Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Stunt Rock Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 22, 2023

Brian Trenchard-Smith's "Stunt Rock" (1978) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary by director Brian Trenchard-Smith, Grant Page, and Margaret Trenchard-Smith; numerous archival interviews with cast and crew members; four tracks from the original motion picture soundtrack; and trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Insane is the only word that somewhat accurately describes what Australian stuntman Grant Page does before the camera. He sets himself on fire and then jumps off a huge rock at the bottom of which there is nothing to protect his body from what seems like a guaranteed mutilation and of course certain death. This particular act was captured on film during the shooting of Mad Dog Morgan (1976). It is a famous act because it was one of the few times when Page nearly killed himself, not the character he was paid to play.

There is another crazy act in which Page again sets himself on fire, crashes a fast-moving car, and pops out through the windshield. The entire act can be seen in slow motion and there are a few seconds in this footage where it is very obvious that Page is getting hurt -- very seriously hurt. People around the cameraman quickly kill the fire, help Page get up, and then everything moves on to the next act. It is pretty surreal. Here Page again could have killed himself.

The one act that made me legitimately nauseous -- my feet, from the knees down, started shaking while watching it -- is promoted as a joke. Page begins sliding on a rope connecting two tall buildings and then stops to call a girl (Margaret Gerard) he has fallen in love with. The girl’s apartment is in one of the buildings, somewhere on the tenth floor, perhaps even higher. She answers his call and comes out on the balcony -- Page is ten feet away from her, hanging on the rope, trying to convince her to go out on a date with him. I was twitchy when Page started sliding, but nearly lost my dinner when he grabbed the phone and started talking to the girl. My legs felt very, very weak. The entire act is one hundred percent real. There is no staff on the ground ready to help Page if something goes wrong. (And what type of help would this be? If Page slips and crashes on the ground, the best you could do is collect the many pieces of his shattered body).

Stunt Rock was directed by Australian filmmaker Brian Trenchard-Smith in 1978. I suspect that it was modeled after Lasse Hallstrom’s ABBA: The Movie, which was released a year earlier, because when Page is not trying to kill himself, he is used like the disc jockey that gravitates around the Swedish supergroup. In Stunt Rock, Page gravitates around a unique fantasy-themed rock band named Sorcery. (This is a real band from the 1970s). All of the interactions are in Los Angeles, where Sorcery is booked to do multiple concerts, while Page does work for an upcoming TV show.

While some of the concert footage with Sorcery is quite good, Stunt Rock is worth seeing because of Page’s antics and understanding of fear. When he describes how he has eliminated fear in his work, it very quickly becomes crystal-clear that he is enormously intelligent. My initial impression was that Page is simply crazy brave, an athletic man that does not fully grasp the value of his life, which is why he often gambles with it. But I misjudged him. Toward the end of Stunt Rock, Page explains to the girl he has fallen in love with that fear is essentially a protective mechanism created and controlled by the brain. According to Page, there are ways to disable it and then, with practice, excel at doing things that the brain perceives as extremely dangerous. It makes perfect sense, but perhaps very few people can learn to shut off the mind’s protective mechanism properly.

*Stunt Rock begins with a warning: This film contains many extremely dangerous stunts. Do not imitate what you see. Truer words have never been spoken.

Stunt Rock Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Stunt Rock arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

This release presents the recent 4K restoration of Stunt Rock that Australian label Umbrella Entertainment prepared. I think that the film looks very good. There are only two areas where some additional work could have been done. First, a few primaries could have been managed slightly better so that saturation levels are more convincing. Second, the surface of the visuals could have been cleaned up better as well. From to time, I noticed minor white specs and a couple of blemishes popping up. The rest look lovely. Obviously, when archival footage is used density levels fluctuate, but delineation, clarity, and depth are typically very convincing. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is terrific as well. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Stunt Rock Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, the appear inside the image frame.

The dialog is easy to follow. However, you need to keep in mind that there is plenty of archival/stock/raw footage with obvious fluctuations. The concert footage has different unique qualities as well. In other words, it is quite difficult to judge the overall quality of the lossless track because it lacks consistency. On the other hand, these obvious fluctuations are quite small, meaning that you would not encounter dramatic spikes or drop in dynamic activity.

Stunt Rock Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by director Brian Trenchard-Smith, Grant Page, and Margaret Trenchard-Smith. I thought that it was an outstanding commentary that makes it very easy to appreciate even the seemingly 'smaller' footage that is used in Stun Rock. Of course, the three commentators spent a lot of time recalling how the film was made and the period environment in which it was seen and critiqued.

• The Ultimate Rush - in this program, Brian and Margaret Trenchard-Smith recall what it was like to make Stunt Rock and discuss the many special memories they kept and still treasure. There are some very interesting comments about Grant Page's dangerous stunts and the band Sorcery. In English, not subtitled. (81 min).

• Not Quite Hollywood: Interview with Brian Trenchard-Smith - in this archival interview, Brian Trenchard-Smith explains why he always thought that Grant Page was/is indestructible and discusses his work with the iconic stuntman, including on Stunt Rock. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Not Quite Hollywood: Interview with Grant Page - in this archival interview, Grant Page discusses his work with Brian Trenchard-Smith on Stunt Rock and some of the obstacles that had to be overcome during while the stunts were filmed. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Interview - in this archival interview, Brian Trenchard-Smith, Sorcery lead guitarist Smokey Huff, producer Marky Fink, and actor Richard Blackburn discuss their collaboration on Stunt Rock. In English, not subtitled. (69 min).

• Audio Tracks - presented here are four tracks, performed by Sorcery, that appeared on the soundtrack that was created for Stunt Rock.
  
  1. Sacrifice
  2. Wizard's Council
  3. Stuntrocker
  4. Woman

• Trailer - a newly remastered original trailer for Stunt Rock. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Stunt Rock Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Most of the stunts that Grant Page is seen doing in Stunt Rock would be illegal now. I think that the majority of them are quite simply insane, though if you listen to Page's explanation of how he conquered fear, it instantly becomes crystal-clear that he is a very intelligent professional, not a crazy brave man that does not fully grasp the value of his life. I enjoyed viewing Stunt Rock a lot, but there were a couple of segments that made me feel very, very awkward. Kino Lorber's release introduces Umbrella Entertainment's recent 4K restoration of Stunt Rock, which is wonderful, and has a terrific selection of bonus features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.