The Stunt Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Stunt Man Blu-ray Movie Review

"I am the movies."

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 28, 2011

Critics have often been blamed for dooming various films with withering critiques, but rarely if ever are they congratulated for “saving,” or at least attempting to save, a film. Richard Rush, writer-director of The Stunt Man, is on record thanking several critics for helping to get the word out about his 1980 film which opened small and would have quickly disappeared had it not been for the efforts of some writers back in the day. (Star Peter O’Toole has quipped that The Stunt Man “wasn’t released, it escaped”). While some of these reviewers were frankly second string writers (if even that) for regional papers, none other than Pauline Kael came to the film’s defense in a rather vociferous frenzy that saw her insisting everyone had missed the boat in understanding the film’s intent (not the first time Ms. Kael has alleged that) and that The Stunt Man was a largely undiscovered masterpiece. But the prevailing critical commentary of the day was fairly uniform in pronouncing the film interesting, but ultimately a misfire. Has 20/20 hindsight changed anything? Did Kael or the majority of critics have it right? Though The Stunt Man has gone on to become something of a cult item, it seems to be a cult of perception rather than reality (quite ironic considering one of The Stunt Man’s principal themes). People think that The Stunt Man is a masterpiece because they’ve heard people proclaim it so. But then they actually watch the thing and usually come to the conclusion that, well, it’s an interesting misfire.

What’s really going on in The Stunt Man? That’s the tantalizing question that Rush raises, but does he ever give a satisfying answer? The problem at the core of The Stunt Man is that so many mind-bending films have come in its wake, films which purposefully confuse reality and illusion so that the audience is never quite sure of which is which, that The Stunt Man seems staid and frankly stale by comparison. And yet even removing the subsequent films doesn’t really help ameliorate the central problem of The Stunt Man. The film sets up a delicious paranoia when an escaped convict named Cameron (Steve Railsback) wanders onto a movie set ruled over by a tyrannical director, Eli Cross (Peter O’Toole, Oscar nominated for this role, probably due more to Kael’s writing than anything else). Cameron inadvertently causes the death of a stunt man and Cross agrees to keep Cameron sequestered from the prying eyes of the police if Cameron fills the shoes of the deceased man. Cameron soon becomes convinced Cross is out to kill him, something made perhaps more probable by the fact that Cameron falls in love with leading lady Nina Franklin (Barbara Hershey), who has had a long relationship with Cross.

What the film does brilliantly is evince a surreal, quasi-dreamlike state where “real life” segues seamlessly into the film within a film that is being shot. In that regard, it’s rather oddly reminiscent of the film adaptation of John Fowles’ The French Lieutenant’s Woman, and even though there are similar changes in timeframe due to the film within a film's World War I setting, The Stunt Man’s transitions are harder to spot and therefore perhaps more effective. It’s in this aspect that film really convincingly exploits its theme of perception versus reality, and it actually shunts what is supposed to be the primary plot point—i.e., is Cross out to kill Cameron?—into the background.

The best thing about The Stunt Man is arguably O’Toole, in one of the more madcap portrayals of this phase of his career, a phase where he seemed to like concentrating on—er—more shall we say “eccentric” characters (Caligula and My Favorite Year are two disparate but telling examples). Here, supposedly channeling David Lean, the director who himself made O’Toole an international star courtesy of Lawrence of Arabia, O’Toole is magisterial, commanding, demanding and just barely this side of the lunatic fringe. The first perfect indication of this bizarre “the show must go on” proclivity comes at the head of the film, when Cameron’s intrusion onto the set causes a death which barely rattles Cross. It’s an “Oh, well” moment that is both frightening and funny. If that behavior had been explored a bit more, rather than the hyperbolic side of Cross’ temperament which Rush goes on to illuminate, The Stunt Man might have been a considerably more successful film, at least in terms of actual suspense.

The rather breathless press sheet which accompanied this new Blu-ray release of The Stunt Man proclaims writer-director Richard Rush an auteur of “classics” like Freebie and the Bean and Getting Straight. A cursory examination of those films’ reviews and box office receipts might suggest that Rush may be indulging in his own hubristic megalomania, especially when you add in a few other titles from his oeuvre, films like Psych Out, Hells Angels on Wheels and Color of Night. Rush is an odd character, even in the decidedly odd world of film, a man who seems to walk a tightrope between Roger Corman-esque knockoff films and those with loftier ambitions that may not exactly fulfill their creator’s hoped for dreams of glory. That’s the real story behind The Stunt Man. It’s a fascinating premise to be sure, but it’s one that’s handled with too casual of an approach to ever really dig deeply into the primal subconscious, which is where a film of this ilk needs to reside if it’s to fulfill its ultimate potential. Kael and the second stringers who proclaimed this film a masterpiece may have had good intentions, but they were seeing the film that might have been, not the one that actually was on the screen. Once again illusion and reality got confused. It’s the oldest story in Hollywood.

