The Prince Charles Cinema

The Stunt Man

  • 1980
  • 131mins
  • USA
  • (15)
  • Black Comedy
Directed by Richard Rush Starring Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey

UK Premiere of the new 4K restoration from Transmission.

Cameron (Steve Railsback, Lifeforce) is a man who finds himself unmoored from American life: recently returned from Vietnam, he is now a drifter on the run from the law. While evading police, he stumbles upon the filming of a World War I movie helmed by the megalomaniacal Eli Cross (Peter O’Toole, Lawrence of Arabia). When Cameron discovers that he bears a striking resemblance to the lead actor,  he hatches a plan: to hide from his potential captors by disguising himself as a stunt double and agreeing to perform a series of increasingly dangerous stunts.

But nothing is what it first seems on an Eli Cross set, and as illusion and make-believe start to bleed into one another, Cameron finds himself locked in a battle of wits with a possibly insane genius, and in danger of becoming unmoored not just from society, but from reality itself…

Newly restored in 4K, The Stunt Man was a critical smash that suffered from distribution issues on its original release in 1980 - it was nevertheless nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Director for Richard Rush, and has earned a reputation as one of the most beloved cult films of all time. Featuring one of Peter O’Toole’s greatest performances, and enough action-packed mayhem to power several blockbusters, The Stunt Man is - to use the words of Eli Cross - pure movie magic. Link to 4K Blu-ray pre-order!

Wednesday 4th February
Book6:00 pm UKPremiere