The Stunt Man

Summary

“I must have this location for three days. And you need a place to hide.”

I have recently been working my way through a stack of films that I have accumulated from the catalog of titles from Severin Films. I tend to collect more films than I actually can find time to watch, and it has been a lot of fun visiting films from the label. Years ago I had purchased their release of Richard Rush’s film The Stunt Man. I had purchased the film based on solid reviews and also because I am a fan of his film Color of Night, despite some of its more obvious missteps and the poor critical reception it received. I had heard many good things about The Stunt Man and critics praised the film which earned three Oscar nominations (Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director.) I sat down the other evening and watched the film and was pretty dazzled by it.

As the film begins, long haired brunette Vietnam veteran Cameron (Steve Railsback) is approached by police while playing a pinball game. They succeed in shackling his hands, but he succeeds in escaping from them. He runs through the forest and encounters some workers. He manages to defend himself from them and takes one of their tools to cut the cuffs. Crossing a bridge, Cameron is shocked to see an old time coupe come across the bridge and nearly hit him. When the car turns around and approaches him again, Cameron throws something at the window of the car. The driver veers off the bridge and the car plunges into the water below. Cameron is then shocked to see a helicopter carrying a movie director – Eli Cross (Peter O’Toole) – fly over him. Cameron continues to flee from the scene of the crime which was actually a scene for a film. The stunt man, Burt, has perished in the car crash. When Cameron once again stumbles upon a location of Eli Cross’s film, Eli approaches Cameron and makes him an offer. Eli needs to finish shooting in his locations for the next three days and needs a substitute for Burt. Cameron needs to evade the police that are searching for him. Cameron, fearing the police and any implication in Burt’s death, agrees to become Burt. They shave his face and dye his hair blonde. Having no formal experience, Cameron is taken under the wing of stunt coordinator Chuck Barton (Charles Bail.) Cameron soon finds himself performing more and more elaborate and dangerous stunts for the demanding Eli. While working on the film, Cameron also finds himself romantically drawn to one of the lead actresses – Nina Franklin (Barbara Hershey.) As Eli continues to shoot his film, local police chief Jake (Alex Rocco) continues to investigate the film crew in search of his fugitive. In the back of Cameron’s mind, a fear begins to develop that Eli may have plans to kill him with a stunt.

The Stunt Man is an audacious and unique film. The script of the film by director Richard Rush and co-writer Lawrence B. Marcus, adapted from the book by Paul Brodeur, very intentionally changes perspectives from reality to the film within a film at will. This gives the film a surreal quality and also allowing the film to surprise the audience. The writing intentionally withholds information on characters until much later in the film in order to give an air of mystery. It never allows the audience to fully trust the intent of the character’s actions until the film has been completed lay viewed. The direction by Richard Rush is very clever and the film feels exciting and new even forty years later due to the amount of technique and thoughtfulness put into the film. The film is at once a vicious satire of the uncaring and unchaste filmmaking system and an effective action adventure film with moments of romance. After watching the film once, I feel that it is safe to say that it will hold up well under repeat viewings.

The film benefits from a fantastic cast. Playing the powerful director Eli Cross, Peter O’Toole unleashes one of his best performances. He sinks his teeth into the role and carries himself with the authority of an undaunted artist while more than likely being a hack. He is absolutely fantastic in the film. Steve Railsback was cast in the role of Cameron partially because he was not a well-known face. Railsback brings a manic energy to the role that is extremely effective because it is not clear in the picture for over two thirds of the runtime what the crime was that Cameron had committed. He feels fairly believable as a Vietnam veteran. Barbara Hershey was one of the best starlets of the Eighties. I have enjoyed her in every role that I have seen her in, and this is no exception. Both her and Railsback have sequences where they appear fully nude, tastefully done, and that must have taken a good amount of bravery. Railsback also performed numerous stunts in the film which would also take a good amount of bravery. Hershey is a great actress and I am glad that she has had a long career. In the role of Nina, she is charming yet also engenders paranoia in the viewer. That is a tough tightrope to walk and she has no problem performing the role perfectly.

