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.

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.

Aside from the great acting and brilliant concept, I didn't find too much to be WOWed about -- generally because it's an old movie and no matter how classical an old movie is, it's a bit blah for me, although I appreciate cult-classics which is why I gave this 5 stars. Peter O' Toole is a fascinatingly sadistic and yet intellectual director in the movie known as Eli Cross. Steve Railsback plays Cameron, a Vietnam veteran who is running away from the cops when he runs right onto a movie set and ends up avoiding a near-roadkill from one of the stuntmen. The stunt man ends up dying and Eli wants Steve to be his replacement, that way, it's also a solution for Eli to disguise himself from the cops. From there on, you see Cameron involved in a lot of stunts and movie shoots and the combination of action and comedy picks up. It gets quite interesting but the real power of the movie comes from Peter O' Toole's great performance, without him, I really don't know how good the movie would be regardless of how good the screenplay is. This movie was released the same year as Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" and I'm not even sure if they can make another movie like it today. You should watch this movie at least once because it shows the complication of whether or not we're in reality or fantasy, whether or not things are real or fake and whether or not you're running away from the cops or being filmed. P.S -- No one on earth (I don't care who you are) should be called "God." There's only one GOD and he's the man upstairs. Au Revoir!

This review is based partially on ignorance as, with 45 minutes remaining, I stopped watching this film. But, through these eyes, there was nothing that could have redeemed this film.

Peter O'Toole was the only bright spot in this film and I felt embarrassed for him - a Shakespearian heavyweight surrounded by a cast fit for nothing better than daytime soap operas. (Although I have enjoyed Alex Rocco as 'Roger Myers Jr.' in the Simpsons.)

And there's no defending Steve Railsback's performance; while many saw his Cameron struggling with the director's mania, all I could see was a hack struggling to convey a range of emotions far beyond him. (Were he truly worth his salt, would his post-Stunt Man filmography include such classics as 'Armed and Dangerous', 'Alligator II: The Mutation', 'Nukie' and 'Barb Wire'?)

In short, to have sat through the last 45 minutes, any 'payoff' would have been like given a dime back from my dollar.

Through this clever , ingenious script , the brilliant film maker Richard Rush (nominated as best director in 1980) made a emblematic and glorious film for those people who wante to taste something different . Built as a smart chines puzzle , a man suddenly in a location film and the delicate boundaries between the reality and the fiction are broken . Under this perspective the viewer is challenged moment by moment and obilgated to establish who is who and what is what . Think that you are in a mirror hall (Lady of Shangai's ending sequence) and try to find the object and not confuse with its image .
Link this premise with another two film made in the sixties (Blow up of Antonioni)and Belle de jour (Luis Buñuel) and more recently Parole des enfants (1995) Open you eyes (Alejandro Amenábar 1997) or The rules of engagement (William Friedkin 2000) and you'll be rewarded by that intelligent plot , loaded with thrills, chills, suspense , riddles and surprises , plus an outstanding cast: Peter O'Toole (nominated as best actor in 1980 for this performance) and Hershey .
I'm absolutely convinced since the moment you watch this film , it will become one of your timeless and favorites films.
The doubt for acquire this film never must prevail in your mind even for a second.