Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Rejoice. The Stunt Man has been released as a very special DVD very much worth getting.

The only complaint I (or I believe anyone else) could ever make against the Stunt Man, is how we don't quite connect and get deep inside the heads of the characters we are watching. We don't because the film is about how one's own perception of events or people colors everything you see and hear and leads to you making assumptions and drawing conclusions that might not be true. The film delivers the message to us by being told from the perception of Cameron (Steve Railsback) a man on the run who becomes The Stunt Man. He's in almost every scene in the film.

Purposefully we are never sure if we can trust the characters, filmmakers or writers. Nothing is as it seems and just when we think we understand something, things change. The rug is constantly being pulled out from underneath us. One is off-balance while watching the film the first time. Anything could and probably will happen. It's an experience few films even attempt to offer and fewer still are even partially successful at it. The Stunt Man works from start to finish. It's flaws are minor and considering its ambitions that's a pretty incredible accomplishment.

The film begins with a dog utterly self absorbed in licking himself, he doesn't even want to move out of the way of a police car approaching a roadside café. The dog angrily moves and we follow the police car. They are on their way to arrest a fugitive in the café.

At the same time we become aware of a Helicopter. We don't see him, but someone takes a bite of an apple (there's almost always an apple forbiddingly being bitten in a Rush film) and the distinctive voice of Peter O'Toole delivers a line that is the film's message (and Rush gets away with it):

Then the apple is thrown out of the Helicopter, hits the roof of the café, hits the roof of the cop car and we follow the police into the Café. Steve Railsback (so distinctively intensive he'll always be typecast as Manson from Helter Skelter) plays the nervous, ex-Vietnam Vet, fugitive on the run, Cameron. We don't know and won't know for almost the whole movie why Cameron he is a fugitive, but just as the cops put handcuffs on him he bolts. He runs fast and hard, ripping through a screen door, rolling over a fence and then down an embankment. He has to evade
more people, get the handcuffs off and then he winds up on an old bridge. A classic Dusenberry Automobile nearly runs him down, turns and then starts to come at him again. Cameron fears for his life and throws something at the windshield of the car, it swerves and misses him.

The film is now from Cameron's viewpoint we realize. He turns and doesn't see the car anymore. Did it go off the bridge? He looks into the water and sees several bubbles in the water indicating that the car probably has gone into the water. Has it?

Suddenly a helicopter swoops down. We see Peter O'Toole as Eli Cross staring and studying intensely the panic stricken Cameron on the bridge. Cameron stares back a moment frozen like a deer in the headlights. What the hell should he do?

RUN….

And so he does. He keeps running until he gets to a boardwalk and mingles in with lots of people, hoping to hide within a crowd. He sees World War 2 BI-planes completely out of place flying around and joins a crowd of people watching what is going on. A movie is being shot on the beach below. When an old woman falls into the ocean a few minutes later, Cameron, the frightened fugitive, becomes a hero and saves the old woman. Of course the old woman isn't really an old woman but a young beautiful actress in make-up. The helicopter swoops down
And the director Eli Cross (Peter O'Toole) is impressed with Cameron's chivalry. Then he recognizes Cameron as the guy on the bridge. Eli needs Cameron however and as the police arrive on the set, he tells Cameron to play along with him. Cameron really has no idea what is going on and what he should do.

And so the Stunt Man begins. Eventually Cameron becomes the main actors' double and a Stunt Man on the movie. The Director Eli Cross only has a couple of days to finish shooting his scenes and can't afford to wait for a replacement Stunt Man. You see that guy in the Dusenberry that supposedly tried to run down Cameron on the bridge? Well he was doing a stunt for the movie and actually never saw Cameron at all. He apparently has died in the mishap and Cameron will pretend to be Bert the stuntman.

The first time you see the film you might say, now wait a minute. This guy Cameron panicked and killed the stunt man on the movie and is a fugitive on the run from the police. Why would Eli Cross hire him to be in the movie? It's more than a bit of a stretch isn't it?

Actually, the original Bert the stuntman, wasn't hurt or injured by Cameron's action at all but the Stunt went wrong and Bert drowned. The police (as we learn later) have had it with Eli Cross and his movie crew who have violated many rules and apparently there was an earlier accident as well. So to finish his scenes Eli Cross must convince the police that there wasn't a mishap and that Bert the Stuntman didn't die and the show must go on.

Then again, maybe Cameron is a dangerous psychopathic fugitive and shouldn't be trusted.

Anyway you come at this film, you see how well it has been planned as a three-dimensional puzzle. The film has layers that are uncovered and pieces that are placed into a context of a big picture. The film is told from the perspective of Cameron and it is our perception of what is going on that constantly changes.

Is Eli Cross the director absolutely insane and trying to kill the new Stunt Man? Is Cameron a dangerous fugitive? Is the leading lady really falling in love or is she merely a puppet of Eli Cross and he's holding her strings?

