The Stunt Man

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The Stunt Man ★★★★ 1980 (R)

A marvelous and unique exercise in metacinematic manipulation. O'Toole, in one of his very best roles, is a power-crazed movie director; Railsback is a fugitive sheltered by him from sherrif Rocco. When a stunt man is killed in an accident, O'Toole prevails on Railsback to replace him, leading Railsback to wonder if O'Toole wants him dead. A labor of love for director-producer Rush, who spent nine years working on it, and waited two years to see it released, by Fox. Based on the novel by Paul Brodeur. 129m/C VHS, DVD . Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey, Charles “Chuck” Bail, Alex Rocco, Allen (Goorwitz) Garfield, Adam Roarke, Sharon Farrell, Philip Bruns; D: Richard Rush; W: Richard Rush, Lawrence B. Marcus; C: Mario Tosi; M: Dominic Frontiere. Golden Globes '81: Score; Montreal World Film Fest. '80: Film; Natl. Soc. Film Critics '80: Actor (O'Toole).