{"id":87148,"date":"2022-09-10T14:11:19","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=87148"},"modified":"2024-06-02T00:06:31","modified_gmt":"2024-06-02T07:06:31","slug":"stunt-man-the-1980","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=87148","title":{"rendered":"Stunt Man, The (1980)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You&#8217;re right, he&#8217;s not an evil man &#8212; he&#8217;s a crazy man.&#8221;<\/strong> <\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Poster-195x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"195\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-87149\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Poster-195x300.png 195w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Poster-83x128.png 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Poster-175x270.png 175w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Poster.png 621w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a Vietnam vet (Steve Railsback) on the run from the law gets involved with a movie director (Peter O&#8217;Toole) whose stuntman Bert has just died, he agrees to take over this work, mostly to conveniently assume Bert&#8217;s identity, but also to impress a beautiful young actress (Barbara Hershey) on the set.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Allen Garfield Films<\/li>\n<li>Barbara Hershey Films<\/li>\n<li>Fugitives<\/li>\n<li>Hollywood<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken and Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Movie Directors<\/li>\n<li>Peter O&#8217;Toole Films<\/li>\n<li>Ruthless Leaders<\/li>\n<li>Veterans<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary writes, this cult film by Richard Rush about a &#8220;shellshocked, paranoid young Vietnam vet&#8221; who &#8220;has been living on the edge for many years&#8221; and &#8220;has trouble distinguishing between illusion and reality&#8221; shows us what happens when such a man is conscripted by &#8220;fire-breathing, egocentric, wicked, super-intellectual director&#8221; Eli Cross (O&#8217;Toole) to work as a stuntman on a WWI movie, &#8220;where everything is faked (through makeup, stunts, doubles, editing, selective photography) to create a sense of reality.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-WWI-Beach.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-WWI-Beach-1024x544.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"340\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-87157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-WWI-Beach-1024x544.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-WWI-Beach-300x159.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-WWI-Beach-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-WWI-Beach-768x408.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-WWI-Beach-508x270.png 508w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-WWI-Beach.png 1301w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Peary notes that since &#8220;all is seen through [Railsback&#8217;s] eyes,&#8221; he &#8220;becomes frightened that the godlike Eli thinks his movie is so significant that even real death on film is justified&#8221; &#8212; and this drives the thrust of the narrative: is Cross homicidally driven, or is this notion merely a figment of Railsback&#8217;s paranoia? <\/p>\n<p>Peary admits that he&#8217;s &#8220;not taken with&#8221; this cult movie but &#8220;can understand why it has such a devoted following,&#8221; given that &#8220;it is an extremely ambitious film, beautifully structured by [screenwriter] Lawrence B. Marcus (who moves away from <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paul_Brodeur\">Paul Brodeur<\/a>&#8216;s [1970] novel), endlessly imaginative, strikingly photographed by Mario Tosi, and marvelously played by O&#8217;Toole.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-OToole-Helicopter.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-OToole-Helicopter-1024x548.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"343\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-87156\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-OToole-Helicopter-1024x548.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-OToole-Helicopter-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-OToole-Helicopter-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-OToole-Helicopter-768x411.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-OToole-Helicopter-505x270.png 505w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-OToole-Helicopter.png 1299w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He adds that &#8220;while it is thematically confusing (perhaps it attempts too much) and at times self-consciously directed (particularly during the comical scenes), you have to admire Rush for bravely undertaking such a multi-leveled, <em>personal<\/em> project.&#8221; Finally, he notes that it&#8217;s &#8220;full of offbeat moments and characterizations,&#8221; of which &#8220;some work, some don&#8217;t.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Paint.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Paint-1024x554.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"346\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-87176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Paint-1024x554.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Paint-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Paint-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Paint-768x416.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Paint-499x270.png 499w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Paint.png 1299w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Peary elaborates on his review in his <em>Cult Movies 3<\/em> essay, explaining why it took so long for this film to get made after Rush first experienced success in Hollywood with his exploitation flicks <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=78054\"><em>Hells Angels on Wheels<\/em> (1967)<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=1346\"><em>Psych-Out<\/em> (1968)<\/a>, and <em>The Savage Seven<\/em> (1968), and then his Hollywood break-through flick <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=93542\"><em>Getting Straight<\/em> (1970)<\/a>. He notes that once <em>The Stunt Man<\/em> finally got released, it &#8220;did good business in some cities and college towns but didn&#8217;t become the resounding commercial success Rush hoped it would be,&#8221; in part because &#8220;the film&#8217;s subject matter no longer seemed novel after nine years: Francois Truffaut had made his paean to filmmaking, the very popular <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=27968\"><em>Day for Night<\/em> (1973)<\/a>, and &#8230; there had been a proliferation of theatrical and television films about stuntmen.&#8221; However, he adds that &#8220;certainly the major reason for the disappointing box office was that <em>The Stunt Man<\/em> was just too strange to appeal to all tastes;&#8221; indeed, there had &#8220;been few recent films that [had] so divided an audience,&#8221; as epitomized in Siskel &#038; Ebert&#8217;s split-decision review of the film on their show (Siskel loved it, Ebert wasn&#8217;t taken with it). <\/p>\n<p>Peary admits that his own &#8220;reasons for not liking <em>The Stunt Man<\/em>, as opposed to <em>disliking<\/em> it, aren&#8217;t at all deep.&#8221; For instance, he thinks &#8220;Steve Railsback (whom Elia Kazan recommended to Rush) is miscast&#8221; given that his character is &#8220;supposed to be likable [and] sympathetic-crazy&#8221; but his &#8220;eyes give [one] the creeps&#8221;; and it doesn&#8217;t help that Rush directs him inconsistently. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Railsback.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Railsback-1024x557.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"348\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-87160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Railsback-1024x557.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Railsback-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Railsback-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Railsback-768x418.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Railsback-496x270.png 496w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Railsback.png 1275w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a>  <\/p>\n<p>He also believes Hershey &#8220;seems wrong as Nina&#8221; given that she&#8217;s portrayed as &#8220;unperceptive&#8221; and ultimately is just &#8220;a fairy tale\/dream lover with the depth of Tinkerbell.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hershey.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hershey-1024x553.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"346\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-87159\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hershey-1024x553.