Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Film, Delivers on many levels!
Review: If there ever was a film that deserved to be called 'one of a kind', this is one of them. It is so good it deserves multiple viewings. I have always thought of it as a black comedy, but it's also exciting and suspeseful. The screenplay and plot may not seem so tightly-wound on your first viewing but they are, the screenplay is amazing giving O'Toole lots of juicy dialogue. I believe that a film must make you feel lots of things, that is what 'The Stunt Man' does it plays around with you just as O'Toole is playing around with Railsback's character, most people don't like this, but viewers who actually know a little something about movies and are open minded will love it. Railsback is OK as a vietnam-vet-turned-stunt-man who is already having reality/fantasy problems which escalate through the roof when he meets O'Toole's character. O'Toole clearly steals the film as God-like Eli Cross, his performance is amazing and his dialogue is so juicy you find youself playing his scenes over and over. Barbara Hershey is also great in a supporting role as the woman between O'Toole and Railsback. Richard Rush directed the film with an eccentrci mood and beautiful pace, I wonder why he never made any more films. This film comes highly recommended, the problem is that not everyone is ready for this kind of films so I recommend filling in on filmdom's most accesible classics so you can adquire judgement and enjoy these little treasures. Great film, great entertainment. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film an 8!
Rating:
Summary: The greatest cult movie of all time
Review: It took director Richard Rush 9 years to get this film made, then he had to wait a further 2 years to see it released by 20th Century Fox! Fox have kindly let Anchor Bay take the reigns on this ultra over-looked classic, and I've heard a few things on the grapevine... Disc 1 - Film in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen version
Remastered from the negative
DD5.1 ES
DTS6.1 EX
Audio commentary by Rush
Disc 2 - 113 'The Sinister Saga Of Making The Stunt Man'
(Possible deleted scenes)
Extensive stills gallery
Biographies
Trailers
(possible collectable booklet)
MORE?
It's also been rumored that the CD soundtrack may also be included in the limited editon set! Either way, fans must get this, and the uninitiated should check it out, it is a mind-blowing film packed with stunning set pieces and astonishing cinematography. Roll on November 20th!
Rating:
Summary: Lost Classic!
Review: Most films that rely heavily on stunts don't provide much of interest in between the airbag falls and vehicle pile-ups - Hooper, Cannonball Run, The Blues Brothers and their ilk being prime examples, and even the revered likes of Bullitt tend to sag a bit when the protagonists get out of the car. Fortunately this overlooked gem manages to mix stops-out stunt sequences with a borderline-pretentious paranoia plot to cover all bases with ease. Jobbing greenhorn Steve Railsback gets a job in the stunt team of Peter O'Toole's director's World War One action romance, falls for the leading lady, has his every waking moment interrupted by O'Toole on an ace crane-mounted director's chair, and finally takes on the escape from a sinking car stunt that killed his predecessor. There's plenty of elementary-grade symbolism thrown at it (O'Toole's messianic character is called Eli Cross, in true ramming-the-point-home style), and the whole "What is reality after all? Eh? Think about it" ethos of the film won't impress everyone, but it's all done with a light touch, and you really won't see anything like this anywhere else, and the set-pieces, particularly the rooftop gun battle and aerial dogfight, are brilliantly staged.
Rating:
Summary: The best movie I've seen in the last 20 years. Awesome!
Review: No one ever since was able to achieve the level of filmmaking equal to what Richard Rush did in his Stunt Man. He is the most neglected director in Hollywood in the last twenty years. I wish those studio types realise it now and let him do something more decent than lame shlock of "The color of the night"
Rating:
Summary: Excellent acting, plot make for an engrossing film.
Review: Peter O'Toole, Barbara Hershey and Steve Railsback are superb in this movie. Railsback is a Vietnam vet who accidently kills a copy and stumble upon a WW I movie being shot by O'Toole, who plays the director. After his stunt man is killed, O'Toole blackmails Railsback into becoming his stunt man, and Railsback thinks O'Toole is trying to kill him.
Barbara Hershey as Railsback love interest looks gorgeous. O'Toole is amazing. Not your usual, predictable Hollywood plot. A very special movie worth owning for repeat viewing.
Rating:
Summary: The Stunt Man is one of the great overlooked films!!!
