The Stunt Man (1980)

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Movies about movies have a special fascination, and, despite some flaws, "The Stunt Man" is no exception. Arrested for an unnamed offense, Cameron, a crazy-eyed young man played by Steve Railsback, escapes custody and encounters a film company on location. The crew is on a beach shooting a World War I battle that involves dozens of extras, vintage biplanes, and explosions. Aided by the film's director, who does not want to admit that he has lost a stunt man in a tragic car stunt, Cameron becomes the stunt man and is goaded into performing daring and dangerous stunts of his own. In an Academy Award nominated performance, Peter O'Toole plays the determined Eli Cross, the movie-in-the-movie's ruthless manipulative director. Cross stops at nothing to get footage in the can, irregardless of the consequences, even the death of a stunt man. When not jumping from buildings or hanging from ledges, Cameron becomes involved with the film's female star, Nina Franklin, played by Barbara Hershey, whose history with Cross further complicates things.The screenplay by Lawrence B. Marcus and Richard Rush was adapted from a novel by Paul Brodeur, and both the screenplay and Richard Rush's direction, like O'Toole, received Oscar nominations. While much of the film's fun comes from the action and the stunts performed for the movie within the movie, O'Toole's delicious performance as the flamboyant philosophical director is also a major draw, although the supporting cast is also fine, with Alan Garfield and Alex Rocco deserving mention.The mystery of Cameron's crime and the cause of the stunt man's death plunge into a river are slowly revealed, but character is emphasized over plot and the romance consumes much screen time. Thus, the film is often slow, overlong, and not as clever as Rush wanted it to be. Judicious editing could have tightened the film and improved the pace. However, while "The Stunt Man" is fairly entertaining, O'Toole's star performance remains the film's major asset and chief draw.

It has to be the best quote in the whole movie because not only it defines the whole thing but it's also one of the most funniest (specially when it is said at the ending). The height of 1933's King Kong (3'6) is mentioned in "The Stunt Man" as a representation of how manipulative and incredible movies are. It also represents the audience's manipulation in terms of believing in what they're seeing as real when in fact it's not. Everybody knows King Kong as something monstrous, gigantic but very few know that the real thing was a small toy made to look bigger thankfully to special effects.But what's have to do with the story of a Vietnam War veteran running away from police, who happens to stumble on a film set to be later get invited by the film director to replace a dead stunt man? Everything! The fugitive Cameron (played by a sexy Steve Railsback) while learning to be a stunt gets fooled over and over by the director Eli Cross (a dynamic Peter O'Toole - Oscar nominated for this role), who puts the poor man in the most audacious, risky and dangerous stunts in a World War I film. Along with the filming, there's a romantic story involving an actress (Barbara Hershey) involved with both director and stunt man, and of course, the police hunt for the man and a investigation of what really happen with the original stunt guy. Then, just like Kong, there's the manipulation of "The Stunt Man" on us, audience, when we think that all what's happening with Cameron is real until someone yell 'Cut', and the background is revealed, cameras and people start to show up. Here's one example: Cameron is running away from villains, being chased over rooftops, stairs, bullets flying over his head, explosions, the fear we see in his eyes are very real but then we know it's a planned stunt. This screenplay strategy works but not that much if we consider that most of the time Cameron is performing all the stunts in one long shot where he falls and runs and jumps, I mean, Eli's team is filming like five or six sequences continuously, which is quite impossible to be done in films. It's visually impressive to see all that but not much believable.Even so, this is a very funny and interesting film that show the magic of movies being made. It was a dream project for director Richard Rush that took nine years to be finally made and it worth all the while, guarantying a Oscar nomination for him as Best Director. The performances fit the film perfectly with the highlights on O'Toole making of Eli an egomaniacal film director who believes to be an God who controls everything and everyone, without caring about anything although he's impressed by the mysterious Cameron. Railsback is very memorable and a little sinister as the fugitive/stunt man who gets astonished with the film he became part of and the salary offered, but he doesn't realize how naive he was and how deceivable Eli was.Fugitive on the run, filmmaking of a big budget film, romance, action, comedy, lots of humor, this film in no way could go wrong. Here's an very enjoyable and underrated classic of the 1980's. 10/10

Troubled and paranoid fugitive Vietnam veteran Cameron (a fine and intense performance by Steve Railsback) seeks refuge on the set of a lavish World War I picture that's being directed by cruel and crazed, yet cunning and charismatic megalomaniac director Eli Cross (superbly played with lip-smacking pompous aplomb by Peter O'Toole). Cross makes Cameron replace a previous stuntman who drowned when a car gag went awry due to Cameron's interference. Cameron soon suspects that Eli may be trying to kill him so he can capture his death on celluloid for the sake of realism. Director Richard Rush, who also co-wrote the ingenious script with Lawrence B. Marcus, offers a fresh, inspired and arresting mix of comedy, drama, action, thriller, and romance while also delivering a rich and provocative existential meditation on illusion versus reality and a fascinating glimpse at all the chaos, tension, madness and arduous labor that goes into making a movie. The exciting and elaborate stunt set pieces are simply amazing. Mario Tosi's gleaming, polished cinematography and Dominic Frontiere's jaunty, rousing score are likewise excellent and impressive. This film further benefits from first-rate acting by the uniformly stellar cast: Railsback and O'Toole are both fabulous in their juicy lead parts; they receive bang-up support from Barbara Hershey as radiant, ravishing actress Nina Franklin, Allen Garfield as harried, neurotic screenwriter Sam, Adam Roarke as humble actor Raymond Bailey, Sharon Farrell as sweet, sassy make-up girl Denise, Chuck Bail as amiable stunt coordinator Chuck Barton, Philip Bruns as smarmy producer Ace, and Alex Rocco as huffy police chief Jake. Dusty Springfield sings the lovely theme song "Bits & Pieces." A marvelously offbeat and original one-of-a-kind knockout that's wholly deserving of its cult status.

Right from the opening it had me taken in. The music, the shots, the action.The whole film is so taut, everything is so finely honed. It's a film about films, so it can't get away with any sloppiness. And it doesn't, it's perfect.The human side of it is touching, with the love story and the personal conflicts etc ... but the best part is the "tricks" this film plays, on its characters, but also on the audience. With Peter O'Toole as the great puppet-master, hovering in and out of shots dangling from a crane like the God he emulates.The 'stunt' sequences are legendary. I have purchased this film and it will be watched many times. To be honest I'm surprised that it has gone out of mass consumption, even after 27 years.Watch it. It ROCKS.