Sony Pictures has released the first The Walk images from director Robert Zemeckis’ 3D film about high-wire walker Philippe Petit.  You may be familiar with Petit from the universally acclaimed documentary Man on Wire (currently available on Netflix), which recounted his daring, illegal 1974 tightrope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Petit in Zemeckis’ film, which dramatically recounts Petit’s act in what producer Tom Rothman describes to USA Today as “Gravity meets Ocean’s Eleven.”  Indeed, the heist aspect of Petit’s story is quite thrilling, and I’m eager to see what Zemeckis’ trademark blend of boundary-pushing visuals and human-centric storytelling brings to Petit’s beautiful piece.

Hit the jump to check out the first The Walk images, now in high-resolution.  The film also stars Charlotte Le Bon, Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, Clément Sibony and César DomboyThe Walk opens in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D on October 2, 2015.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Walk:

Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one man has ever, or will ever, walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers.  Guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, Petit and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan.  Robert Zemeckis, the director of such marvels as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future, Polar Express and Flight, again uses cutting edge technology in the service of an emotional, character-driven story.  With innovative photorealistic techniques and IMAX 3D wizardry, The Walk is true big-screen cinema, a chance for moviegoers to viscerally experience the feeling of reaching the clouds. The film is a love letter to Paris and New York City in the 1970s, but most of all, to the Towers of the World Trade Center.

Images via Sony.

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Image via Sony Pictures

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