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hershey-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hershey-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hershey-768x415.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hershey-500x270.png 500w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hershey.png 1283w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, &#8220;as for the film itself,&#8221; Peary finds it &#8220;surprisingly boring, considering all the action, oddball characters running around, impressive stunts, and sex.&#8221; Like other critics, he wonders about the choice to film &#8220;entire lengthy scenes&#8221; in one take when &#8220;such scenes would [actually] be done piecemeal&#8221; &#8212; unless this was to intentionally &#8220;heighten the film&#8217;s surrealism.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Dropping.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Dropping-1024x550.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"344\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-87179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Dropping-1024x550.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Dropping-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Dropping-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Dropping-768x412.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Dropping-503x270.png 503w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Dropping.png 1295w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He points out that it&#8217;s too bad &#8220;Rush didn&#8217;t retain [novelist] Brodeur&#8217;s most interesting themes: stuntmen are similar to our soldiers in Vietnam; those men who give orders on the set&#8230; are as unconcerned about the welfare of stuntmen as officers are of their soldiers&#8217; welfare in the war; a stuntman is kept in the dark about the overall picture he is making, just as soldiers are unaware of the &#8216;big picture&#8217; of the war in which they are fighting; stuntmen and soldiers are willing to risk life and limb&#8230; to follow orders; stuntmen and Vietnam soldiers are expendable; nobody actually would do the foolish physical feats a stuntman does to please an audience [and] only a soldier would be required to do equivalent suicidal acts; in terms of the public that sees movies and watches news reports on TV, stuntmen and soldiers fighting and dying way off in Vietnam don&#8217;t really exist; [and] a person can lose his identity when he becomes a stunt double&#8230; as swiftly as if he joins the army.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hood.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hood-1024x545.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"341\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-87154\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hood-1024x545.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hood-300x160.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hood-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hood-768x409.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hood-507x270.png 507w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hood.png 1295w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>These are all excellent insights, and I agree with Peary that the film could\/should have made these parallels more explicit. He points out that &#8220;Rush does retain Brodeur&#8217;s <em>illusion-or-reality?<\/em> theme,&#8221; which is one of his &#8220;least favorite themes because most films that use it &#8212; such as <em>Performance<\/em> (1970) and <em>Images<\/em> (1972) &#8212; turn out to be pretentious and incoherent.&#8221; However, he concedes that &#8220;at least here it seems appropriate because <em>The Stunt Man<\/em> is about filmmaking, an art form that, paradoxically, uses illusions to create a sense of reality.&#8221; He adds that &#8220;figuring out what is real and what Cameron imagines in his paranoid mind (i.e., is Cross trying to kill him) is [most likely] the challenge of the film,&#8221; though it&#8217;s not necessarily resolved in a satisfactory way. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Car.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Car-1024x534.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"334\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-87170\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Car-1024x534.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Car-300x156.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Car-128x67.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Car-768x401.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Car-518x270.png 518w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Car.png 1298w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m in agreement with Peary&#8217;s assessment: I admire much about this movie, but am not a personal devotee; I consider it a once-must for its cult status, for O&#8217;Toole&#8217;s National Society of Film Critics&#8217;-award-winning performance, and for its behind-the-scenes (albeit skewed) perspectives on moviemaking.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Peter O&#8217;Toole as Eli Cross<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Crew.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Crew-1024x549.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"343\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-87174\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Crew-1024x549.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Crew-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Crew-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Crew-768x411.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Crew-504x270.png 504w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Crew.png 1288w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Mario Tosi&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Cinematography-1024x567.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"354\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-87173\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Cinematography-1024x567.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Cinematography-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Cinematography-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Cinematography-768x425.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Cinematography-488x270.png 488w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Cinematography-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Cinematography.png 1285w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Some incredible stunt work<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hanging.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hanging-1024x554.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"346\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-87158\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hanging-1024x554.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hanging-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hanging-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hanging-768x415.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hanging-499x270.png 499w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Stunt-Man-Hanging.png 1293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Domonic Frontiere&#8217;s score (though be forewarned it&#8217;s a total earworm)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a cult favorite.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0081568\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1980\/10\/17\/archives\/otoole-in-stunt-man.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=60&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s3516stun.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/91782\/the-stunt-man#articles-reviews?articleId=333888\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re right, he&#8217;s not an evil man &#8212; he&#8217;s a crazy man.&#8221; Synopsis: When a Vietnam vet (Steve Railsback) on the run from the law gets involved with a movie director (Peter O&#8217;Toole) whose stuntman Bert has just died, he agrees to take over this work, mostly to conveniently assume Bert&#8217;s identity, but also to impress a beautiful young actress (Barbara Hershey) on the set. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Allen Garfield Films Barbara Hershey Films Fugitives Hollywood Mistaken and&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=87148\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=87148"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97264,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87148\/revisions\/97264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=87148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=87148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=87148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}