| The Stunt Man | |
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Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Richard Rush |
| Produced by | Richard Rush |
| Written by | Novel: Paul Brodeur Screenplay: Richard Rush Lawrence B. Marcus |
| Starring | Peter O'Toole Steve Railsback Barbara Hershey |
| Music by | Dominic Frontiere |
| Cinematography | Mario Tosi |
| Editing by | Caroline Biggerstaff Jack Hofstra |
| Studio | Melvin Simon Productions |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | 27 June 1980 |
| Running time | 131 min |
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $7,068,886 |
The Stunt Man is a 1980 American film directed by Richard Rush, starring Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, and Barbara Hershey.[1] The movie was adapted by Lawrence B. Marcus and Rush from the novel by Paul Brodeur. It tells the story of a young fugitive who hides as a stunt double on the set of an anti-war movie whose charismatic director will do seemingly anything for the sake of his art.
It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Peter O'Toole), Best Director (Richard Rush), and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. However, due to its limited release, it never earned much attention from US audiences at large.[2] As O'Toole remarked in a DVD audio commentary, "The film wasn't released, it escaped."[3]
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Cameron (Steve Railsback) is a young veteran running from the police. He stumbles onto the set of a World War I movie and accidentally causes the death of one of the film's stunt men. The eccentric and autocratic director, Eli Cross (Peter O'Toole), agrees to hide Cameron from the police if he will take the dead man's place. Cameron soon begins to suspect that Cross is putting him in excessive danger. At a bar one night, another member of the production gets drunk and tells Cameron that Eli almost killed the helicopter pilot during the fatal accident Cameron caused, because he insisted he keep flying in order to get the shot. Cameron falls in love with Nina Franklin (Barbara Hershey), the film's star, and is devastated to find out that she and Eli slept together before he met her.
The boundaries between reality and fiction become increasingly blurred as Cross exercises godlike control over the production. During a screening of some footage for Nina's parents who are visiting the production, a nude sex scene with Nina is shown. Eli appears to be mortified, but allows the footage to play anyway. He waits until Nina is just about to shoot a traumatic scene the next day to tell her that her parents have seen the footage of her naked. It causes her to cry, which seems to be the exact emotion Eli needed from her in the scene.
The final day of filming involves a complicated stunt where Cameron has to drive a vintage Duesenberg off a bridge. Nina has two other scenes to shoot as well, but Cameron is convinced Eli will rig the stunt so he will die. He persuades Nina to run away with him, but they are unable to leave the set, which is kept sealed from the neighboring town by the police on Eli's orders. Nina hides in the trunk of the Duesenberg, promising to slip away with Cameron during the stunt.
Before the scene is shot, Eli points to the Duesenberg and explains it is the only copy of the vintage car that the production has. He therefore orders that no one interrupt the filming of the scene once it begins. Cameron is beside himself with anxiety. He keeps trying to check the trunk to see if Nina is there, but finally decides that he will find out once he has escaped in the car. When he gets behind the wheel, the police chief asks if the in-car camera is on. In a panic, believing he has been discovered, Cameron turns on the engine before anyone is ready. The entire crew springs into action. Eli screams at them to start shooting.
Cameron thinks he has escaped when he arrives at the bridge. He flips off the camera, but a crew member triggers a charge which causes a blowout in a front tire. The car swerves off the side of the bridge and into the water. As it sinks, Cameron climbs into the back seat to free Nina from the trunk. Then he sees her standing next to Eli on the bridge, looking down on him. He swims to the bank. Eli descends behind him on a crane, and helps Cameron come to the realization his life was never in danger. Cameron says that the stunt is the hardest $1,000 he has ever made. Eli corrects Cameron, saying the pay for the stunt is only $650. Cameron becomes enraged, insisting he was promised $1,000. Eli laughs at him and offers to split the difference at $750. He flies off in the helicopter, leaving Cameron screaming at him.
Production of the film took place in 1978. Opening scenes were filmed at Mary Etta's Cafe, Flynn Springs, California. Many scenes were filmed in and around the historic Hotel del Coronado in Coronado near San Diego, California.
Peter O'Toole mentions in his DVD commentary that he based his character on David Lean who directed him in Lawrence of Arabia.
Of The Stunt Man, Roger Ebert wrote "there was a great deal in it that I admired... [but] there were times when I felt cheated".[4] He gave the film only two stars, but nonetheless said it "comes highly recommended". In an October 17, 1980 review in The New York Times, Janet Maslin noted "the film's cleverness is aggressive and cool," but concluded that although "the gamesmanship of The Stunt Man is fast and furious... gamesmanship is almost all it manages to be".[5] However, influential critic Pauline Kael considered it "a virtuoso piece of kinetic moviemaking" and rated it one of year's best films.[6] She called O'Toole's comic performance "peerless".
The Stunt Man received three Academy Award nominations.
The Stunt Man was released on DVD on 20 November 2001 in two versions by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The first version is a standard release featuring two deleted scenes and a commentary by director Richard Rush and stars Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey, Alex Rocco, Sharon Farrell and Chuck Bail. The second version is a limited edition (100,000 copies) containing everything from the standard release as well as including the 2001 documentary The Sinister Saga of Making "The Stunt Man".
The film's theme song "Bits & Pieces" is sung by Dusty Springfield.
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