Up front, I'll say that this film came out when I was 12. Didn't see it in the cinema (did anyone?) but I watched it several times when it hit HBO. It quickly became my favorite movie.
Peter O'Toole turns in one of his best performances as Eli Cross, the overbearing, manipulative director of a WWI film. Steve Railsback (known mostly for his portrayal of Charles Manson in Helter Skelter) is a fugitive named Cameron who wanders onto Cross's film set while fleeing the police. He gets involved a stunt where a car drives off a bridge and the stuntman disappears. Having seen Cameron's skill and inventiveness in his flight from the police, Cross decides to bring him onto the film set by pretending that he is Burt, the missing stuntman. Barbara Hershey plays Nina Franklin, the leading lady of the film- within-the-film, and quickly she becomes Cameron's love interest.
The main part of the film involves the mind games Cross plays with the young couple, and a good deal of stunt work by Cameron running across the various roofs of the Coronado hotel in San Diego. As the film heads towards its climax, Cameron starts to wonder why Cross keeps making him do increasingly dangerous stunts, and wonders if he'll get off the set alive. The film concerns itself with themes of paranoia and trust. Along the way, O'Toole owns every scene he's in. Barbara Hershey does a fine job as Nina. As for Railsback...well, he's not quite up to the O'Toole standard. He exudes manic energy in every scene he's in, but it ends up lacking in subtlety.
The cinematography and screenplay have a lot of what now seem like 70s- era filmmaking tricks. One key scene features Railsback speaking while we see Hershey's reflection in a car window. At one point this may have seemed inventive, but from the current perspective it's comically outdated. Still, in spite of its flaws I love this film for its ambition and, above all, for O'Toole. He deserved his nomination for an Oscar.
Peter O'Toole turns in one of his best performances as Eli Cross, the overbearing, manipulative director of a WWI film. Steve Railsback (known mostly for his portrayal of Charles Manson in Helter Skelter) is a fugitive named Cameron who wanders onto Cross's film set while fleeing the police. He gets involved a stunt where a car drives off a bridge and the stuntman disappears. Having seen Cameron's skill and inventiveness in his flight from the police, Cross decides to bring him onto the film set by pretending that he is Burt, the missing stuntman. Barbara Hershey plays Nina Franklin, the leading lady of the film- within-the-film, and quickly she becomes Cameron's love interest.
The main part of the film involves the mind games Cross plays with the young couple, and a good deal of stunt work by Cameron running across the various roofs of the Coronado hotel in San Diego. As the film heads towards its climax, Cameron starts to wonder why Cross keeps making him do increasingly dangerous stunts, and wonders if he'll get off the set alive. The film concerns itself with themes of paranoia and trust. Along the way, O'Toole owns every scene he's in. Barbara Hershey does a fine job as Nina. As for Railsback...well, he's not quite up to the O'Toole standard. He exudes manic energy in every scene he's in, but it ends up lacking in subtlety.
The cinematography and screenplay have a lot of what now seem like 70s- era filmmaking tricks. One key scene features Railsback speaking while we see Hershey's reflection in a car window. At one point this may have seemed inventive, but from the current perspective it's comically outdated. Still, in spite of its flaws I love this film for its ambition and, above all, for O'Toole. He deserved his nomination for an Oscar.