Stunt

This article is about stunt performance. For other uses of the term, see Stunt (disambiguation).

Pyrotechnics stunt exhibition by "Giant Auto Rodéo", Ciney, Belgium.

Freestyle & Stunt Show 2007 - Landrévarzec

A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat, or any act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes in TV, theatre, or cinema. Stunts are a big part of many action movies.

Before computer generated imagery special effects, these effects were limited to the use of models, false perspective and other in-camera effects, unless the creator could find someone willing to jump from car to car or hang from the edge of a skyscraper: the stunt performer or stunt double.

Practical effects

One of the most-frequently used practical stunts is stage combat. Although contact is normally avoided, many elements of stage combat, such as sword fighting, martial arts, and acrobatics required contact between performers in order to facilitate the creation of a particular effect, such as noise or physical interaction.

Stunt performances are highly choreographed and may be rigorously rehearsed for hours, days and sometimes weeks before a performance. Seasoned professionals will commonly treat a performance as if they have never done it before, since the risks in stunt work are high, every move and position must be correct to reduce risk of injury from accidents.

Examples

• Tripping and falling down
• High jump
• Extreme Sports
• Acrobatics
• High Diving
• HK spin, Gainer falls, suicide backflips and other martial arts stunts seen in martial arts films

Mechanical effects

A physical stunt is usually performed with help of mechanics.

For example, if the plot requires the hero to jump to a high place, the film crew could put the actor in a special harness, and use aircraft high tension wire to pull him up. Piano wire is sometimes used to fly objects, but an actor is never suspended from it as it is brittle and can break under shock impacts. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) is a kung-fu movie that was heavily reliant on wire stunts.

Vehicular stunts

Fire-breathing "Jaipur Maharaja Brass Band", Chassepierre, Belgium

Performers of vehicular stunts require extensive training and may employ specially adapted vehicles. Stunts can be as simple as a hand brake turn, also known as the bootleg turn, or as advanced as car chases, jumps and crashes involving dozens of vehicles. Rémy Julienne is a well known pioneering automotive stunt performer and coordinator. Another well known vehicular stunt specialist is Englishman Ian Walton, who was the helicopter stunt pilot and stunt designer for many 1980s movies, notably the Bond film Never Say Never Again. Streetbike stunts, also known as "stunting" gained wide spread popularity in the early 2000s and continues to grow. It is based on wheelies but now goes much further than that.

Computer generated effects

In the late 20th century stunt men were placed in dangerous situations less and less as filmmakers turned to relatively inexpensive (and much safer) computer graphics effects using harnesses, fans, blue- or green screens, and a huge array of other devices and digital effects. The Matrix (1999) is an example of a movie reliant on CGI stunts extensively.

Examples

• Face replacement
• Wire removal

Stars who do stunts

Main article: Stunt actor

In the early days of cinema, some actors such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin did most of their own physical stunts. However, as these performances were usually very dangerous and many movie stars were not so athletic, filmmakers and insurance companies turned to hiring stunt doubles to do them.

Most action movie actors today use stunt doubles, though some of them do a few of their own stunts to please movie fans. One famous exception to this norm has been the Hong Kong action movie star Jackie Chan, who performs all of his own stunts. Several other Asian film actors also perform many of their own stunts, particularly Hong Kong action stars such as Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, and Donnie Yen. In Thailand, Tony Jaa, an actor who is highly skilled in martial arts, also does all his stunts without assistance. In Indonesia, Iko Uwais performed his own stunts in Merantau. In India, Jayan did physical stunts without stunt doubles, but he was killed in a helicopter crash while doing a stunt for a movie in 1980. The Indian action movie star Akshay Kumar performs all of his own stunts, while Hrithik Roshan also did his own stunts for the films Krrish and Dhoom 2.

Notable among professional Hollywood stuntmen were Yakima Canutt (1895–1986) and Dar Robinson (1947–86). In his movies, Tom Cruise performs many of his own stunts without doubles, including the Mission: Impossible Trilogy and Minority Report. In The Lord of the Rings, Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn performed all of his own stunts, including swordplay, insisting it would look more authentic, and sustained several injuries as a result.

