A fugitive stumbles upon the set of an action film and finds himself under the sway of its megalomaniacal director and leading actress.
Richard Rush began his career doing military and industrial films in the 1950's, and was inspired to enter feature filmmaking by the French New Wave. After a series of low-budget exploitation works for Roger Corman's company (including motorcycle classic Hells Angels On Wheels), Rush made a pair of films that were admired by Ingmar Bergman and Stanley Kubrick, respectively.
The Stunt Man took Rush almost ten years to bring to the screen, with potential actors George C. Scott, Martin Sheen, Jeff Bridges, and Sean Connery falling by the wayside during the process. Rush eventually snared the talent of Peter O'Toole, best known for his title portrayal in Lawrence Of Arabia. Young actor Steve Railsback, fresh off playing Charles Manson for a TV movie was also enlisted, as was Barbara Hershey.
While based on a 1970 novel by Paul Brodeur, the film draws from Rush's experiences with the military establishment as well as the counterculture of the previous decade. Shifting levels of reality (including the film-within-a-film) as well as a cynical, satirical bent result in a comic puzzle of a narrative.
Despite the studio waiting two years to release the film, The Stunt Man was a moderate financial success, earned high praise from French director François Truffaut, and won several festival and critics awards, culminating in an unlikely trio of Academy Award nominations for O'Toole, Rush's direction, and the screenplay. The film is now regarded as one of the greatest cult films of its time.
Running time is approx. 2 hrs.
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