The Stunt Man (1980)

Director:

Richard Rush

Writers:

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

Release Date:

25 February 1981 (France)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

"If God could do the things 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 | On The Run | Police | Actress | Anti War

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 5 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
Leslie Winograde	...	Nina's Sister
Don Kennedy	...	Lineman
Whitey Hughes	...	Eli's Assistant Director
Walter Robles	...	Eli's Assistant Director
A.J. Bakunas	...	Eli's Script Clerk
Roberto Caruso	...	Cop #1
Frank Avila	...	Cop #2
Stafford Morgan	...	FBI Agent Thompson
John Alderman	...	Carlbinarri
Jack Palinkas	...	Technician
James Garrett	...	Technician #2 (as Cecil Brittain)
Garrett McPherson	...	Tourist
Nelson Tyler	...	Elk's Crane Cameraman
Louis Gartner	...	Brothel Man #1
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Joseph Arno	...	(uncredited)
James Avery	...	(uncredited)
Frank Beetson	...	(uncredited)
Gregg Berger	...	(uncredited)
Chance Boyer	...	Kid in Cemetery (uncredited)
Deanna Dae Coleman	...	Stunt Crew (uncredited)
Larry Dunn	...	Stunt Crew (uncredited)
Don Hayden	...	WWI German Soldier (uncredited)
Patricia McPherson	...	Pretty Woman (uncredited)
Ross Reynolds	...	Helicopter Pilot (uncredited)
Gordon Ross	...	(uncredited)
Marion Wayne	...	(uncredited)
Leigh Webb	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Rush

Writing credits
Lawrence B. Marcus		(screenplay)
Richard Rush		(adaptation)
Paul Brodeur		(novel)

Produced by
Paul Lewis	....	associate producer
Richard Rush	....	producer
Melvin Simon	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Dominic Frontiere

Cinematography by
Mario Tosi

Film Editing by
Caroline Biggerstaff
Jack Hofstra

Art Direction by
James L. Schoppe

Set Decoration by
Richard Spero

Costume Design by
Rosanna Norton

Makeup Department
Ken Chase	....	makeup designer
Tom Lucas	....	makeup artist
Marina Pedraza	....	hair stylist
Richard Blair	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Frank Beetson	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Beetson	....	first assistant director
Paula Marcus	....	second assistant director
Richard H. Prince	....	dga trainee

Art Department
Gary Fettis	....	assistant property master
Douglas E. Madison	....	property master

Sound Department
Jeff Bushelman	....	sound effects
Les Fresholtz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Cal Marks	....	boom operator
Michael Minkler	....	sound re-recording mixer
Arthur Piantadosi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lee Strosnider	....	sound mixer
James M. Tanenbaum	....	production sound mixer

Special Effects by
David Domeyer	....	special effects
Mike Edmonson	....	special effects foreman
Milt Rice	....	head special effects

Stunts
Phil Adams	....	stunts
A.J. Bakunas	....	stunts
Gregory J. Barnett	....	stunts
Gary Baxley	....	stunts
Wayne Berg	....	stunt pilot
Norman Blankenship	....	stunts (as Norm Blankenship)
Hank Calia	....	stunts
Deanna Dae Coleman	....	stunts
Erik Cord	....	stunts
Ted Duncan	....	stunts
Larry Dunn	....	stunts
Kenny Endoso	....	stunts
Whitey Hughes	....	stunts
Gray Johnson	....	stunt coordinator
Gray Johnson	....	stunts
Mike Johnson	....	stunts
Al Jones	....	stunts (as Alton Leo Jones)
John Kazian	....	wing walker
Tom Morga	....	stunts
Regis Parton	....	stunts
Don Pulford	....	stunts
Walter Robles	....	stunts
Dick Warlock	....	stunts
James Winburn	....	stunts
Charles Bail	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ross Reynolds	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
William L. Asman	....	camera operator
Peter J. Breen	....	dolly grip
Bob Fillis	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Bob Fillis	....	best boy
Tim Griffith	....	chief lighting technician
Tim Griffith	....	gaffer
Frank M. Holgate	....	underwater photography
Terry Kempf	....	electrician
Joel King	....	camera operator
Robin Krause	....	still photographer
Michael E. Matteson	....	grip
Jack Palinkas	....	key grip
Tony Rivetti	....	first assistant camera: additional camera

