{"id":225414,"date":"2021-04-13T04:10:47","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T01:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/32-things-we-learned-from-richard-rushs-the-stunt-man-commentary\/"},"modified":"2021-04-13T04:10:47","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T01:10:47","slug":"32-things-we-learned-from-richard-rushs-the-stunt-man-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/32-things-we-learned-from-richard-rushs-the-stunt-man-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"#32 Things We Learned from Richard Rush&#8217;s &#8216;The Stunt Man&#8217; Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2ee04b7bf9f\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2ee04b7bf9f\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/32-things-we-learned-from-richard-rushs-the-stunt-man-commentary\/#The_Stunt_Man_1980\" >The Stunt Man (1980)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/32-things-we-learned-from-richard-rushs-the-stunt-man-commentary\/#Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\" >Best in Context-Free Commentary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/32-things-we-learned-from-richard-rushs-the-stunt-man-commentary\/#Final_Thoughts\" >Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#32 Things We Learned from Richard Rush&#8217;s &#8216;The Stunt Man&#8217; Commentary<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.9--><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Welcome to\u00a0<\/i><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Commentary Commentary,<\/i><\/b><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits the late Richard Rush\u2019s penultimate film, The Stunt Man<\/i>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>We lost another film legend today with the passing of director <strong>Richard Rush<\/strong>. He made twelve features through his career, and while it\u2019s an arguably uneven lot there\u2019s no denying the brilliance of <em>Freebie and the Bean<\/em> (1974) and <strong><em>The Stunt Man<\/em><\/strong> (1980). The latter was a labor of love for many involved and a real struggle to see produced, but the end result marks it as an all-timer for its blend of action, comedy, and lovingly twisted look at the art of making <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">movies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The film is available on Blu-ray as an excellent release from Severin Films, and in addition to some truly insightful and entertaining extras, the disc includes a commentary track with the director and others. Keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary track for <em>The Stunt Man<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Stunt_Man_1980\"><\/span>The Stunt Man (1980)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Commentators: <strong>Richard Rush<\/strong> (director, co-writer), <strong>Peter O\u2019Toole<\/strong> (actor), <strong>Steve Railsback<\/strong> (actor), <strong>Barbara Hershey<\/strong> (actor), <strong>Alex Rocco<\/strong> (actor), <strong>Sharon Farrell<\/strong> (actor), <strong>Chuck Bail<\/strong> (actor, 2nd unit director, stunt coordinator)<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><strong>1.<\/strong> The image of the buzzard representing Melvin Simons Productions was created solely for the transition to a shot of a real buzzard. Pauline Kael referred to it as \u201ca Rube Goldberg opening\u201d where one beat triggers the next and so on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong> Rush initially planned to open the film flying over an expansive forest before coming to settle on a cafe, but the cafe he liked best was nowhere near a forest.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong> People have asked why this opening is filled with so many seemingly random items, but Rush sees many of them as elemental ingredients. \u201cI think I\u2019ve used that <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>le in almost every picture I\u2019ve done, so it becomes a compulsive kind of private trademark.\u201d He adds that he spends a lot of time crafting his openings as they\u2019re an opportunity to surprise viewers and put them in the mood for what\u2019s to come. \u201cSomething about a beautiful mouth always intrigued me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.<\/strong> The screen door was supposed to be pre-cut a bit more to allow Cameron (Steve Railsback) to bust through it quickly, but he became stuck. His yelling at the cops \u201cDon\u2019t shoot!\u201d was improvised in character as he struggled to push his way through. Rush sees it as humanizing the action hero<\/p>\n<p><strong>5.<\/strong> People gave Rush flack for destroying a classic Dusseldorf automobile, but \u201cit\u2019s really a 1933 Nash we picked up for $1200 and revamped.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.<\/strong> \u201cI think Richard was testing my pucker,\u201d says Peter O\u2019Toole, who was in the helicopter as it flew under bridges, through ravines, and over Catalina Island. He adds that it held, \u201conly just.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.<\/strong> The painter at 10:27 is a cameo by co-writer Lawrence B. Marcus.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.<\/strong> The overhead shots of Chuck Bail down on the beach were filmed by Rush \u2014 while Bail was shooting actual 2nd Unit action footage. Bail does double duty here as he plays a stuntman and assistant director while actually working to shoot 2nd Unit footage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.