There are moments in the film where the spell of its conceit is broken. It asks its audience for a lot suspension of disbelief and a lot of trust. At times you aren't sure the film isn't going to betray you and become a disappointing mess or simply stop working. It seems in almost ever scene to be doing a dangerous balancing act. An act that has to fall and land on its face. It never does. The film's score by Dominic Frontiere is made up of three themes, which include a song sung by Dusty Springfield (barely heard in the film). The score is memorable and purposefully mimics the kind of score a David Lean would have in Lawrence of Arabia,
Bridge of the River Kwai or Dr. Zhivago.

The film boast one of Peter O'Toole's best performances (Becket, The Ruling Cross and Lawrence of Arabia being his other personal bests) as the manipulative, self-obsessed director that is part David Lean, part Cecil B. DeMille, part P.T. Barnum and part Richard Rush given a Shakespearean actors interpretation. Steve (Helter Skelter, Lifeforce) Railsback has never done better work than he does in this film and Barbara Hershey is also very impressive and looks radiant. Alex Rocco is a bit over the top as the police chief utterly frustrated with Eli Cross an his film crew who have created enough havoc and excitement on his watch then he want to deal with. Allan Garfield (billed as Goorwitz) wonderfully captures the character of a cynical, masochistic almost burnt out screenwriter. Chuck Bail who is film stunt coordinator and not really an actor does a wonderful job playing essentially himself for the film.

The actual puppet master of this whole show is filmmaker Richard Rush. Rush took more than eight years to get this film made. He was so persistent in trying to get it made; he burned nearly all the bridges. He became known as the obsessed director who wanted to make this crazy film That probably won't work.

Eventually he got his chance to make the movie. He didn't however have a distribution deal for the film. So when he was done with the film in 1978… it wasn't until 1979 that the film was released… and then barely. Most sources state a 1980 release date for the film.

Critics when they got to see the film loved it. In 1980 the movie struck a chord and became a significant cult hit. It was a big success. But it was the film-makers, not the studio's success and so it was Rush that had to prove the film could make money, and was good enough to be nominated for some awards, and could play for a wider audience.

Even after he proved the film time and time again…. It wasn't a film any studio executive could claim as their own. So the film became a large cult hit and then quietly faded away.

It didn't disappear, but it was never given the re-release it surely deserved. Not a ten-year release, an official 20-year release. So Richard Rush decided he would give it a 20 something re-release. He would produce and make a documentary about the film. It was after all the best film he ever made. I doubt he felt Color of Night was in the same league as The Stunt Man.

Richard Rush got involved with exploitation films in the 1960's and often directed using the name of Eli Cross (Yep… that's why O'Toole's character is named Eli Cross). His better known films of the 60's were things like Hells Angels on Wheels (with Jack Nicholson) and The Savage Seven and Psyche Out and then he made a movie not for Corman or AIP but for the studios. The studios had lost the youth audience in the late 1960's and had never recovered from the beating it had taken in the late 1950's when television eroded it's audiences. The Easy Rider became a surprise hit and the studios scrambled to make films that would appeal to younger
People. One of these attempts was a film Rush made called: Getting Straight with Elliot Gould and Candice Bergen. It was a miss-fire as a film to say the least but it made enough money at the box-office for the studio that they asked Rush to make a movie out of a book they owned called The Stunt Man. Rush at first wasn't impressed with the book. He decided instead to make a genre bending action-comedy called Freebie and the Bean. I hated Freebie and the Bean, but it was a box office hit. Rush had decided he liked The Stunt Man. And he had a script that was loosely based on the book. The studio didn't like his script. None of the studios like his script. Even though he had a hit, no one wanted to make the movie that Rush wanted to make. He worked hard to convince the studios to make The Stunt Man--but no one wanted to make it. He got Peter O'Toole interested in the film, but the studios still weren't excited about making it. Finally he got to the make film. However finishing it and releasing it and distributing it presented their own serious challenges.

All of this is discussed in great detail in the documentary The Sinister Saga of the Making of The Stunt Man a nearly two hour companion disc to the film that is part of the limited edition package or available for sale separately.

The Sinister Saga of The Stunt Man is a feature length documentary that tells you in detail everything you probably ever wanted to know about the Making of the film The Stunt Man. For nearly an hour the film is a celebration of The Stunt Man. It examines what it meant, and how it was made revealing some of the interesting and odd and funny things that went on behind the cameras.

The second hour of the film is better. It goes into detail the problems that Rush had as he was completing the film. Hollywood and the Studios changed just as he finished the film and as he point blank tells us it switched from being about money and greed to being about ego and greed. What that meant for his movie is a stranger then fiction tale that you have to hear for yourself to believe.

Rush had to prove that audiences would like the movie and even after he did this by taking the movie to Seattle … Hollywood executives decided that the Seattle audience was unique and not a good representation of people across the United States.

The documentary is full of odd edits and it tries at times too hard to be clever and entertaining. It's also been made on a very low budget and obviously shot on digital video….and put together via a decent home computer editing system.

Some of the silly moments in the documentary work and make you laugh, some of it is over-kill, but the story of the Stunt Man is a fascinating one. It's absolutely riveting if you are fan of the film and if you are not… well if you have any interest in behind the scenes Hollywood stories you won't want to miss the second of half of this documentary. Rush is very frank about the troubles he had.

