The Stunt Man (1980)

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

There's more than one moment in this film when you might feel a little lost, wondering just what it is the director is trying to say. It is absolutely not about redemption, but it is, and it's more about perception of truth than it is about how art mirrors life… but then it isn't. The DVD features an introduction from the director about his intentions and if it weren't for this primer to what follows, the movie may play for you like just another independent flick about Hollywood.Escaping from prison Cameron (Steve Railsback) dodges a car heading toward him on a bridge causing the car to plummet into the water below drowning the driver. When Cameron discovers that he has stumbled into a movie being made by Eli Cross (Peter O'Toole), he immediately attempts escape but is stopped when Cross offers the con protection if he'll be a stunt man in the picture. Cameron still plans to leave until he meets Nina Franklin (Barbara Hershey), the lead actress in the film. Cameron falls for Nina immediately and she makes him feel good while Cross gets him to go to greater and greater lengths to get Cameron to perform dangerous stunts for his camera. When Nina and Cameron try to escape together they plan for her to hide in the trunk of the car that Cameron will drive off of a bridge in a dangerous stunt for Cross to film, but when the momentous day arrives will they be able to go through with it? I'm not sure I hold with Director Richard Rush's ideas voiced by his alter ego Peter O'Toole's Eli Cross who on the one hand seeks out great realism with Cameron's true Vietnam experiences and their affect on his movie, while philosophizing about truth versus movie magic. It's clear that Cross is a ruthless task master when it comes to getting his picture made, and this aspect of the Hollywood industry we understand.This is possibly Steve Railsback's only shining moment as a rising Hollywood star. His only other most popular film role was as Charles Mason in Helter Skelter and it's kind of too bad that he hasn't gotten better roles. The Stunt Man is a special case because it puts Railsback in scenes against two really fine actors. In scenes with Peter O'Toole Steve Railsback utilizes his Actors Studio training well to deliver the truth of character and scene, with Barbara Hershey Steve Railsback reveals a particularly sensitive side to his persona that very nearly makes him palatable to the mainstream taste.The quality of the script for The Stunt Man clearly sets it apart from other movies like it. Writing credits for the film go to Lawrence B. Marcus and Richard Rush for adapting the Paul Brodeur novel. The action keeps pushing and pulling us in different directions, and as we recover we find that we are viewing the film story from a variety of angles. Some valuable time is consumed as we learn, along with the main character Cameron, what stunt men do, and it is this process that relates the idea that filmmaking is like life- there are those who direct, and those who act, and those who do the stunt work.Where the film is weakest is in relying on Railsback's Cameron to deliver the angst and betrayal of the U.S. Government on the people via the Vietnam War. If this movie is about that, and we are pointed to the comparison repeatedly through the World War 1 art direction of the movie within the film, then a more direct bond should have been made. There are some great scenes of excellent stunt work that develop the story but logically stop the action for anyone who has worked on a film.It's still an exciting picture to watch and one that for filmmakers and cineastes will continue to bring a wealth of ideas and possible themes. The stellar cast shines and in many ways makes this movie a pleasure to watch.

A convict named Cameron (Steve Railsback) is being chases by the police. He inadvertently stumbles upon a stunt being done for a movie--and the stuntman dies. The crazy director Eli Cross (Peter O'Toole) makes believe that the stuntman didn't die and passes off Cameron as him. Cameron goes along with it and becomes the official stuntman for the movie. What follows is a frustrating and decidedly unfunny black comedy.I caught this back in 1980 and couldn't make heads or tails out of it. Critics were raving about it nonstop but I thought it was pointless and quite dull. I (sort of) get it now. It's a VERY surreal black comedy about a bunch of people making a movie about WW1 and being ruled over by a mad director who will do ANYTHING to get it done. Some people may find jokes about people being killed or wounded hysterically funny but I didn't. Also the movie is constantly playing with the viewers mind--fantasy and reality keep intermixing in the film. You think you're seeing something real...but it turns out to be fake. This happens nonstop throughout the film! It's kind of fun at first but then it just gets annoying. Acting doesn't help. Railsback (who can be good) is dreadful here. He has just one look and uses it throughout the entire picture! I didn't have a clue on how to take his character. His big speech towards the end is more funny than shocking. Hershey (another one who can be good) is ALSO terrible! Was she taking acting tips from Railsback? She's all over the place here. The script is lousy. Nobody talks like a real person here. I was always aware I was listening to a script--NOT dialogue.There are only two bright lights here: the action sequences are fast, furious and lots of fun. And O'Toole takes his meaty role and runs with it. He was justly nominated for an Academy Award for this. He's WAY over the top but it fits the surreal material like a glove. He's just incredible but he's the only thing worth seeing here. Everything else is just horrible. The total adoration of this picture is beyond me. I give it a 2 and that's just for O'Toole's brilliant performance.

Lights, camera, FRANTIC! I saw this for the first time in a theater in 1981, so it was certainly time for a re-visit: A fugitive (and Vietnam vet, á la the 1980's formula character trait picks) from the law, stumbles upon a movie shoot and inadvertently kills its stunt man. The ruthlessly manic director agrees to shield him from the police - ONLY if he agrees to step in as the stunt man's replacement to finish the film! For any movie buff, this set-up is enough to make you drool and rub your hands together in delight.An absolute one-of-a-kind mix of sarcastic satire, dizzying action plus one of the best movie-within-a-movie gimmicks ever: An overblown WW1 war/romance epic! Top production of course, energetically unpredictable story twists and a lively soundtrack that is SO unforgettable, that I could hum its two main themes in my head even before I put the disc in... almost 30 years later! Also formidably cast, with an indelible performance of a lifetime from O'Toole. The downside though, when there is so much brain in a film like this, is the lack of heart (and subtlety) among the cold-blooded and hard-skinned cynicism, as I really don't feel much for its characters - memorable as they may be - afterward. 7 out of 10 from Ozjeppe

This film works tremendously on all levels. It is a highly intelligent story about what is or is not real, while at the same time it is a fast-moving and spectacular stuntfest, with much clever and funny dialogue. Steve Railsback plays Cameron, who pretends to be a deceased stuntman who was a stand-in for an actor playing a First World War pilot. So one man (Railsback) is playing another (Cameron) playing another (deceased stuntman) playing another (actor in WW1 film) playing another (WW1 pilot): no wonder that in the world of the film set Cameron has trouble working out what is or not real! I have seen this film probably ten times, and every time I see something I missed before. It is absolutely enthralling, and though it has always had good reviews, it somehow always gets missed when lists of all-time great films are compiled. It is one of those movies which has many fans, and I always recommend it as a must-see, but most people just don't seem to 'get' this film, so it has not got as much recognition as it deserves.