The music in the film by Dominic Frontiere is fantastic. The film benefits from the music’s ability to highlight the romantic moments as effortlessly as the atmosphere of carnival from the film shoot. Cinematographer Mario Tosi does a good job on the film under the direction of Rush. Tosi is best known for his work on Brian De Palma’s Carrie. The Stunt Man has stylistic choices that fit in with the era in which it was made, so some of the shots look a little soft or use diffused lighting. I liked the look of the picture, personally.

Overall – The Stunt Man is a fantastic film to watch for film lovers. It is a clever comedy with some excellent performances and a very well choreographed script. Highly recommended!

Video

Severin Films released The Stunt Man in 2011, and the label provided a good looking transfer of the film for that time, but it does not hold a candle to how great their releases look in 2021. Presented in 1080p in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 with an MPEG-4 AVC encode. This transfer is fairly grainy and suffers from some edge enhancement, but I was not turned off to the imagery because of that. There is some specking and a small amount of coloring issues on the print, but for the most part the print was in fairly good shape. It is hard to tell what could be done with this film which has some of the soft look and techniques that were prevalent at the time. I think that a new scan and some additional work with techniques that Severin has today would make the film look better, but for the time being this is the best presentation of the film. If they ever want to revisit this classic film in UHD, I will buy it immediately!

Audio

Similar to the video, Severin Films has provided a good DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that is not quite up to the quality that they provide in 2021. The compositions by Dominic Frontiere are wonderfully done and really elevate the film. The track does a great job of bringing these compositions to the forefront and they sound very good. My issue with the track was caused by a bit of trouble I had hearing some of the characters. Due to the absence of subtitles, I had difficulty understanding what was said at times. 

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary: writer-director Richard Rush discusses the film with Peter O’Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey, Alex Rocco, Sharon Farrell and Chuck Bail.
• The Sinister Saga: The Making of The Stunt Man – This nearly two hour documentary, written and directed by Richard Rush, is an exhaustive and entertaining look back on the process of making The Stunt Man. Featuring interviews with Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey, and Peter O’Toole, this piece is an incredibly quirky and very informative piece.
• Two Deleted Scenes
• The Maverick Career of Richard Rush – Richard Rush gives an overview of his career in this half-hour long piece.
• Peter O’Toole Recounts The Stunt Man – in an interview that took place just a couple years before his death, O’Toole looks back on his role in the film which remained one of his favorite roles.
• Devil’s Squadron: An Interview with Steve Railsback and Alex Rocco – The two actors met while working on The Stuntman and have been best friends ever since. They give an entertaining account of their time working on the film.
• Barbara Hershey on Nina Franklin – the actress looks back on her time working on the film and her favorite memories of acting with Peter O’Toole.
• The Stunt Man at the New Beverly – Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey, and Richard Rush lead a Q and A.
• Trailers

Overall Scores:

Video – 3.5/5

Audio – 3.5/5

Supplements – 5/5

Overall – 4/5

The Stunt Man is an excellent film with an exceptional performance by the iconic Peter O’Toole. The lead performances by Steve Railsback and Barbara Hershey are well acted and required a good amount of bravery from both. Richard Rush co-wrote and directed the film with a clearly defined vision and delivered a truly unique film. The film was understandably a critical darling and is easily one of the best made movies revolving around filmmaking. It is probably the best film of its type that I have seen since watching Francois Truffaut’s Day for Night years ago. The Severin Films release from 2011 features an excellent array of supplements that should please any fan of the film. The Sinister Saga: the Making of The Stunt Man is an exhaustive nearly two hour film by Richard Rush about making The Stunt Man and is one of the quirkiest behind-the-scenes features I have ever seen. The only downside to this release is that the video and audio transfer (now a decade old) show their limitations when viewed in 2021. This release comes highly recommended, and I will gladly buy the film again if it is released in UHD or with a new scan from Severin!