The Stunt Man (1980)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Richard Rush

Writers:

Lawrence B. Marcus (screenplay)
Richard Rush (adaptation)

Release Date:

25 February 1981 (France)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

"If God could do the tricks that we can do, he'd be a happy man . . ."

Plot:

A fugitive stumbles on a movie set just when they need a new stunt man, takes the job as a way to hide out, and falls for the leading lady.

Plot Keywords:

Stunt | Police | On The Run | Death | Stuntman

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Peter O'Toole	...	Eli Cross
Steve Railsback	...	Cameron
Barbara Hershey	...	Nina Franklin
Allen Garfield	...	Sam (as Allen Goorwitz)
Alex Rocco	...	Police Chief Jake
Sharon Farrell	...	Denise
Adam Roarke	...	Raymond Bailey
Philip Bruns	...	Ace
Charles Bail	...	Chuck Barton
John Garwood	...	Gabe
Jim Hess	...	Henry
John Pearce	...	Garage Guard
Michael Railsback	...	Burt
George Wallace	...	Nina's Father
Dee Carroll	...	Nina's Mother

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | UK:X (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Flynn Springs, California, USA

Company:

Simon Productions

Trivia:

While Eli Cross and others ride in a boom Crane Basket and Eli Cross talks about movie illusion, they entered the basket at the beach in La Jolla CA, and exit the basket 15 miles away at the Hotel del Coronado.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the closing scene Eli's helicopter takes off as he is talking to Cameron. However, cuts back to close-ups of Eli during the conversation reveal stationary trees behind the helicopters starboard side.

Quotes:

Eli Cross: [after an effects shot involving a dummy has gone wrong] It's so awful, it's beautiful. I do wish I could use it.
Sam: That's all we need.
Eli Cross: Well, we need something, Sam, and damn well you know it. Something better.
Sam: Better? How better?
Eli Cross: Something less boring. Something crazier.
Sam: A dead man's boots are dropped over his own airfield out of chivalry. That's not crazy enough for you, huh?
Eli Cross: They did it in a film called "Wings." Even the dummy was bored.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Rated X: A Journey Through Porn (1999)

Soundtrack:

Bits & Pieces

The art and artifice of filmmaking

Revered as one of the greatest "cult" films of all time I recently saw it and most of my expectations were met. Steven Railsback plays a character named Cameron. A former Vietnam veteran and fugitive on the lam. At the begining of the film we see him being pursued by the police after he is spotted in a restaurant. Cameron while being chased accidentally stumbles onto a movie set where a World War I epic is being shot. After almost being killed by a stunt man on a bridge by a car Cameron picks up an object and throws it at the windshield of the vehicle causing it to swerve off the bridge and fall into a nearby river. A helicopter suddenly descends in front of Cameron. Inside it are the filmcrew documenting the bridge scene with it's director Eli Cross ( Peter O'Toole) starring at Cameron and what has happened. Cameron flees from the scene as the helicopter soars away. Eventually Eli Cross meets up with Cameron and convinces him to replace the stunt man or Cross will turn him into the police. Cameron has little choice. Thus begins the main characters harrowing journey.

The Stunt Man is a complex and multilayered film. It requires multiple viewings in order to catch all of the subtleties and nuances. As the film progresses we see Cameron placed into various stunt scenes, each one more dangerous than the last. Is Eli Cross trying to kill him? The film is a fascinating battle of psychological mind games. Cameron's perception of reality becomes skewed with the fantasy world of filmmaking as he becomes less able to distinguish until the final frame. We the viewer are also constantly confused as the film makes many unpredictable twists and turns with it's convoluted plot. Peter O'Toole is perfect as the flamboyant, megalomanical filmmaker. No one else could to the role justice and bring that much class to the part. Barbara Hershey is also good as the lead actress of Eli Cross' film who becomes romantically involved with Cameron. I have many favorite scenes from the movie. Especially the crash course in stunt work Cameron is given by the lead stunt man played by Chuck Bail, a real life former stunt man. Director Rush has seamlessly balanced pathos with humor to create a unique film of epic proportions. It is a film that the viewer must discipline oneself in order to watch.....but what a payoff.