<\/strong> Barbara Hershey is introduced in old-age makeup, and she covers her mouth when she giggles to hide her bad teeth. It was something she took from O\u2019Toole who had told her a story about his grandmother who did just that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10.<\/strong> O\u2019Toole says that his hair \u201cwas done every morning and through every take\u201d by Rush himself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11.<\/strong> \u201cThe film wasn\u2019t released, it escaped,\u201d says O\u2019Toole while talking about the absolute struggle to get the film made from pre-production up through its limited theatrical rollout before an eventual Oscar nomination raised its profile.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12.<\/strong> O\u2019Toole is no fan of Lewis Carroll. \u201cI find his flat doodle a bit wearing,\u201d he says, but if I\u2019m being honest I don\u2019t think he says doodle. The point remains though.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13.<\/strong> Sharon Farrell recalls a scene between her and Railsback that had him \u201csquishing my butt\u201d to the point that she was worried that it wouldn\u2019t look good on camera. She asked Rush to tell him not to do it, but \u201cnow I look at the movie and I think it would have been great if he was going like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>14.<\/strong> Railsback, Hershey, and Rocco show a lot of love towards O\u2019Toole as they discuss his kindness and generosity as an actor. \u201cWhat you think you would like about him if you got to meet him, you would like about him if you got to meet him. He doesn\u2019t disappoint.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>15.<\/strong> \u201cIt seems cruel to say that I hurt him, but I did do it on purpose,\u201d says Bail, regarding physical training he was giving to Railsback one day. The actor was getting a bit overconfident, so Bail let him fall like a pancake once to drive home the danger in relation to self-confidence.<\/p>\n<p><strong>16.<\/strong> Allen Garfield plays the writer, and after falling asleep at a big cast and crew dinner everyone was ushered quietly into place behind him\u2026 at which point they took the cast photo with Garfield sleeping at the center.<\/p>\n<p><strong>17.<\/strong> The scene where Eli (O\u2019Toole) and Cameron sit on the camera crane and launch into the air confused Railsback as he couldn\u2019t understand why the character would agree to join the maniacal director on that dangerous ride. O\u2019Toole gave it some thought before recalling a crazy story from his past work experience \u2014 \u201cI still don\u2019t want to be picked up for this.\u201d \u2014 that saw him driving in a major European city and lost in the pouring rain when he happened upon a traffic cop. He drove towards the officer, \u201cand I wasn\u2019t a very skilled driver,\u201d and he realized too late that he couldn\u2019t stop the car in time. The front bumper caught the cop behind the knees dropping him to the ground, and O\u2019Toole and the others in the car im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely drove off via back roads and escaped the country. So from that lesson, O\u2019Toole suggested that Eli could move slowly behind Cameron as the actor walked and then clip him from behind dropping him into O\u2019Toole\u2019s lap.<\/p>\n<p><strong>18.<\/strong> O\u2019Toole and Railsback got the giggles while sharing a seat high up in the air, and it kept ruining the takes as they passed in front of the camera. They eventually nailed it<\/p>\n<p><strong>19.<\/strong> Stuntman AJ Bakunas broke his leg partway through a high stunt fall, and you can see the snap at 49:32. \u201cAnd now he\u2019s got another eighty feet to go with a broken leg.\u201d Sadly, Bakunas died four years later when an attempt at a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oD_iRX8bQog\">record-setting fall went sour<\/a> on the set of <em>Steel<\/em> (1979).<\/p>\n<p><strong>20.<\/strong> Rush hadn\u2019t viewed the film as a comedy, but he had to concede the point after numerous screenings complete with audiences laughing throughout along with the movie. He adds, though, that some screenings played as if it was a dramatic thriller or straight drama.<\/p>\n<p><strong>21.<\/strong> Rush took one of the biplanes up for a spin in the middle of production, despite Bail\u2019s warning that it wasn\u2019t a good idea, and after several minutes of flying Bail noticed that the plane was stuck in a series of spins. It was too close to the ground to be intentional, and Bail thought for sure that Rush was about to die. The filmmaker pulled it out at the last second, landed the plane, and approached Bail. \u201cWas that an accident or did I do it on purpose?\u201d asked Rush, and Bail played nice suggesting it was intentional. \u201cIt scared the piss out of me,\u201d admitted Rush.<\/p>\n<p><strong>22.<\/strong> There\u2019s a single frame of Railsback spliced into the camera\u2019s viewfinder at 1:10:07 (while Cameron is watching the footage of the earlier stuntman drowning) to symbolically and subliminally suggest that Cameron\u2019s picturing himself dying during a stunt.<\/p>\n<p><strong>23.<\/strong> The cast spent the entirety of shooting competing to come up with a title for Eli\u2019s movie within the movie. They ended up on <em>Beloved Enemy<\/em> only to discover that someone beat them to it back in 1936.<\/p>\n<p><strong>24.<\/strong> O\u2019Toole typically waited a full decade before watching one of his own films, but he made an exception for <em>The Stunt Man<\/em>. Rocco saw him in the parking lot afterward and recalls O\u2019Toole saying almost doubtfully, \u201cI was good in this.