Rush, Richard

Color of Night

Psychological twists and turns strangle the plot of this disappointing effort from the director of The Stunt Man, Richard Rush. Emotionally damaged psychiatrist Bruce Willis leaves his practice behind and moves to LA when a patient commits suicide in front of him. Out of the goodness of his broken heart, he takes over the practice of a murdered colleague (Scott Bakula). Jane March is the needy but mysterious woman who literally crashes into his life, making sexual advances the good doctor soon reciprocates. What March seems to need most, however, is underwear. The plot and the dialogue vacillate between silly and inane, leaving us with some so-so sex and overblown performances. This could explain why it was the winner of the 1995 Razzie Award for Worst Picture. If you want a more effective thriller that delves into damaged psyches, take another look at Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Haunted by the bizarre suicide of a patient, New York psychologist Dr. Bill Capa abandons his successful practice and relocates to L.A., but his encounters there prove as shocking as the chilling event he has run away from, and he immediately finds himself entangled in an explosive sexual relationship with a beautiful but enigmatic woman named Rose, and the investigation into the brutal stabbing murder of a friend and colleague, Dr. Bob Moore. A moth drawn to a flame, Dr. Capa is lured to Rose by his sexual cravings, and he discovers this woman has the power to fulfill his most reckless erotic fantasies. Yet, the more she satisfies him, the more he finds himself enslaved by her manipulation and control. As Capa gets closer to identifying the killer of his patient, Rose becomes an equally tantalizing mystery that he must solve -- if he can stay alive long enough to avoid a lunatic murderer who is stalking him.

The Stunt Man (Limited Edition)

The "lost" sleeper hit of 1980 has since become one of the most revered cult movies of all time, largely due to its bawdy, irreverent story about the art and artifice of filmmaking and an outrageously clever performance by Peter O'Toole. As megalomaniacal film director Eli Cross, O'Toole plays a larger-than-life figure whose ability to manipulate reality is like a power-trip narcotic. The focus of his latest mind game is a fugitive (Steve Railsback) recruited to replace a stuntman killed during a recent on-set accident. In return for protective sanctuary, the fugitive takes a crash course in stunt work but soon discovers that he's the paranoid player in a game he can't control, with the dictatorial director making up the rules. Or is he? The Stunt Man is a game of its own, played through the fantasy of filmmaking, and half the fun of watching the movie comes from sharing the stuntman's paranoid confusion. Barbara Hershey has a smart, sexy supporting role as a lead actress who won't submit to her director's seemingly devious behavior; but it's clearly O'Toole who steals the show. Director Richard Rush adds to the movie's maverick appeal--in a career plagued by struggles against the mainstream studio system, Rush hasn't made a better movie before or since. The Stunt Man clearly represents the potential of his neglected talent. --Jeff Shannon

Hells Angels on Wheels

This pair of Joe Solomon-produced biker dramas are two of the better examples of the '60s subgenre. Jack Nicholson stars in Hell's Angels on Wheels as a moody cycle-riding gas station attendant adopted by Adam Roarke's gang when he jumps into a friendly bar fight. It's a fairly blatant rip-off of Roger Corman's The Wild Angels, but director Richard Rush (who next teamed up with Nicholson for the counterculture classic Psych-Out) offers up a lifestyle that's less nihilistic than simply meaningless and winds the unlikely friendship between restless Nicholson and rootless Roarke into an inevitable clash over basic philosophical differences (namely, Jack wants Adam's girl, and Adam wants Jack to kowtow to his leadership). William Smith is an unusual hero in Run Angel Run: he's a sellout on the run from vengeful biker clubs up and down the coast. Director Jack Starrett, a former actor in biker movies himself (Hell's Angels on Wheels, among others), creates a taut little picture highlighted by impressive stunts (Smith jumps onto the flat car of a moving train). Smith's brooding, taciturn performance mellows when he takes a job on a rural sheep farm and connects with a career farmer who used to be a barnstorming biker in the 1950s. "I gotta be free man, I gotta fly," confesses Angel, but at what price? Both pictures were cheaply made for quick playoff, but there's an interesting attempt to explore the tension between the thrill of the road and the hollow activity passing for freedom. The set comes in a cool-looking 8 by 12 tin storage container, but the tapes do not have separate video sleeves. --Sean Axmaker

When he loses his job, gas station attendant Poet (Academy Award-winner Jack Nicholson) falls in with a rough band of Hells Angels who terrorize Northern California in a hellraising frenzy of parties and gang fights. Choppers, drugs, sex, murder and mayhem ensue as Poet and gang leader Buddy (Adam Roarke) head down a dark road to danger. From acclaimed cult director Richard Rush (The Stunt Man) with cinematography by the legendary László Kovács (Easy Rider, Paper Moon) and music by Stu Phillips (Battlestar Gallactica, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls).

