Best Stunt Work – 1976

My Nominations: Rocky. The Eagle Has Landed. The Gumball Rally. King Kong. Death Cheaters.

Although there were plenty of war and disaster movies this year, most don’t meet the grade in terms of overall quality or depth of action and stunt work. The Eagle Has Landed has a greater pedigree than most, given that John Sturges (his final film) directs. It follows the format of so many of the British war movies of the era – a big name cast in a loose retelling of an actual event, with the heroism and action pumped to the max. It’s another one of those movies we’re fed over here and it has plenty of running and gunning to satisfy a certain breed of moviegoer (me). Rocky… it’s a toss-up on whether or  not you class the fight scenes as stunts – I tend towards yes, given that they were choreographed and edited to look as gripping and spectacular as possible. King Kong is as large a spectacle as the original and veers between disaster movie and romance smoothly, with plenty of big budget stunts to remember. My final two picks are more straightforward stunt based movies – and two which tend to be forgotten alongside the bigger names of the era. The Gumball Rally has the cars and the stars, and given that its based on the cross country race you can expect fast, dangerous driving between cars and motorcycles with plenty of crashes, screeching tires, jumps, flips, explosions, and general mayhem. If you prefer the lesser Cannonball from the same year, by all means go for it. Finally, the largely unknown Deathcheaters is an excuse to show off by a bunch of experienced industry stuntmen – it’s a little more… dangerous… than most Hollywood efforts, but don’t expect the most realistic story or convincing performances. Expect fights, explosions, dune-buggy chases, guns, and a ridiculously fun opening 10-15 minutes.

My Winner: Deathcheaters

Let us know your winner in the comments!