The Sinister Saga of Making "The Stunt Man" [DVD]

Product Description Upon its release in 1980, The Stunt Man became a one-of-a-kind cult sensation, a multiple Oscar nominee and ultimately, one of the most acclaimed motion picture of the decade. But the strange history of the film's embattled development, production and distribution has never been fully revealed... until now. Director Richard Rush is your guide for this epic story of his ten-year struggle from script to screen to make The Stunt Man on his own uncompromising terms. It's a tale told via rare insights, wild memories and exclusive new interviews with the cast and crew, including stars Barbara Hershey, Steve Railsback and Peter O'Toole. This is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at on filmmaker's visionary reality. Amazon.com Peter O'Toole puts it succinctly, "The Stunt Man wasn't released, it escaped." Director Richard Rush returns 20 years later to this highly praised 1980 film in this two-hour documentary chronicling the decade-long struggle from creation to distribution. Rush calls Sinister Saga a home movie, and it essentially is with Rush talking to the camera--there is no footage from the film's actual shoot. If you can get by the lack of gloss, you're left with an extremely personal view of the filmmaking, and a behind-the-scenes look that is refreshingly void of studio hype. Included are interviews 20 years later with cast members who fondly remember the film's shoot. It's interesting to note that if The Stunt Man was made 20 years later, it would have never struggled. The film would simply have been relegated to cable or a straight-to-video release. --Doug Thomas