The Sinister Saga of Making 'The Stunt Man' (2000) (V)

Director:

Richard Rush

Writer:

Richard Rush (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Documentary about the making of this 1980 action/drama about a fugitive hiding out as a movie stuntman.

Plot Keywords:

Behind The Scenes | Film Making | Interview | Stunt

Cast

Richard Rush	...	Narrator
Peter O'Toole	...	Himself
Steve Railsback	...	Himself
Barbara Hershey	...	Herself
Charles Bail	...	Himself
Sharon Farrell	...	Herself
Mario Tosi	...	Himself
Nelson Tyler	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rona Barrett	...	Herself (archive footage)
Lance Guest
Yang Lin
Regis Philbin	...	Himself (archive footage)

Directed by
Richard Rush

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Rush		writer

Produced by
Bart Pierce	....	producer
Richard Rush	....	producer

Cinematography by
Bruce Schermer

Film Editing by
Christopher S. Baird		(as Chris Baird)
Laurie King
Lyn Leonard
Bart Pierce
Lisa Willinger

Camera and Electrical Department
Tony Rush	....	camera operator: second unit

Other crew
Herb Berlin	....	voice-over
Gérard Ismaël	....	voice-over
Gary Jones	....	guerilla crew
Tim Kiser	....	guerilla crew
Bart Pierce	....	voice-over
Claude Rush	....	guerilla crew
Dorie Taylor	....	voice-over

Thanks
Paul Lewis	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• The Film Organization

Distributors

• Anchor Bay Entertainment (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Avco Theater  thanks
• Del Colorado Hotel  thanks
• Geffen Playhouse  thanks
• Sharpline Arts  additional effects
• Turbosound  sound design
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)  thanks

Runtime:

112 min | Canada:114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

The Film Organization

Trivia:

This documentary is featured in the 2-Disc Limited Edition DVD set for The Stunt Man (1980).

Movie Connections:

References Night Moves (1975)

Insightful but overlong "Making of" docu

Whatever happened to director Richard Rush? Honestly said: he sank into the nexus of Hollywood's forgotten talents. Those who actually know his film THE STUNTMAN starring Peter O'Toole and liked it, will be interested in THE SINISTER SAGA..., a 20-years-after Making-of... that gives a refreshingly unique insight into Hollywood politics, rather than explaining for the umpteenth time how a stunt evolves. Rush himself narrates the film, meeting colleagues and cast from his film (O'Toole, B. Hershey etc.). The voice of the film is poignant but bitter. Rush has only made one more film (COLOR OF NIGHT) since battling windmills with THE STUNTMAN.

Although THE SINISTER SAGA... is highly informative and fairly entertaining, its feature length asks for a lot of patience. The film is crudely edited, obviously on semi-pro equipment. The director's comments vary from sarcastic to self-celebration, repeatedly reciting past critiques, clearly wondering WHY his talent never got the wide recognition Rush claims to deserve. Still, THE SINISTER SAGA... is a substantial eye witness comment on Hollywood that goes under the surface, thus worth a look.