scenes (approx. 5:44 min.), there are three featurettes about how Joseph Gordon-Levitt prepared for the film (approx. 8:50 min.), about the supporting cast (approx. 8:27 min.), and about the incredible high wire act (approx. 10:48 min.). These are good featurettes, but they could have been a little more detailed and a little less promo-heavy. Nevertheless, there is here a clear: worth seeing!

Conclusion: The Walk is quite especially in 3D on the big screen a real experience. However, the film version of Philippe Petit's wonderful true story also works brilliantly in the 2D version on the TV screen. The Blu-ray presents the film in first-class picture and sound quality and also has some good, but unfortunately too short extras on board. Absolutely recommended!!!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp