The Stunt Man (1980)

Directed by

Richard Rush

Genre

comedy film, action film, comedy drama, comedy thriller

Country

United States

Runtime

2h 09m

Rated

R

Rating

6.6 of 10 from 169 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A fugitive on the run hides by working as a stunt double on a movie set. The director of the World War I film seems willing to risk anything for his art. The line between what is real and what is staged becomes impossible for the young man to trust.

confusingparanoidsatiricalmind-bendingsuspensefuldarkly comicchaoticplayful

What happens

The Stunt Man is a 1980 American satirical psychological black comedy film starring Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback and Barbara Hershey, and directed by Richard Rush. The film was adapted by Lawrence B. Marcus and Rush from the 1970 novel by Paul Brodeur. It tells the story of a young fugitive who hides as a stunt double on the set of a World War I movie whose charismatic director will do seemingly anything for the sake of his art. The line between illusion and reality is blurred as scenes from the inner movie cut seamlessly to "real life" and vice versa. There are examples of "movie magic", where a scene of wartime carnage is revealed as just stunt men and props, and where a shot of a crying woman becomes, with scenery, props and soundtrack, a portrait of a grieving widow at a Nazi rally. The protagonist begins to doubt everything he sees and hears, and at the end is faced with real danger when a stunt seems to go wrong. 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 audiences at large. As O'Toole remarked in a DVD audio commentary, "The film wasn't released. It escaped." The film has since developed a cult following. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Stunts Unlimited (1980)
• The Live Wire (1935)
• Running Scared (1980)
• On the Level (1930)
• Fugitive Family (1980)
• Ruckus (1980)
• Death Hunt (1980)
• Sitting Ducks (1980)