Notable movie stunts

• Safety Last

Silent comedian Harold Lloyd climbed the entire height of a Los Angeles skyscraper without wires or nets. Lloyd dangled from a broken clock face on the topmost floor above moving traffic despite having only three fingers on his right hand.

• Steamboat Bill, Jr.

The front of a house fell down with Buster Keaton standing in the exact position of an open window, leaving him unharmed. His stone-faced expression remained unchanged.

• Ben-Hur

Joe Canutt, son of famed stuntman Yakima Canutt, doubled as Judah Ben-Hur when he rides his chariot over the wreck of a competitor. He was launched over the front of his chariot and barely managed to hang on to the front as he climbed back up.

• The Great Escape

Pursued by Germans, Bud Ekins as Capt. Virgil “The Cooler King” Hilts jumped his motorcycle 60 feet (18 m) over a barbed-wire fence... but does not quite make it to safety.

• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Trapped by the Superposse, Butch and Sundance leaped off a cliff into raging waters knowing that the "fall will probably kill [them]". Mickey Gilbert doubled for Robert Redford and Howard Curtis for Paul Newman.

• Papillon

Papillon makes his final bid for freedom by leaping from a cliff into the sea. Dar Robinson doubled for Steve McQueen, his first major stunt in a Hollywood film.

• Live and Let Die

Ross Kananga as James Bond used four crocodiles as stepping stones to reach safety on the other side. Kananga, who owned the crocodile farm seen in the film, and after whom the main villain is named, did the stunt five times wearing the same crocodile skin shoes as his character had chosen to wear. During the fourth attempt, the last crocodile bit through the shoe and into his foot. The fifth attempt is one seen on film, with the tied-down crocodiles snapping at his feet as he passed over them.

• Live and Let Die

In the same film, Jerry Comeaux as James Bond jumped his speedboat 70 feet (21 m) over a police car, a record that lasted for 15 years.

• The Man with the Golden Gun

"Bumps" Williard as James Bond driving a AMC Hornet leaped a broken bridge and spun around 360 degrees in mid-air, doing an "aerial twist". Willard was paid £30,000 for the stunt, which was held under EON Productions copyright for several years afterwards.

• The Man Who Would Be King

A major character dies when the rope bridge he is standing on is cut. British stuntman Joe Powell volunteered for the stunt after the rest of the stuntmen came down with a mysterious ailment. He fell 80 feet (24 m) onto cardboard boxes balanced on the edge of a ravine. If he had missed the boxes, no safety wire or parachute would have stopped him falling to the bottom of the ravine. Making the situation more dangerous was the rope bridge, which caused Powell to spin as he fell.

• The Spy Who Loved Me

Rick Sylvester playing James Bond escapes the bad guys by skiing off a cliff in the Austrian Alps (actually Mount Asgard in the Arctic Circle) then releasing a parachute. Sylvester waited two weeks for the weather atop Mount Asgard to change. Finally he had a 15 minute window to make the jump. Five cameras were meant to record the stunt, but only the master shot worked. Sylvester was allegedly paid US$100,000 for the stunt. As he fell, one of his skis hit the parachute on its way down.

• Moonraker

The initial freefall stunt sequence was done for real with the stuntmen's clothing modified with special breakaway patches to conceal lightweight parachutes.

• Hooper

A.J. Bakunas as Hollywood stuntman Hooper leaped from a helicopter onto an airbag 232 feet (71 m) below, a record that endures to this day.

• Highpoint

The hero fights the villain atop the world's tallest freestanding structure, Toronto's CN Tower, and the villain loses. Doubling the villain was Dar Robinson who opened his parachute just 300 feet (91 m) from the ground after a fall lasting six seconds. Robinson was paid US$100,000 (£61,862.04).

• Conan the Barbarian

Corrie Jansen leaped 182 feet (55 m) from a cliff, a record freefall for a woman.

