I wish more people posted here

k

I was just downstairs thinking about some movies and this one came to mind, I just had to go see what IMDB had to say. It's good to see others who really appreciated this film. I was 20 when I went to see this in the theater and it became one of my all time favorite movies. Over the years I've mentioned this film to others and no one seems to have heard of it or remembered it anyway. It's the one movie that made me truly appreciate O'Toole and I fell head over heels for Hersey.

First I want to say this's a real great story, acting nerver better but the average/acceptable quality of cinematoghraphy make it loose in some point. Anyone agrees ?

"The Stunt Man" is hands down one of my Desert Island DVD's - It's always entertaining and mischievous.

As if my opinion mattered, I remember being outraged when O'Toole didn't win the Oscar that year. Too many people misjudged his performance as hammy and over the top - when the point was that Eli Cross was himself giving a non-stop performance through the entire movie - a head game to keep his actors just a tad off balance and susceptible to Cross' every inspiration, insight and/or whim. Always the Smartest Guy In The Room, always a step or two ahead of everybody else.....thrilling.
Fun to watch how the members of the crew that had worked with Cross the longest knew how to take the long view of things, and trust Cross' every decision - especially when contrasted against Railsback's and Hershey's discomforture and insecurities. And ESPECIALLY when Eli is outsmarting the cops - those scenes have a sense of real danger and looming catastrophe if Eli doesn't play it just right.

If you had to be manipulated, Eli is the guy you'd want doing it..........he'd take you for a hell of a ride and then let you out safe and sound and a hell of a lot smarter on the other end.

Yeah, O'Toole and the script makes this one a favorite of mine as well. It's also kind of a picture perfect view of the 70s as well, I remember seeing this on TV in the early 80s and was stunned how it kept surprising me. You don't see this sort of writing anymore, in fact it's the opposite, the film companies are s fomulaic you can guess the plot from the first few scenes.

I love this film as well. Peter O'Toole and Steve Railsback are both superb in their roles. Barbara Hershey was likewise excellent and looked absolutely stunning. Plus there are fine supporting performances by Allen Garfield, Sharon Farrell, Philip Bruns, Alex Rocco, Adam Roarke, and especially Chuck Bail as amiable stunt coordinator Chuck Barton. The script offers a delicious blend of comedy, drama, action, thriller and romance while also delivering a provocative rumination on illusion versus reality. Moreover, the exciting and elaborate stunt set pieces were simply astonishing. Great jaunty'n'rousing score by Dominic Frontiere, too.

"We're all part Shatner/And part James Dean/Part Warren Oates/And Steven McQueen"

As I noted in the "Can anyone explain this movie?" thread, the movie unfortunately lacks the luster it had when released, because I think its message is/was very topical to the times.

The movie is about a damaged Vietnam Vet, whose experiences warp his perceptions of everything around him, and whose outlook has become one of utter distrust and paranoia.

I think the movies' message, as such, is "We need to embrace and heal these victims of the Vietnam War".

Today, that war and its effects are, to most, not just "over" -- they're as much long dead history to most young people as WWII is. Heck, you have to be well over 50, now, to have served. And the aftermath of that war, with people spitting on vets and calling them "baby killers", and so on, is not something experienced or shared with vets of any other era. Iraq vets are not going to know (thank God) that experience, despite the effort to paint the war in the same light.

I think to really appreciate the movie, you had to be around in that time and know that attitude. I think, even, if you WERE around back then but did not see the movie, you would not appreciate it as much now... because you'd have to really remember the feeling that was extant about the vets among many. And if you seriously remember that after all this time, you were probably one of the ones spitting on vets and not the sort that is going to appreciate a positive view of it anyway.

My US$.02, and worth every penny!

I came across this movie in my theater class in high school. Our teacher would rent movies and this is one that he showed us.

This is such a roller-coaster. I wish I owned it.