Editorial Department
Andy Blumenthal	....	assistant editor
Diego Borghello	....	colorist: digitally restored version
John Carnochan	....	assistant editor
Dolly Gordon	....	assistant editor
Robert Leader	....	editorial coordinator
Ryan Noto	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Laurie Higgins Tobias	....	co-music editor
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer

Transportation Department
Gary Paulsen	....	transportation captain

Other crew
James S. Appleby	....	head pilot: WWI-planes (as Jim Appleby)
Dessie Markovsky	....	post production supervisor
Dan Perri	....	title designer: main titles
Emile Razpopov	....	post production coordinator
Ross Reynolds	....	helicopter pilot
Alicia Rivera Frankl	....	production executive (as Alicia Alon)
Terry Terrill	....	script supervisor
Dean Westgaard	....	parachutist

Production Companies

• Simon Productions
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• Magnetic Video (1980) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1980) (USA) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Severin Films (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-Ray)

Other Companies

• Digital Post Services  digital laboratory
• Digital Post Services  quality control and deliverables
• Intrada  score album released by (limited edition)
• Tyler Camera Systems  helicopter and camera crane mounts

Also Known As:

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) | Peru:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | UK:15 (video rating) (2003) | 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: At dinner, after Eli's line "This film... is not about fighting wars, Sam," Sam's right arm jumps; first it is putting some food in his mouth and then it's resting on the table.

Quotes:

Eli Cross:Ah, welcome to the same picture, Sam.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Bits & Pieces

Strange film....

When I first saw THE STUNT MAN, I was very enthusiastic about the film and raved about it to anyone who might be interested. I've watched it twice with some friends since, but they weren't very enthusiastic about it, so I can imagine that for many people it won't pay off. It's an ingeniously constructed film that takes some patience and attention to watch. Made by the erratic Richard Rush, this was his pet project for nine years. Although the direction is fine, it's mostly a virtuoso piece of scripting (credited to Rush and Lawrence B. Marcus, based on Paul Brodeur's novel) that makes this such a special film.

A short plot outline: Fugitive Cameron (Railsback) stumbles onto a movie set where megalomaniac director Eli Cross (O'Toole) promises to hide from the police if he replaces his ace stunt man, who got killed earlier on the set in a freak accident while filming a scene. Is Eli trying to capture Cameron's death on film while he is performing a stunt? Reality and imagination soon blur when Cameron grows increasingly paranoid because Eli Cross doesn't let anything or anybody get in the way of shooting his masterpiece the way he wants. He doesn't seem to care about human life, as long as his movie is shot in the way he wants it.

Railsback is an odd choice for the main role but apparently the makers wanted a "low-key" actor for the main part. Barbara Hershey gives a great performance but without Peter O'Toole's tour-de-force performance, I doubt if the film would have worked as well as it did, especially with such a challenging and multi-layered script. He delivers his lines with such vigor that you cannot look away, a grand performance by perhaps my favorite actor off all time. Such a pity that his (later) career mainly consisted of mediocre films at best and some disastrous ones, sadly... I cannot imagine this kind of film being made in Hollywood today and even back then it might be called a small miracle it got made in the first place, let alone released (in fact, it sat on the shelf for two years before release). Perhaps it's all a little too ambitious at times but with a cast like this and such a dazzling script, it's definitely worth the effort.

The DVD-release by Anchor Bay comes with an extra disc loaded with extra's. Lots of interviews, including one with O'Toole and a very peculiar - almost two-hour (!) - documentary about the making of the film, presented by Rush himself, almost worth seeing in itself.

Camera Obscura - 8/10