• Raiders of the Lost Ark

Indiana Jones climbs underneath a moving truck and is dragged along behind it before climbing back on board. The stunt was performed by Terry Leonard. Leonard agreed to do the stunt only if his good friend, stuntman Glenn H. Randall Jr., was driving the truck.

• Smokey and the Bandit II

The Bandit leaps his Pontiac Trans-Am motorcar from the back of trailer, setting a record that has not been broken.

• Sharky's Machine

Sharky (Burt Reynolds) punches the villain through the window of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. To achieve the effect, stuntman Dar Robinson ran at the window, then at the last moment, spun around to go backwards through the glass and land on an airbag. It is the highest freefall (220 feet (67 m)) from a building without a cable or parachute.

• Blue Thunder

Renegade cop Roy Scheider, flying the state-of the-art “Blue Thunder” helicopter, is chased by a police helicopter down storm drains in Los Angeles, weaving between the varying support legs until his pursuer eventually crashes.

• Project A

A stunt featured Jackie Chan hanging off a real clock tower and falling through three ripped canopies used to break his fall before hitting the ground. Chan has described the stunt as a homage to Harold Lloyd in the movie Safety Last.

• Romancing the Stone

Vince Deadrick Jr. and Terry Leonard as Joan Wilder and Jack Colton jumped from a car as it fell over an 80-foot (24 m) waterfall.

• Back to the Future

During the skateboard chase, Marty McFly runs over the top of Biff Tannen's convertible and rejoins his skateboard on the other side.

• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

While rampaging through a mall, Genghis Khan rides up to a trampoline, does a somersault off of it, and lands back on his skateboard.

• Police Story

Many dangerous and real life stunts in this Jackie Chan film were done without wires. Scenes include Jackie hanging on to a double-decker bus window by an umbrella handle, as well as a mall fight scene at the end featuring many stunt team members performing tumbles, falls and flips through various objects including glass window displays, stairs, escalators, etc. The finale featured Jackie Chan himself jumping and sliding down a mall post covered with wired lights before smashing through a wooden canopy. The film showcases the many skills and talents of the stuntmen and women on the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, as well as putting many in long term recovery.

• Stick

Dar Robinson asked to play the part of the albino killer in this Burt Reynolds directed Elmore Leonard adaptation so the audience would be more shocked by the villain's death. Without cutting away, Robinson was filmed falling backwards off a hotel balcony emptying his revolver at Reynolds' as he fell. A thin cable ran up Robinson's leg to a harness around his waist to arrest his fall just feet off the ground.

• The Living Daylights

This was the third variation on a stunt that had appeared first in Moonraker and then in Octopussy; James Bond battles a bad guy while they are both hanging outside a plane. In this case, Bond and the villainous Necros fight as they cling to a cargo net filled with bags of opium hanging out the rear of a Soviet cargo plane. All three stunt sequences were done with ace parachutists Jake Lombard and B.J. Worth. Lombard, who had previously doubled for Roger Moore, took the part of Necros here, while Worth finally got to play Bond by doubling Timothy Dalton.

• Amsterdamned

Nick Gillard as Eric Visser jumped his speedboat over a bridge in Amsterdam, breaking the record set in Live and Let Die.

• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Vic Armstrong as Indiana Jones rode his horse onto a ledge and jumped onto a moving tank.

• Terminator 2: Judgment Day

The killer robot T-1000 flies a helicopter in a freeway chase after a S.W.A.T. van driven by The Terminator and at one point flies under an overpass. As if to prove the stunt was done for real, the pilot attempts a second underpass, but flies away at the last second.

• Cliffhanger

Corrupt Treasury agent Travers hijacks a jet carrying US$100 million, then slides down a cable to the villains' Learjet. British stuntman Simon Crane performed the stunt. When the film's budget was not large enough for the one million dollars needed to complete the sequence, lead actor Sylvester Stallone agreed to cut his salary by the same amount.

