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:

Comedy | 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 | Director | Beach | Stuntman | Fugitive

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 | 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:

Director Richard Rush's dream project: took 9 years to get to the screen. Filmed in 1978. Fox would not release it until 1980.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Cameron previews the footage of Bert's demise, the windshield has no hole in it, then a hole appears as they look at the footage, but then it's missing again in the next shot.

Quotes:

Eli Cross: Do you not know that King Kong the first was just three foot six inches tall? He only came up to Faye Wray's belly button! If God could do the tricks that we can do he'd be a happy man!

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Bits & Pieces

The truth only depends on the angle you're watching from.

This was director Richard Rush's dream project and it took him nine years to get it on the screen. And, of course, it would! It's multi-layered, original, funny and packed full of story and circumstance that makes you think.

Why would any studio want to touch it? Fox even sat on it for two years before giving it a limited release. Now, Anchor Bay has created the ultimate DVD and I urge you to buy it. The Stunt Man is a movie you'll never forget and even on its umpteenth viewing, still manages to be as intriguing as the first.

It is a story told from the view of Cameron (Steve Railsback), a Vietnam vet on the run from the law. He stumbles onto the set of a WWI movie and accidentally kills a stunt driver. The director of the movie is the eccentric and megalomaniacal Eli Cross (Peter O'Toole, in one of his best ever performances), who takes Cameron under his wing and protects him from John Law, as long as he keeps his mouth shut about the accident.

Cameron practices to be a stunt artist and takes the place of the man he killed. But as the movie shoot becomes more elaborate and dangerous, he falls in love with the leading lady (Barbara Hershey) and starts to suspect that Eli is trying to capture his death on film.

Although it seems nasty, the movie is wonderfully light-hearted and the outrageous stunt scenes are backed up by a joyous score by Dominic Frontiere. I've been humming that theme since I was 12-years-old. A long scene with Cameron running over a rooftop, as biplanes attack and enemy soldiers give chase, is the stuff of legend. There is a great comic sense of humor in watching them trip over each other, fall off and get blown up.

John Law do not back down on their suspicion of Eli and, through half-heard conversations and eavesdropping, Cameron's paranoia becomes increasingly justified. Because the movie is seen through his eyes we never quite know what is going on with Eli. Is he a madman, or just a crafty director? Would you believe that O'Toole based his performance on his experiences with David Lean? Why he never won an Oscar - it went to Robert DeNiro for Raging Bull - is beyond me. He truly gives the performance of his career, far exceeding even Laurence of Arabia. It also sucks that Rush never won for Director, or Adapted Screenplay. Had he been awarded the golden statuette, maybe he would have received more recognition. He's clearly a better filmmaker than most of today's hack artists.

You simply have to see The Stunt Man. It's an overlooked gem and, despite the wide praise it received, it has never really reached a large audience. Now is definitely the time to rediscover this forgotten classic.