Watch The Stunt Man

The Stunt Man is about a fugitive who becomes a stuntman for a psychotic director. The fugitive, Cameron, comes across the filming of a World War I movie. The director, (Peter O'Toole), observes Cameron accidentally murder the film's stuntmen. Cameron begs the director to protect him. The director agrees, provided Cameron performs the stunts. The director is controlling and dictatorial. He forces Cameron to perform dangerous stunts and plays psychological games with him. The film blurs the line between its own reality and the director's film. At one point, the director tells the lead actress that her parents viewed footage of her in a sex scene. She cries on cue and the director moves on. During the climax, the director shoots a scene in which Cameron, the stuntman's replacement, must drive a car off of a bridge. Although the lead actress, Nina, is in the car with him, Cameron deeply believes that the director is out to kill him. He tries to convince Nina to flee the set with him, but he is unsuccessful. Nina decides to hide in the trunk of the car while the scene is shot. Cameron becomes nervous and drives the car before the director says shoot. Cameron turns off the camera that is placed inside the vehicle, but the front tire gets blown out. The car plunges into the water. Cameron climbs out of the car to save Nina who he thinks is in the trunk. But he then looks up to see the director and Nina standing on the bridge. Cameron, enraged, swims to the bank of the river. He has a realization. It was fake and he was never in any danger. Cameron shouts to the director, "This was the hardest $1000 I've ever made." But the director corrects him, saying he will only make $650 on this shoot. When Cameron becomes enraged, the director laughs and offers him $750. Then the directorflies away in a helicopter.