Transmission’s “The Stunt Man” booklet review
Written by Matt Long
A review of the booklet included as part of Transmission’s (the Radiance Films sub-label) 2026 release of The Stunt Man (1980). Transmission includes the printed materials with the limited edition first pressing.
The front cover of the booklet for The Stunt Man.
Professionalism and production quality
As only the second title from the Transmission sublabel, fans of physical media and Radiance Films aren’t necessarily sure yet what to expect from this label, but given the trust that Fran and the team at Radiance has earned, it should be no surprise that the booklet included in the limited edition set of The Stunt Man befits the level of quality that you would expect from this company.
This 40-page perfect bound booklet has a very clean and visually appealing layout. The text is printed with a very readable font size. The images fit the booklet well and are printed in high resolution. There were some small grammar and spelling issues in some of the essays that won’t be distracting for most readers.
Overall, a very nice addition to this already stacked release.
Grade: A-
Text-to-image ratio
I loved the approach taken with this booklet. The main essays and interview included are clean pages without any images on them. Stills from the film and reprints of poster art are used to separate the different sections and features in the booklet. This made the images stand out and demand attention rather than seeming to only support the text or just filling in the page count.
Grade: A+
A preview of the essay layout.
Content
There are five sections. The first is a cast and crew table along with a director spotlight. This was a respectful touch and, especially given Richard Rush’s relative obscurity, but even for directors we all know, it’s an interesting idea to provide a detailed one-page biography. I appreciated the specific insight it gave to how The Stunt Man played into Rush’s story.
The first essay, written by Adam Nayman, a Toronto-based critic, lecturer, and author, provides an overview of what The Stunt Man is about, its major themes, and context about the delayed release and the contemporary audience and critical reaction. It’s a detailed and thoughtful account of why this project was important for Rush. The Stunt Man is an interesting, fairly dense film with a unique structure, so Nayman’s analysis provided key information on the film along with helping to explain why it’s not more well-known.
There is then a reprint of an edited excerpt from an interview with director Richard Rush from 1990. I loved that Rush got the opportunity to share his thoughts directly via this excerpt because of how important the director is to the shaping of this film along with the actual subject matter of the film. The interviewer is not asking superficial questions, rather it provides the space for Rush to share his thought process during and after production.
The second essay is by Brendan Streussnig, a New York City-based critic, covering the importance of stunt performers and how they’ve been portrayed on film when a stunt performer is actually part of the cast of characters, like with Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. This was a great addition to the booklet, offering an essential overview of these often under-represented contributors to a film’s success. Streussnig has a strong writing style that excellently weaves together a range of film references.
Finally, there is a two-page spread of acknowledgements and credits.
I loved all these contributions. When I choose to re-watch the film and dig deeper into the supplements, I’m sure I’ll re-read it.
Grade: A-
Creativity
This category isn’t the booklet's strong suit, but that doesn’t matter as much when the material included is right for the release. As described above, I liked all the elements used to put this booklet together, including the interesting use of images as a way to break up the different sections. A director spotlight at the beginning was a very nice touch.
Grade: B
Grade summary
Professional and production quality grade: A-
Text to image ratio grade: A+
Content grade: A-
Creativity grade: B
Final thoughts
This was an excellent booklet that meets the high standards we expect from the good people at Radiance Films. As a supplement to the film and the excellent disc release, this is highly recommended.
Overall grade: A-
The Stunt Man limited edition is sold out and out of print from Radiance Films. A standard edition that does not include this booklet will be available via their website and your favourite independent retailers.
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