Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51801 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-11-20
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Limited Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 130 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
The "lost" sleeper hit of 1980 has since become one of the most revered cult movies of all time, largely due to its bawdy, irreverent story about the art and artifice of filmmaking and an outrageously clever performance by Peter O'Toole. As megalomaniacal film director Eli Cross, O'Toole plays a larger-than-life figure whose ability to manipulate reality is like a power-trip narcotic. The focus of his latest mind game is a fugitive (Steve Railsback) recruited to replace a stuntman killed during a recent on-set accident. In return for protective sanctuary, the fugitive takes a crash course in stunt work but soon discovers that he's the paranoid player in a game he can't control, with the dictatorial director making up the rules. Or is he? The Stunt Man is a game of its own, played through the fantasy of filmmaking, and half the fun of watching the movie comes from sharing the stuntman's paranoid confusion. Barbara Hershey has a smart, sexy supporting role as a lead actress who won't submit to her director's seemingly devious behavior; but it's clearly O'Toole who steals the show. Director Richard Rush adds to the movie's maverick appeal--in a career plagued by struggles against the mainstream studio system, Rush hasn't made a better movie before or since. The Stunt Man clearly represents the potential of his neglected talent. --Jeff Shannon

Additional features
Richard Rush leads a joyous ensemble of cast members recollecting the making of the prized and maligned production on the DVD's commentary track. Two deleted scenes are included along with production photos. Production and ad art is also shown from initial sketches to the final poster. In addition, Rush shares his struggles in detailed notes on the DVD-ROM script. The print and sound have never been better than on this DVD, which has been digitally remastered with THX certification. The double-disc set also contains a full-length documentary.

The Sinister Saga of Making The Stunt Man
Peter O'Toole puts it succinctly, "The Stunt Man wasn't released, it escaped." Director Richard Rush returns 20 years later to his highly praised film The Stunt Man (1980) in this two-hour documentary chronicling the decade-long struggle from creation to distribution. Rush calls Sinister Saga a home movie, and it essentially is, with Rush talking to the camera; there is no footage from the film's actual shoot. If you can get by the lack of gloss, you're left with an extremely personal view of the filmmaking, and a behind-the-scenes look that is refreshingly void of studio hype. Included are interviews 20 years later with cast members who fondly remember the film's shoot. It's interesting to note that if The Stunt Man had been made 20 years later, it would never have struggled. The film would simply have been regulated to cable or released on video. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

If God could do the things we do ...
... he'd be a happy man!
I just finished watching the DVD of "The Stunt Man." It's still a smart, amazing, funny, scary, exhilirating experience. This is what great movie making (and great acting) is all about. Richard Rush's direction, the acting from Peter O'Toole and the rest, the terrific screenplay, the great music ... it's just ... perfect. As fresh now as the day it rolled out of the camera.
It's a shame Rush hasn't been able to make more films, but with this classic to his credit he can rest assured that his place in cinema history is complete. Thanks, Mr. Rush!
And Peter O'Toole ... nothing will top his work in "Lawrence of Arabia," but this comes darned close. Eli Cross is the classic "film director as god." O'Toole makes him more than just a petty movie-set tyrant. Cross is sly, witty, mysterious and all-knowing. He's frightening but fascinating. You wouldn't want to introduce him to your mother but you would want to take him out to dinner just to listen to him spin his stories. When he descends from above in his camera crane you'll begin to think he's god incarnate ... just as the stunt man does.
And the plot? That's what made "The Stunt Man" such a hard sell to the movie studios and what makes it a classic. What is reality and what isn't? Are we in control of our lives or aren't we? How do we know what's really going on and what it all means? Is Eli trying to kill the stunt man or just trying to finish his movie on time?
Anchor Bay's DVD transfer is superb. The "Limited Edition" includes Rush's documentary on the making the film. Don't miss it!
If you've never seen this film, get it FAST and enjoy! If you haven't seen it in a while, rediscover why it's so great.
Amen!

Excellent acting, plot make for an engrossing film.
Peter O'Toole, Barbara Hershey and Steve Railsback are superb in this movie. Railsback is a Vietnam vet who accidently kills a copy and stumble upon a WW I movie being shot by O'Toole, who plays the director. After his stunt man is killed, O'Toole blackmails Railsback into becoming his stunt man, and Railsback thinks O'Toole is trying to kill him.

Barbara Hershey as Railsback love interest looks gorgeous. O'Toole is amazing. Not your usual, predictable Hollywood plot. A very special movie worth owning for repeat viewing.

A Film Nobody Wanted Endures As A Brilliant Cult Classic And, Perhaps, The Best Movie Ever About Movie Making
There are just some movies in your life that really speak to you--that connect to you on some emotional or intellectual level in a very special way. "The Stunt Man" from director Richard Rush is such a film for me. Released in 1980, this ode to movie making is a challenging, intelligent, incisive and fun film that very few people saw upon its initial release. After a 10 year preproduction struggle by Rush, a tumultuous shoot, and no support from a studio that didn't care about the film--it was essentially dumped with no fanfare. Even star Peter O'Toole has commented, "The Stunt Man wasn't released, it escaped." But with amazing clarity and foresight, the film was surprisingly awarded with three major Academy Award nomination--Best Actor for Peter O'Toole, Best Director for Rush, and Best Screenplay for Rush and Lawrence Marcus. In the years that have followed, the film has attained a cult status and a legion of faithful fans (myself among them). In fact, I have seen this film probably 15 times and it was the first (really!) VHS tape I ever bought--now that's dating me!

To relate the plot of "The Stunt Man" in a concise way is to deny the subtleties and intricacies that really distinguish this as a bold and unusual work of art. But here's a brief synopsis. The film begins as a convict, played by Steve Railsback (Charles Manson in "Helter Skelter"), makes a break from the cops who are transporting him. Fleeing into the neighboring seaside village, he stumbles onto a film set where a tragedy that will likely be investigated has just struck. To avoid police intervention, the film's director (Peter O'Toole) embraces Railsback and identifies him as the company's stunt man who was just involved in an accident. It seems an ideal setup, as Railsback needs a new identity and the film production needs to account for the missing stunt man. As the film progresses, Railsback learns about movie making, becomes infatuated with the leading lady (Barbara Hershey), and starts to suspect that O'Toole has sinister ulterior motives.

The beauty of "The Stunt Man," which may be one of the most delightfully "inside" films about the industry ever made, is that it works on so many different levels. You could aptly describe the film as a drama, a comedy, a thriller, and action picture, a romance, a satire of filmmaking, and a study of truth versus illusion--what is reality? Seriously, it is successful in every one of these fields. Add breathtaking action sequences, a wickedly funny and literate script, and bravura performances--and this mini-masterpiece truly stands the test of time. Hershey and Railsback are terrific, but O'Toole steals the show as the megalomaniacal director! Anyone who loves movies, and the art of filmmaking, should find much merit in "The Stunt Man." But make no mistake, as much as I will defend this as a great film--you, in no way, have to be a film snob to enjoy it. This film is deliriously entertaining and a wild ride!

The Limited Edition of the DVD also contains the feature length documentary--"The Sinister Saga of Making The Stunt Man." This is a fascinating look at the trials and tribulations of getting "The Stunt Man" to the screen by a writer/director with no intention of compromising his vision. I recommend this edition while it's still available, the journey of this film is a tremendous and impressive story! And Rush is easy to admire and like.

This film carries my highest recommendation to movie lovers of all ages. While maybe not one of the 5 "best" pictures ever made, it is easily one of my 5 most enduring "favorites." Check it out. KGHarris, 02/07.