• Speed

Stuntman Billy Morts doubled for actor Keanu Reeves as L.A.P.D. cop Jack Traven, who rips the door off a Jaguar sports car then leaps to the open door of a speeding bus, his feet scraping against the ground.

• GoldenEye

Wayne Michaels as James Bond bungee jumped over a dam to break into a Russian chemical weapons factory. Michaels reached 100 miles per hour (161 km/h) during the jump and came perilously close to the sloping surface of the dam, which was studded with irons struts that could have torn him to pieces. The stunt was further complicated as Bond had to take out a gun during the fall, which threw Michaels off trajectory.

• Khiladi 420

Indian actor Akshay Kumar performs a dangerous stunt where he climbs onto a small airplane while it is moving, stands on top of the plane as it flies a thousand feet high, and jumps from the plane onto a hot air baloon, all in a single take.

• Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior

Thai actor Tony Jaa performed a number of stunts for the film, suffering injuries such as a ligament injury and a sprained ankle. One scene involved fighting while his trousers were on fire, which spread upwards and burnt his eyebrows, eyelashes and nose during filming. Despite this, he did several more takes after that.

• The World Is Not Enough

Echoing The Man with the Golden Gun, Gary Powell as James Bond put his boat into a 360 degree spin, wrecking a gun emplacement on a villainess's boat.

• Casino Royale

Sebastian Foucan as an African bombmaker eluded Daniel Craig's James Bond using free running style parkour. Foucan's (and the stunt's) notation in the opening credits were a first.

• Merantau

In one scene, Indonesian actor Iko Uwais performs a jump from one building to another. Another stuntman, playing a henchman, chases him and attempts to do the same, but Uwais hits him with a bamboo pole in mid-air and the stuntman falls three stories to the ground.

Stunts that have gone wrong

Stuntwork accounts for over half of all film-related injuries, with an average of 5 deaths for every 2,000 injuries. From 1980 to 1990 there were 37 deaths relating to accidents during stunts, twenty-four of these deaths involved the use of helicopters.

• The Skywayman (1920 movie)

A plane crash killed stunt pilot Ormer Locklear.

• Noah's Ark (1928)

Several people died, one man lost a leg and a number were injured in a scene where several hundred extras were caught in the 'Great Flood'. The deaths were instrumental in the introduction of film safety regulations in the following year.

• The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Margaret Hamilton was badly burned during a scene in which her character 'vanished' in a burst of flame and smoke, a delay in activating a trap-door catching her in the pyrotechnic device. Her stuntwoman was also injured in a scene involving a smoking broomstick

• How the West Was Won (1962)

Stuntman Bob Morgan was seriously injured filming a gunfight on a moving train. Chains holding logs on a flatbed car broke, crushing Morgan as he crouched beside them.

• The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

Stunt pilot Paul Mantz was killed, and another stuntman seriously injured, when the title plane failed to clear a sand dune and crashed.

• Kamen Rider (1971–1973)

During a scene for Episode 9 ("The Terrifying Cobra-Man"), lead actor Hiroshi Fujioka fractured his thighbone in a motorcycle stunt when he rode into a telephone pole at 50 mph, forcing him out of action. Producers had to use stock and unused footage, which was dubbed by Rokurô Naya, for the next four episodes, causing a dip in the ratings. Producers eventually had no choice but to substitute him with a second character played by Takeshi Sasaki. Fujioka made a return in Episode 53 ("Monster Jaguarman - Deathmatch by Motorcycle Fight"). As neither actor could be axed, the show ended up having two heroes.

• Steel (1979)

A.J. Bakunas died doubling for George Kennedy in a fall from the Kincaid Towers in Lexington, Kentucky. Bakunas had successfully performed a fall from the ninth floor of the construction site, but when he learned that Dar Robinson had broken his record high fall for a non-movie related publicity stunt, Bakunas returned to perform the fall from the top of the 300-foot (91 m) construction site. Bakunas performed the fall expertly, but the airbag split and Bakunas was killed.