The documentary interviews on camera all of the major players who were involved in the film and are still with us.

This is one of the very best documentaries made about the troubled making of a film that you will ever see. It's utterly a one-sided affair, but in this case it works since it is from the filmmaker's perspective entirely. The Documentary stars Richard Rush who appears on camera a lot and in a huge variety of locations. Rush also co-produced the documentary as well.

Anchor Bay needs to get some sort of recognition for getting some excellent films released on DVD complete with some very worthwhile extras. Earlier this year they put out Monte Hellmann's The Cockfighter that has one of Warren Oates finest performances in it… and now they put out a superb limited release, restoring The Stunt Man and including this unique and very worthwhile documentary to coincide with the The Stuntman.

The Stunt Man takes aim at the heart of film buffs and film lovers who enjoy and understand the exploitative nature of the art form known as film. The movie is gimmicky and stylish, but not pretentious. Some will not quite get The Stunt Man and as it shifts tone and twists in nearly every single one of its scenes, it will wear out or lose audiences not use to getting involved and paying attention to films they watch. For the rest of us, Anchor Bay has again delivered a package that is nothing less than a 'must have'. The Limited Edition package includes the feature length documentary: The Sinister Saga and I strongly urge you pick it up. It's a documentary you'll watch more than once and though at times cheesy and corny, it's a very entertaining and interesting documentary for movie buffs to own. The folks at Anchor Bay have truly been very good boys and girls this year and I suspect their Christmas Stockings Will be full of rewards and goodies this year. Bravo.


NOTE: It's interesting that the part of Burt the first Stunt Man is played by Steve Railsback's brother. Really....
in fact you could add another layer onto things if you really wanted to...
DVD STUFF

The Stunt Man for the first time is on DVD and for the first time ever is presented in anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen. The disc is also THX certified. Perhaps because of the rather modest budget of the film or the age of its elements, the colors on the film do not appear as bright as you might expect. I didn't notice any dirt, or grain or scratches on the print. Black levels seem to be very strong and I didn't see any edge enhancement visible either. The film is so impressive visually it's a bit disappointing the film's colors look a bit washed out.

Sound wise you have several choices. The Dolby 5.1 and DTS 6.0 track is very loud and will utilize your home system and make Dominic Frontiere's memorable musical score come alive. However some of the dialogue is harder to hear when it is not left front and center. So you may prefer to listen to the film at least once in the 2.0 Dolby Surround option, which delivers the music impressively but keeps, the dialogue where most are used to hearing it from in the center channels.

DVD Extras:

The Stunt Man limited edition release contains a very generous selection of extras. There is a feature length commentary as well.

The first disc of the two-disc limited edition of The Stunt Man contains two lengthy deleted scenes that look nearly as good as the film. They are scenes very much worth watching.

You'll also find the original production and advertising artwork on the disc as well a gallery of still photos.

Their original screenplay is available as a DVD-ROM feature.

It is on disc two that you will find the 112 minute The Sinister Saga of the Making of The Stunt Man which I went into great detail about in my review above. The documentary may try a little too hard to be entertaining, but stick with it. You'll learn the whole warts and all stories of not only what it took to make this unique picture, but also how difficult it was for the filmmakers to Convince the studio to release it and then release it to a wide audience. Nearly everyone who Is still alive and appears in the film is part of the documentary --including Peter O'Toole.
You can buy the documentary separately, but if you enjoy the film at all… you will want to Have this and you might as well get it as part of the limited collector's edition of the film.

COMMENTARY TRACK:

A very detailed and interesting commentary which recounts several interesting stories of how rules weren't bent and / or broken and where various parts of the film were filmed. Some of the participants appear to be commenting on the film together and occasionally additional comments from Peter O'Toole are added.

It is one of the better commentaries you'll hear on a DVD and repeats very little of the information that is part of the 112 minute separate documentary.

AND FINALLY.....

I can not state emphatically enough what a treat fans of the film The Stunt Man are in for if they
Wisely plunk down the few extra bucks and get the limited edition DVD that includes The Sinister Saga of the Making of The Stunt Man. The film itself is a flawed masterpiece whose stature will continue to rise as more become acquainted/ re-acquainted with it. The DVD presentation isn't perfect but it's very good and it presents the film as good as it has ever been Presented before. The Stunt Man is a quirky, self-conscious, intelligently made action film that that was written primarily in the mid 70's, finished in 1978 and distributed to theaters mostly in
1980. Some theaters played it for more than a year straight (a theater in Seattle for instance).
It's unique, at times very funny and boasts impressive performances. Anchor Bay has released at least two of the very best DVDs this year: Cockfighter and The Stunt Man. Bravo.

Christopher Jarmick, is the author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder a critically acclaimed, steamy suspense thriller. For more information visit the web site at:
http://www.radiofreegallery.com/jarmicknholder.htm * * * * * *

Original portions of this review Copyright© Christopher J. Jarmick 2001. The above
work is protected by international copyright law.

SOME OF The HORRENDOUS GRAMMATICAL ERRORS HAVE BEEN CORRECTED... THANKS FOR OVERLOOKING MOST OF THEM. A new fun fact has been added too.



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older