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Action Cult Classic

Love, broken bones, and mistaken identities in a high-flying French stunt comedy.

STUNTWOMAN

1977 · 1h 40m · NR · Action / Comedy / Romance · IMDB TMDB

Mike (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a stuntman who works with his girlfriend Jane (Raquel Welch). On their wedding day Mike and Jane are forced by producers to do a stunt for a film they are working on. Mike, annoyed doesn't look on the road and crashes the car causing them to end up in a hospital. After they come out Jane doesn't want to talk to Mike so he decides to get her a job in a film in which he is a stunt double for his double who is a star in action pictures but is in fact a wimp.

Quick Answer

What is Stuntwoman about?

Stuntwoman is a 1977 French action-comedy romance directed by Claude Zidi about a professional stuntman whose chaotic career and mishaps threaten his relationship with his fiancée.

Programmer's Pick

Jean-Paul Belmondo does double duty—sometimes dressed as a gorilla—in a slapstick romp that pokes fun at showbiz egos and the perils of loving a stuntman. Raquel Welch brings the right mix of glamour and grit, while the film-within-a-film hijinks keep the pratfalls coming. It's a French farce with plenty of bruises and even more identity crises.

— SassyFlix Programmer

Overview

Mike Gauché and his fiancée Jane Gardner are both professional stunt performers, living on the edge both on film sets and in their personal lives. On their wedding day, a last-minute call to perform a hazardous car stunt ends in disaster, landing both in the hospital with matching injuries. Jane, fed up with Mike’s reckless dedication to his work, decides to walk away, leaving Mike to pick up the pieces of his career and love life. As he struggles with unemployment and resorts to increasingly absurd schemes to get by, the film blends physical comedy, showbiz satire, and romantic mishap, offering a look at the unpredictable world of movie stunt work and the chaos it brings to relationships.

Details & Specs

Director
Claude Zidi
Writer
Michel Audiard
Release
1977
Runtime
1h 40m
Country
France
Language
French
Also Known As
Zvíře, Animal, Zviera, El animal, original title: L'animal

Why This Matters

Distributed in the U.S. as Stuntwoman, this French action comedy pairs Jean-Paul Belmondo and Raquel Welch under Claude Zidi’s direction, highlighting cross-Atlantic casting and the international distribution strategies of European genre cinema in the late 1970s.
— SassyFlix Curator

Why Cult

Stunt Double Hijinks

The film features a stuntman impersonating a movie star, leading to mistaken identities and showbiz chaos.

Showbiz Comedy

Set in the world of filmmaking, the story lampoons industry egos, on-set disasters, and the absurd lengths people go to for a shot at stardom.

Physical Comedy Setpieces

From car crashes to falling down stairs, the film is packed with slapstick stunts and over-the-top action sequences.

Raquel Welch Action Romance

Raquel Welch holds her own as both romantic lead and stuntwoman, adding star power to the madcap proceedings.

Scene Gallery

Questions from the Vault

Who directed Stuntwoman? +

Claude Zidi directed Stuntwoman.

How long is Stuntwoman? +

Stuntwoman has a runtime of 100 minutes.

What genre is Stuntwoman? +

Stuntwoman is an action, comedy, and romance film.

Where can I watch Stuntwoman? +

You can watch Stuntwoman on SassyFlix.

Trailers & Clips

Stuntwoman trailer
Official Trailer
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