• For Your Eyes Only (1981)

While filming a high speed chase in the bobsleigh-run the four-man bob came out of the run at the wrong place and hit a tree. One of its occupants, a young stuntman named Paolo Rigon, was killed.

• Twilight Zone: The Movie (1982)

The making of the movie Twilight Zone had consequences that overshadowed the film itself. During the filming of a segment directed by John Landis on July 23, 1982, actor Vic Morrow and child actors My-Ca Dinh Le (aged 7) and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (aged 6) died in an accident involving a helicopter being used on the set. Without warning, it spun out of control and crashed, decapitating Morrow and one of the children with its blades. The remaining child was crushed to death as the helicopter crashed.

• Cannonball Run II (1984)

Stuntwoman Heidi van Beltz was left a paraplegic after being thrown from her car during a crash.

• Top Gun (1986)

Stunt pilot Art Scholl was killed in an aircraft crash taping footage of a flat spin.

• Armour of God (1986)

During the filming of a scene which called for Jackie Chan to jump from a wall to a tree branch, unhappy with the first shoot, he performed a second shoot that went wrong as his grip on the branch slipped and Jackie fell 15 feet to the ground below. He landed hard on his head, causing part of his skull to crack and shoot up into his brain. He was flown to the hospital and was in surgery 8 hours later. He now has a plastic plug, and a permanent hole in his head. He is also slightly hard of hearing in one ear from that fall.

• Million Dollar Mystery (1987)

Stuntman Dar Robinson was killed in a motorcycle accident.

• UP2U (1988)

During filming of a location report from the Royal Tournament, one of its presenters, Anthea Turner was injured when a pyrotechnic display exploded in her face whilst she was giving a piece to camera during a motorcycle stunt. The incident was broadcast live on-air. The incident was later blamed on a miscommunication between programme staff and stunt organisers, coupled with an unplanned last-minute change in the location from which Turner gave her report.

• Hired to Kill (1989)

Stuntman Clint Carpenter was killed in a helicopter stunt.

• The Crow (1993)

In one of the most high-profile stunt deaths, Brandon Lee, the star of The Crow, was killed 8 days before that film's completion. Prop Masters working under time constraints had failed to notice that the previous firing of a cartridge with only a primer and a bullet had caused a bullet to lodge in the forcing cone of one of their revolvers. When the first unit used this gun to shoot the death scene, the chamber was loaded with blanks which had no bullets. However, there was still the bullet in the barrel, which was propelled out by the blank cartridge's explosion. Despite being rushed to hospital Lee died within a matter of hours.

• Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)

Stuntwoman Sonya Davis died from head injuries from a high fall during filming.

• Gone Fishin' (1995)

Stuntwoman Janet Wilder was killed and four other people are injured when a speedboat misjudged a ramp and landed in a crowd.

• Seven (1995)

In a scene where Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) chased John Doe in the rain, Pitt fell and his arm went through a car windscreen, requiring surgery. This accident was written into the script indicated by Pitt wearing a cast over his arm. Ironically, the original script did call for Pitt's character to be injured during this sequence but not to his hand.

• The Stuntwoman (1996)

Actress Michelle Yeoh, who usually performs her own stunts, was seriously injured during shooting of a film about the life of a stuntwoman, when she misjudged an 18-foot (5.5 m) jump off a bridge onto a truck. She fractured a vertebra and was in traction for a month. This sequence can be seen at the end of the film. This was her last stuntwork before Tomorrow Never Dies.

• Love Serenade (1996)

During the filming of a scene on a grain silo, stuntman Collin Dragsbaek (doubling actor George Shetsov) died when he fell onto a faulty airbag.

• World Wrestling Federation event

Professional wrestler Owen Hart died in May 1999's WWE/WWF PPV Over the Edge 1999 after he was scheduled to glide down from the rafters for a ring entrance. This stunt was botched and Owen fell 78 ft (24 m) to the ring below.