Psych-Out / The Trip

Psych-OutTune in. Turn on. Psych out! Take the ultimate in psychedelic trips with Susan Strasberg Dean Stockwell Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern! When a deaf runaway (Strasberg) visits swinging San Francisco in search of her brother she teams with the aptly named Stoney (Nicholson) and his out-of-sight hippie band Mumblin Jim. But the more she succumbs to that music and danger-filled Flower Power scene...the more she realizes that reality is a rotten place to be!Running Time 89 MinThe TripHedonism isn t just for breakfast anymore. Or so learns TV commercial director Paul (Peter Fonda) on his first LSD trip a mind-blowing passage through surreal images and stroboscopic light shows. Written by Jack Nicholson and directed by Roger Corman The Trip takes you to a whole new world of extreme beauty and sheer terror on a passport the size of a stamp!Running Time 79 MinSystem Requirements: Running Time 168 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 027616885555 Manufacturer No: 1004485

The Stunt Man

The "lost" sleeper hit of 1980 has since become one of the most revered cult movies of all time, largely due to its bawdy, irreverent story about the art and artifice of filmmaking and an outrageously clever performance by Peter O'Toole. As megalomaniacal film director Eli Cross, O'Toole plays a larger-than-life figure whose ability to manipulate reality is like a power-trip narcotic. The focus of his latest mind game is a fugitive (Steve Railsback) recruited to replace a stuntman killed during a recent on-set accident. In return for protective sanctuary, the fugitive takes a crash course in stunt work but soon discovers that he's the paranoid player in a game he can't control, with the dictatorial director making up the rules. Or is he? The Stunt Man is a game of its own, played through the fantasy of filmmaking, and half the fun of watching the movie comes from sharing the stuntman's paranoid confusion. Barbara Hershey has a smart, sexy supporting role as a lead actress who won't submit to her director's seemingly devious behavior; but it's clearly O'Toole who steals the show. Director Richard Rush adds to the movie's maverick appeal--in a career plagued by struggles against the mainstream studio system, Rush hasn't made a better movie before or since. The Stunt Man clearly represents the potential of his neglected talent. --Jeff Shannon

Fireball 500/Thunder Alley (Midnite Movies Double Feature)

Fireball 500Frankie Avalon Annette Funicello and Fabian trade in their beach towels for monkey wrenches in this rip-roaring romance "set against a backdrop of hopped-up racecars bootlegging and morals" (Variety)! When Daytona-bound Dave (Avalon) stops in a small town to run some moonshine and race against a cocky local named Leander (Fabian) he not only gets noticed by Leander's girl (Funicello) but also by the Feds!Thunder AlleyFasten your seat belts for "action and speed" (LA Herald-Examiner) as Annette Funicello and Fabian star as two stock-car drivers on the thrill circuit who kick their mutual affection into full-throttle romance! But Tommy (Fabian) must first cure himself of his racing blackouts which may have caused the death of a fellow racer before they kill him and his Indy 500 dreams!System Requirements: Running Time 181 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 027616903006 Manufacturer No: 1006077

Youth Run Wild Double Feature: Unwed Mother/Too Soon to Love

Actors: Robert Vaughn, Norma Moore, Diana Darrin, Billie Bird, Jeanne Cooper, Ron Hargrave, Jennifer West, Richard Evans, Warren Parker, Ralph Manza, Jack Nicholson. Our first feature: Unwed Mother - Betty (Norma Moore) moves from a farming community to Los Angeles. She falls into the clutches of a super-cad (Robert Vaughn) and ends up abandoned and pregnant. After visiting a drunken abortionist, she decides to give the baby up for adoption … but has a change of heart. The climax is a classic of melodrama from a master of melodrama, Walter Doniger, director of TV's "Peyton Place." The second feature Too Soon To Love is about two teenage lovers from dysfunctional families that go "all the way." She becomes in the family way, flees from a wicked abortionist and later attempts suicide. He steals money to retain a "real" doctor! This classic teenage melodrama was the directorial debut of Richard Rush ("The Stuntman"). DVD Bonus & Features: Original Theatrical Trailers, Commentary by assistant director Lindsley Parsons Jr, Original Advertising Materials, Bios, Photo Gallery: DVD-5, Dolby Digital, 159 minutes, B&W, 1.85:1, NR, 1958 & 1960.

Psych-Out [Region 2]

The Sinister Saga of Making "The Stunt Man"

Peter O'Toole puts it succinctly, "The Stunt Man wasn't released, it escaped." Director Richard Rush returns 20 years later to this highly praised 1980 film in this two-hour documentary chronicling the decade-long struggle from creation to distribution. Rush calls Sinister Saga a home movie, and it essentially is with Rush talking to the camera--there is no footage from the film's actual shoot. If you can get by the lack of gloss, you're left with an extremely personal view of the filmmaking, and a behind-the-scenes look that is refreshingly void of studio hype. Included are interviews 20 years later with cast members who fondly remember the film's shoot. It's interesting to note that if The Stunt Man was made 20 years later, it would have never struggled. The film would simply have been relegated to cable or a straight-to-video release. --Doug Thomas

Upon its release in 1980, The Stunt Man became a one-of-a-kind cult sensation, a multiple Oscar nominee and ultimately, one of the most acclaimed motion picture of the decade. But the strange history of the film's embattled development, production and distribution has never been fully revealed... until now.
Director Richard Rush is your guide for this epic story of his ten-year struggle from script to screen to make The Stunt Man on his own uncompromising terms. It's a tale told via rare insights, wild memories and exclusive new interviews with the cast and crew, including stars Barbara Hershey, Steve Railsback and Peter O'Toole. This is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at on filmmaker's visionary reality.

Color of Night [Region 2]

Psychological twists and turns strangle the plot of this disappointing effort from the director of The Stunt Man, Richard Rush. Emotionally damaged psychiatrist Bruce Willis leaves his practice behind and moves to LA when a patient commits suicide in front of him. Out of the goodness of his broken heart, he takes over the practice of a murdered colleague (Scott Bakula). Jane March is the needy but mysterious woman who literally crashes into his life, making sexual advances the good doctor soon reciprocates. What March seems to need most, however, is underwear. The plot and the dialogue vacillate between silly and inane, leaving us with some so-so sex and overblown performances. This could explain why it was the winner of the 1995 Razzie Award for Worst Picture. If you want a more effective thriller that delves into damaged psyches, take another look at Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. --Rochelle O'Gorman