The Stunt Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Despite having an A-list star, The Stunt Man was not a generously budgeted feature, and it has never been a very pretty looking film. That same rough ambience is fully on display in this new AVC encoded 1080p transfer (in 1.78:1) Blu-ray. The film suffers from a number of issues, including overall softness (bordering on downright fuzziness in midrange and long shots), readily apparent flicker and some registration issues that see colors shifting slightly both between scenes and actually within scenes at times. The source elements are also slightly damaged, with scratches and flecks of white dotting the landscape with fair regularity. The good news is no DNR seems to have been applied to this release, as grain structure is not just intact, it virtually overwhelms the film at times. The bad news is there's some fairly aggressive edge enhancement on display here that rings things like tree limbs in ugly halos. There's a nice uptick in color and saturation from the DVD release of The Stunt Man, but there's really nothing here that pops with clarity and precision the way the best contemporary BDs and extensive restorations do. However, there's little doubt that this is due at least in part to the original film elements, which have always been soft and rather drab looking, rather than any inherent authoring or encoding issues.

The Stunt Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Stunt Man's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is fairly effective, though it doesn't offer a wealth of immersion. There are some well placed sound effects through this movie which the 5.1 repurposing attempt to make more cinematic, with sometimes spotty results. The opening scene has a great panning effect with the car that seems to be running down Cameron, and later the many beach scenes (filmed outside of the iconic Coronado Hotel) offer a nicely spacious soundscape that has a breadth that the original soundtrack never did. But the bulk of this film is fairly resolutely anchored in the front channels, so don't expect an aural spectacular here. Fidelity is excellent, if occasionally a bit on the boxy side. The overall mix is very good, though the underscore, which is a bit annoying at times, intrudes a bit too much for my personal taste. For the record, the film's original mix is offered in a standard Dolby Digital 2.0 presentation.

The Stunt Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All of the supplements from the previously released Special Edition DVD have been ported over to this release (and upgraded to either 1080i or full 1080p), with a number of new items thrown in just for good measure. The returning items are:

• Audio Commentary features writer-director Richard Rush, along with stars Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey, Alex Rocco, Sharon Farrell and Chuck Bail. Well edited and featuring a wealth of background information, the commentary is in some ways more illuminating and entertaining than the actual film.
• The Sinister Saga: The Making of The Stunt Man (1080i; 1:54). This feature length documentary looks back on Rush's long struggle not only to get The Stunt Man made but released. Featuring a ton of archival footage (including a rare look at Regis Philbin as movie critic), this is a really interesting exposé of the machinations involved in getting a film produced and out to theaters.
• Deleted Scenes contains two short snippets, Sand Pile (HD; 2:39), featuring O'Toole pouting and ruminating on a sand pile, and Police Station (HD; 3:15), with O'Toole and Hershey at the police station, including some dialogue that pops up in the finished film in different contexts.
• Trailers

The new items (including one exclusive to Blu-ray) are:

• The Maverick Career of Richard Rush (HD; 34:18) reveals Rush's influence by American-International Pictures, going back through his early films, like the abortion shocker Too Soon to Love, before giving a general overview of his better known films.
• Peter O'Toole Recounts The Stunt Man (HD; 18:46). O'Toole is obviously quite fond of this project and reminisces with a fair amount of affection about this film which he feels marks his entry into middle age and a different kind of role.
• Devil's Squadron: An Interview with Steve Railsback and Alex Rocco (HD; 18:59). The two actors met while working on this film, and they reunited to talk about their history and the project, talking about everything from casting to pre-production to actual filming. Rocco is either too close to his mic or there were recording issues, as the audio is slightly distorted at times.
• Barbara Hershey on Nina Franklin (HD; 14:23) has the actress discussing the ambiguity of her character. The audio on this featurette is somewhat muffled and distorted for some reason.
• The Stunt Man at the New Beverly (HD; 17:18) shows a talk back after a screening (with Freebie and the Bean) of the film. Railsback, Hershey and Rush answer questions from the audience.

The Stunt Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The more cynical folks out there might claim The Stunt Man is a film for poseurs, which is certainly fitting, considering its deals with the word of filmmaking. But that's a perhaps too pat an assessment. The problem with The Stunt Man is that it presents a fascinating, even intriguing, premise but doesn't fully capitalize on it. The film has a too slapdash quality for its own good, and though it offers a fantastic Peter O'Toole performance, that's not enough to completely overcome the film's inherent failings. While this is certainly no neglected masterpiece, it is an often enjoyable romp. It's hobbled by a certain amateurish quality which pervades its direction and even cinematography and editing, but for some, that may actually add to its strange allure. It's an interesting misfire, to be sure, but that's a lot more than many mainstream successes can claim. Warts and all, for the majesty of O'Toole if nothing else, The Stunt Man is Recommended.