The Stunt Man

This was director Richard Rush's dream project and it took him nine years to get it on the screen. And, of course, it would! It's multi-layered, original, funny and packed full of story and circumstance that makes you think.

Why would any studio want to touch it? Fox even sat on it for two years before giving it a limited release. Now, Anchor Bay has created the ultimate DVD and I urge you to buy it. The Stunt Man is a movie you'll never forget and even on its umpteenth viewing, still manages to be as intriguing as the first.

It is a story told from the view of Cameron (Steve Railsback), a Vietnam vet on the run from the law. He stumbles onto the set of a WWI movie and accidentally kills a stunt driver. The director of the movie is the eccentric and megalomaniacal Eli Cross (Peter O'Toole, in one of his best ever performances), who takes Cameron under his wing and protects him from John Law, as long as he keeps his mouth shut about the accident.

Cameron practices to be a stunt artist and takes the place of the man he killed. But as the movie shoot becomes more elaborate and dangerous, he falls in love with the leading lady (Barbara Hershey) and starts to suspect that Eli is trying to capture his death on film.

Although it seems nasty, the movie is wonderfully light-hearted and the outrageous stunt scenes are backed up by a joyous score by Dominic Frontiere. I've been humming that theme since I was 12-years-old. A long scene with Cameron running over a rooftop, as biplanes attack and enemy soldiers give chase, is the stuff of legend. There is a great comic sense of humor in watching them trip over each other, fall off and get blown up.

John Law do not back down on their suspicion of Eli and, through half-heard conversations and eavesdropping, Cameron's paranoia becomes increasingly justified. Because the movie is seen through his eyes we never quite know what is going on with Eli. Is he a madman, or just a crafty director? Would you believe that O'Toole based his performance on his experiences with David Lean?

Why he never won an Oscar – it went to Robert De Niro for Raging Bull – is beyond me. He truly gives the performance of his career, far exceeding even Laurence of Arabia. It also sucks that Rush never won for Director, or Adapted Screenplay. Had he been awarded the golden statuette, maybe he would have received more recognition. He's clearly a better filmmaker than most of today's hack artists.

You simply have to see The Stunt Man. It's an overlooked gem and, despite the wide praise it received, it has never really reached a large audience. Now is definitely the time to rediscover this forgotten classic.

Filmed in standard widescreen, the 1.85:1 anamorphic picture exhibits varying degrees of quality. Some scenes are a bit grainy and a tad awkward, while others are clear, with beautiful blue skies and fleshtones. Even the soft-focus scenes still retain a golden shine to them. It may not be perfect and consistent, but it's a good transfer, considering the source material.

Taken from the original mono tracks and fully remastered, the Dolby/DTS 6.1 soundtracks are fantastic. The awesome score comes through with full force and takes over the soundfield. Deep bass is reserved for explosions and the rumble of car engines. Dialogue is still mono in nature, but a good deal of surround effects, such as circling helicopters and planes, make the soundfield come alive. Certainly not up to the standards of modern soundtracks, such as JPIII or xXx, but still the best The Stunt Man will ever sound.

There is a Commentary taken from long interviews with the participants. Some of them speak together and interact with each other, but you can easily tell that the track has been edited to make a whole, rather than one continuous session. But it's a great track, full of info and stories. Usually, I hate listening to commentaries, but this one is cool.

The one thing missing from this R2 release is the 114 minute documentary, The Sinister Saga Of Making The Stunt Man, which was available as part of the Limited Edition, released by Anchor Bay in R1. It's a shame because this was a documentary directed and hosted by Rush as he explains every single (of many) problems he encountered from absolute beginning to absolute end. This is a movie in itself and features so many difficulties similar to those Eli Cross had to deal with and with just as much irony and tragic studio decisions as the WW I movie within The Stunt Man. It really is an interesting back-up story about what is happening on the flip side of reality. Or fiction. Depending on the angle you're watching from.

Without this documentary, the R2 release seems rather bare. Still galleries of the shoot and of the promotion art and original poster ideas and the full screenplay and three trailers are also included.