Review: Richard Rush's The Stunt Man was one of the best films of the 1980's, but sadly most people seem to have never heard of it. That's a shame, because this is a wonderful and unique film. Not wanting to give too much of the film's suprises away, the film concerns an escaped convict on the run (Steve Railsback) who, while running from the police, accidentally comes upon a movie being shot on location by a quite eccentric director played by the brilliant Peter O'Toole (it's his finest hour in my opinion). That's all I'll say, because the delight of this film comes from how it unfolds. It's like a Chinese puzzle box with layer after layer being revealed. The film really plays around with your mind. The film is sort of a philosophical riff on the age old reality vs. illusion game and its very entertaining too. Now how many movies can you say that about? It also happens to be a terrific look at filmmaking. Like I said, this movie just refuses to be pinned down to just one genre. I'm so pleased its finally coming to DVD, and the always reliable Anchor Bay looks to be doing a sensational job with the limited edition set. I cannot recommend this film high enough, its one of the great cult films.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Be Cross -- Rush to See It
Review: Stephen Railsback, who terrified 1970's TV audiences with his portrayal of mass murderer Charlie Manson in "Helter Skelter", could not have picked a better breakout role than that of the sympathetic (and for most of the film, utterly confused) Viet-Nam-draftee-turned-film-crew-stuntman-draftee for a puckish movie director/madman (Peter O'Toole). Unlike most surrealistic films, this gem is never pretentious (though it makes merciless fun of pretentious Hollywood-types); at times it not only borders on the slapstick, it shamelessly dives into it, while never losing its philosophical perspective nor drifting from the tightly-constructed (more so than first-time viewers would imagine, which means you should see it at least twice) plot. The film-within-a-film structure is executed beautifully and never fails to screw-up the mind of the audience every bit as much as it does Railsback's character. It is a wonderfully intelligent, satisfying, outrageous laugh-out-loud comedy that puts recent efforts at comedy to shame. [Personal note: a number of years back I worked at a hospital where one of the physicians, in an effort to perk up the drab pasty-colored walls of the medical lab, put up a number of movie posters, including one from "The Stunt Man". The poster -- featured everywhere at the time of the film's 1980 release, showed Peter O'Toole perched on his camera crane, with a devil's barbed tail trailing behind. The quote, which epitomizes the outrageousness of the film, was Cross's (O'Toole's) line: "If God could do the things we can do, he'd be a happy man." Considered blasphemous by one of the hospital patients, the poster was removed, and now hangs in my brother's apartment (he is a cartoonist and animator), demonstrating just how infectious "The Stunt Man"'s sense of the absurd really is.]
Rating:
Summary: Cutting-edge brilliance of both story and acting
Review: Surprising this great film, which now on DVD seems to be making its long-deserved way from "cult classic" to "genuine cinematic masterpiece", was in the can for two years. But now, almost a quarter-century and many "meta-dramatic" films later, the film still retains its original vibrance and poignancy--it is a triumph for director Richard Rush, and is perhaps Peter O'Toole's last *great* film, the one he SHOULD have gotten the Oscar for. It merits a permanant place on the shelf of every enthusiast of cutting-edge cinema. I wish I had 6 stars to give it!
Rating:
Summary: Stunt Man (Limited Edition)
Review: The Stunt Man has always been one of my favorite movies. It contains some of the best work of Peter O'Toole's, one of England's great actors. A young Barbara Hershey is, like the candy bar, good enough to eat and Steve Railsback delivers a great performance as the paranoid fugitive/stunt man. When this movie first was released, it was one of the most unique films I had ever seen. A rare blend of action/adventure, comedy, satire, and love story, it defied simple categorization. Although today we are much more knowledgeable about movie making techniques and thus can shoot a few more holes in the story, "The Stunt Man" holds up pretty well to the test of time. After watching it countless times, I still marvel at the witty dialogue and clever plot twists. It is not your typical Hollywood formula movie.
Perhaps the most enjoyable parts of this new DVD are the special features. The director's audio track and the companion disk "The Sinister Saga of the Making of the Stunt Man" finally shed some light on the trials and tribulations that Richard Rush encountered while making and releasing this film. If you loved the movie like I did, you must see this recent (2000) look back by the director on his greatest movie accomplishment. It includes recent interviews with many of the stars. It is interesting to hear how this project affected them and their careers. If you have never seen "The Stunt Man", you owe it to yourself to do so. You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: A (dream) world of its own
Review: The Stunt Man is a delight for the senses. From the police chase at the beginning of the film, to the freak-out by Steve Ralisback about his past crimes, this movie will put your emotions on a whimsical wirlt-o-tilt. Richard Rush directs a flawless first half-hour; filled with seamless movement from Ralisback's flight from the police into the movie set. Rush makes sure to film some parts of his own film as if he was shooting for the movie within. It makes for some great tension and humor in the beginning. Then we come to find out it is the incredibly handsome O'Toole that is the conductor of the film that our hero has stumbled upon. The first exchange between the two is wonderful; O'Toole does all the talking, the only intellegent and sensible talking he does all movie. He immediately sets the tone by manipulating the young man into covering for the last stunt man who has died. The two never develop a trusting relationship, with O'Toole using the stunt man as a body double, and Ralisback using O'Toole as an alibi. If you haven't guessed already, the stunt man falls for the leading lady, and of course vice versa, which allows for a subplot about a love that never was between o'Toole and the movie's leading lady (Barbara Hershey) that just complicates things without improving the depth of the characters. O'Toole's character is ridiculous, and downright annoying at times. When we finally find out about the stunt man's past crimes, its through a tantrum that brought me to my knees in tears, laughing. The best scene in the movie is near the end, when the Stunt man looks back through his car's rear window during his final stunt. This movie at times is a very good satire on over-dramatic, poorly-written, action movies. At other times it is a poorly-written and over-dramatic action movie. Its schizo nature both intrigued me, and made me angry. The movie was so stereotypical in its depiction of not only hollywood personalities, but also the characters that are supposedly from the 'real world', that its tough to distinguish caricatures from characters. At one point in the film, a member of O'Toole's film crew complains studios cut out too many scenes. It would have been a good idea in this one.
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