• Taxi 2 (2000)

A Peugeot 406 was supposed to land in a pile of cardboard after a stunt, but missed and hit several crew. A cameraman died later of internal injuries and another cameraman broke both legs.

• xXx (2002)

Stuntman Harry L. O'Connor was killed in an accident when he failed to rappel fast enough down a parasailing line to land on the submarine. He impacted a bridge at high speed and was killed instantly.

• Motley Crue concert (2005)

Drummer Tommy Lee was hospitalized when he was hit by sparks from a pyrotechnic stunt while he was swinging on a wire between drum sets suspended several feet above the stage.

• Mayhem Festival 2008 (2008)

Slipknot turntablist Sid Wilson broke both heels on landing after a jump over percussionist Chris Fehn.

• Red Cliff (2008/2009)

Whilst filming a scene where a small boat that had been set on fire to ram a larger boat, the fire spread quickly went out of control, killing stuntman Lu Yanqing and injuring six others.

Recognition of stunt performers

Movies such as Hooper and The Stunt Man and the 1980s television show The Fall Guy sought to raise the profile of the stunt performer and debunk the myth that movie stars perform all their own stunts. Noted stunt coordinators Hal Needham, Craig R. Baxley and Vic Armstrong went on to direct the action films The Cannonball Run, Action Jackson, Joshua Tree. Vic Armstrong became the first stuntman to win both an Academy Award (for developing a descender rig as a safe alternative to airbags) and a Bafta award (for lifetime achievement in film). But the status of stuntmen in Hollywood is still low; despite the fact that few films of any genre or type could be made without them, stunt performers are still seen as working mainly in action movies. Repeated campaigns for a "Best Stunts" Academy Award have been rejected.

In 2001, the first 'World Stunt Awards' was held in Los Angeles. Presented by actor Alec Baldwin, the event had A-list stars presenting the statues to Hollywood's unsung heroes. Arnold Schwarzenegger was presented with the first "Lifetime Achievement" award. He presented the awards in 2001. The awards show hands out eight awards: Best Fight, Best Fire Stunt, Best High Work, Best Overall Stunt by a Stunt Man, Best Overall Stunt by a Stunt Woman, Best Speciality Stunt, Best Work with a Vehicle and Best Stunt Coordinator and/or 2nd Unit Director.

Shows such as Jackass on MTV2, Dirty Sanchez on British TV, and Totally Outrageous Behavior on the American G4 feature people doing outrageous stunts.

Equality in stunts

In past Hollywood movies it was common for men to double for women and White American stunt performers to double for African-American performers. Veteran stunt man Dave Sharpe, a man of shorter than average height, often doubled for women in movie serials of the 1930s and '40s. It is now against union rules for stunt performers to double an actor of a different gender or race unless the stunt is so dangerous that there are no other volunteers, for example when B.J. Worth doubled for the black Jamaican actor Grace Jones parachuting off the Eiffel Tower in A View to a Kill. The rise of action heroines like Angelina Jolie and African-American stars like Will Smith has offered wider opportunities for stunt performers from diverse backgrounds.

The future of stuntwork

A backlash against dangerous stunts following the death of Sonya Davis , coinciding with developments in Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) that make such stunts unnecessary threatens to reduce stunt performers to the status of body doubles. And yet a backlash against movies that resemble video games could lead to a resurrection in pure stuntwork. Movies such as The Matrix and Mission: Impossible II have shown how CGI and stunts can be integrated for maximum effect. But - if for no other reason than safety - it is doubtful that the records established by Hooper and Sharky's Machine will be broken anytime soon. A new sub-genre of eastern martial arts movies exists which emphasize the actors performing their own stunts, deliberately using wide angles and unbroken shots to show each stunt in its entirety.

See also

• Stunt coordinator
• Stunt performer
• Stunt double
• Motorcycle stunt riding

External links

• Writeup and Images of the 2007 Taurus World Stunt Awards
• Taurus World Stunt Awards
• Photos from competition and international gathering stuntriders in Minsk (Belarus)