\u201d Hershey recalls learning that O\u2019Toole only watched <em>Lawrence of Arabia<\/em> (1962) for the first time around the time of this film, and he immediately called up an ecstatic David Lean to share the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>25.<\/strong> The script had a secondary film being made alongside the one Eli was making, and it was a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> fiction porn movie called <em>Rings Around Uranus<\/em>. Rush laments not filming any of it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>26.<\/strong> Rush would have Bail over to the house during pre-production to talk about action sequences, and unbeknownst to Bail the filmmaker was recording them. \u201cAll of this dialogue and one-liners went into the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>27.<\/strong> Hershey thinks that while most filmmakers tend to shoot masters first followed by closeups, the ideal order is actually the reverse so that the performers are fresh and energetic for the shots capturing them closer up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>28.<\/strong> Rush doesn\u2019t typically plan via storyboards, \u201cprobably for contemptible reasons, and that is if I do storyboards people will know what I\u2019m going to do and they can argue with me in advance.\u201d Hershey denounces them as getting in the way of inspiration, and Railsback adds \u201cThey\u2019re for directors to look at in case they forget.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>29.<\/strong> O\u2019Toole had trouble sleeping some nights due to ducks outside his hotel window, and he would perform soliloquies to them using some \u201cvery colorful words\u201d each morning.<\/p>\n<p><strong>30.<\/strong> The big end sequences including the bridge sequence were filmed while on the lam from the film\u2019s financiers who wanted the equipment returned. O\u2019Toole says it\u2019s safe to admit as much now that they were essentially hiding from the executives based in LA in order to get the film finished.<\/p>\n<p><strong>31.<\/strong> Bad weather made those last sequences a real struggle, so much so that Rush worried they \u201cwent out with a whimper instead of a bang\u201d and has always been concerned that O\u2019Toole was disappointed, but he\u2019s happy with the outcome.<\/p>\n<p><strong>32.<\/strong> Railsback\u2019s big laugh at the end was in response to the cast and crew off-camera making funny faces and mooning him.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\"><\/span>Best in Context-Free Commentary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote\">\u201cPutting a dog licking his balls in the opening title sequence was a way of letting the audience know it was going to be an iconoclastic picture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very concerned about opening sequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never read a script like this in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe picture is told in subjective reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been on a few films that were fun, but none more than <em>The Stunt Man<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny metaphor is only as valuable as the script around it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo a stuntman, story gets in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are no secrets on a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI call it the 69 blocking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho doesn\u2019t have diabetes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you can\u2019t work with Peter O\u2019Toole get out of the business.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span>Final Thoughts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">This is one of those Frankenstein commentary tracks edited together from a few different sources, but it\u2019s no less engaging for it. <em>The Stunt Man<\/em> remains a fantastic piece of cinema \u2014 most films don\u2019t hold your attention beneath a commentary track, but the cast and choices made here are eye-catching and intriguing enough that they actually manage to distract at times from the audio \u2014 and hearing everyone\u2019s memories just adds to its power. All of the commenters recall fond memories and share affection for each other, and all speak of the film as a highlight of their careers. Give the film a rewatch in honor of Rush\u2019s passing, and if you haven\u2019t yet, be sure to chase it with the making-of doc called \u201cThe Sinister Saga of the Making of The Stunt Man.\u201d Highly recommended.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Read more Commentary Commentary from the archives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/richard-rush-the-stunt-man-commentary\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=richard-rush-the-stunt-man-commentary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#32 Things We Learned from Richard Rush&#8217;s &#8216;The Stunt Man&#8217; Commentary&#8221; Welcome to\u00a0Commentary Commentary, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits the late Richard Rush\u2019s penultimate film, The Stunt Man. We lost another film legend today with the passing&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":225415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/the-stunt-man.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[22447,101829,101830],"class_list":["post-225414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-commentary-commentary","tag-richard-rush","tag-the-stunt-man"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}