With ‘Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning’ set to explode into cinemas this summer - perhaps marking the climax of the long-running franchise - action movie fans are already looking forward to yet more mind-boggling practical stunts performed by Tom Cruise.
So, in the spirit of stunts which keep it real, here’s our pick of the Top 5 practical film stunts of all time.
1. Buster Keaton’s tower tumble in ‘The Three Ages’
In this classic 1923 film, daredevil actor and stuntman Buster Keaton attempts to springboard himself from rooftop to rooftop, only to crash into a wall, fall through the building’s awnings, before swinging from a collapsing drainpipe into a window, then onto a fireman’s pole and finally onto the back of the fire engine.
This short series of events, taking place in just around a minute, is a marvel for the times and clearly shows excellent practical skills.
2. Christopher Nolan’s hallway fight in ‘Inception’
Christopher Nolan is renowned as a director who prefers to use practical effects instead of computer-generated action, adding realism to his high stakes action scenes and set-pieces.
A brilliant example can be seen in 2010′s ‘Inception’, in a memorable scene which takes place in a hallway; actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt seemingly defies gravity as he fights on constantly shifting walls and ceiling. This dizzying action was captured by a stationary camera filming a set which allowed the corridor to spin this way and that.
3. ‘Ben-Hur’ and the chariot race
Famous for its epic scale - as well as its very long running time - Ben-Hur features some amazing action scenes. A pivotal set-piece in the 1959 film involved many Roman quadriga, with characters racing on chariots and horses, and people being stomped underfoot. Charlton Heston’s stunt double Joe Canutt - whose father Yakima was also a stuntman - was flung from his horse and cut his chin, needing four stitches, during filming. The result is a masterpiece of choreography, making a significant contribution to the film’s legend.
4. The car jump in ‘Smokey and the Bandit’
Smokey and the Bandit - starring Burt Reynolds, with Burt Reynolds’s luxurious moustache in a supporting role - is packed full of high octane thrills. The they-did-it-for-real car jump over a broken bridge following a high-speed police chase is the standout stunt, setting a new standard for car-related movie action.
5. The did-he-really-do-that? motorcycle stunt in ‘Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One’
It’s only fair to round off this list with an entry from Tom Cruise and the Mission: Impossible franchise, which has repeatedly set new standards for practical stunt work - perhaps all the more impressive because of the willingness of Hollywood’s biggest star to put himself in such danger.
That was the case with this action from the Dead Reckoning Part One, where Cruise jumped a motorcycle off a cliff before opening a parachute, gifting us one of the greatest film stunts.
Jamie O’Kane is a lower sixth pupil at B.R.A. who has been on work experience at The Irish News
