Top 5 the most insane stunts ever performed

Hello! As you remember, this week we are dedicating our blog to the amazing and dangerous craft of stuntmen (you may also be interested in reading Stunt performers: Fairy behind the scenes), so today we have compiled for you a selection of what Filmustage considers to be the most amazing stunts in cinema. Don't judge strictly, it's a subjective selection. Let's go!

Death Proof (2007)

Zoë Bell is now familiar to us as an actress who is relatively new to her acting career, but she cannot be called a newcomer to film. Zoë Bell is a fairly well-known stuntwoman, who began her career at home in New Zealand in the TV series “Xena: Warrior Princess” (1998-2001), and after moving to Hollywood, she took part in such projects as “Catwoman” (2004) and the "Kill Bill" (2003-2004). Namely, it was on the set of "Kill Bill" that Zoë Bell was spotted by Quentin Tarantino, who felt that she deserved to shine on the screen as an actress.

Tarantino trusted Bell to play herself in the controversial film "Death Proof", where the stuntwoman performed a dangerous stunt by riding on the hood of a car at over 80 miles per hour.

According to the plot, Zoë Bell climbs out of the car on the hood just to amuse herself, but then their car begins to be rammed by an antagonist played by Kurt Russell and the stunt takes a dangerous turn.

Cliffhanger (1993)

Another dangerous stunt was performed by stuntman Simon Crane in "Cliffhanger". This stunt is still considered one of the most dangerous and insane stunts in the history of cinema. Simon Crane had to jump from one plane to another on a cable at a height of almost 5000 meters. In addition, the temperature outside was very low, which was also an obstacle for the film crew. The stunt was so dangerous that the insurance company refused to provide services to Crane, and Sylvester Stallone paid $1 million to the stuntman from his own fee.

Nevertheless, when the stuntman managed to climb into the second plane, the wind and the ceased rope knocked Simon Crane out, causing him to have to resort to a parachute. Luckily no one was hurt, and the marvels of the montage managed to compose a seamless and incredible scene that made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive aerial stunt in history.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Tom Cruise should be counted as the idea continuer of insane aerial stunts, which on its own could more than fill out our selection. Just look at the scene of climbing up the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai in “Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol” (2011), which looks insane.

However, we want to tell you about the stunt that Cruise himself calls the most dangerous of his career, and, not surprisingly, it appears in the Ethan Hunt franchise.

Originating as a simple joke, Tom Cruise was able to embody the crazy idea of flying through the open air by attaching himself to the fuselage of an airplane. Despite the obvious dangers of being outside the plane on takeoff, rumor has it that the biggest concern for Tom Cruise was positioning himself in the frame.

There were also other threatening factors in the form of birds flying by and runway debris that, in theory, could have hurt the movie star badly. So it took the crew several days to completely clean the runway, but it still wasn't enough. Tom Cruise asked for special contact lenses that allowed the actor to keep his eyes open with a large flow of oncoming air, as well as a complex and reliable system of supporting cables, without which it would be physically impossible to implement this stunt.

The result is probably one of the most breathtaking scenes in the entire "Mission: Impossible" movie series.

Ben-Hur (1959)

Back to the immortal classic. The chariot race still looks impressive, as most of the $15 million budget was spent on the recreation of the ancient Roman race.

Fifteen thousand extras were involved in the scene, and one of the most incredible stunts came out completely by accident: in one of the scene episodes, the rushing horses jump over debris, and the chariot itself soars sharply into the air and almost throws the stuntman under the wheels. The spontaneous stunt turned out to be so realistic and spectacular that the director decided to keep it in the movie. "Ben-Hur" won 11 Oscars and the chariot race scene went down in movie history.

Police Story (1985)

Obviously, no such compilation can not do without the legendary Jackie Chan, who during his career has performed hundreds of dangerous tricks and more than once was on the cusp of death. In addition, the courage of Jackie Chan can be attributed to qualities of a true cinephile, because in his pictures can often be seen references to iconic films such as "Steamboat Bill, Jr." (1928) and "Safety Last!" (1923). Jackie Chan himself performed the most famous tricks of the cult classics in "Project A" (1983) and "Project A Part II" (1987).

Anyway, we wanted to tell you about probably one of Jackie Chan's most famous stunts, which the actor himself recalls as the most painful. In one scene in "Police Story" (1985), Jackie Chan runs down a pole from the 5th floor, tearing up hundreds of electric lights on the way, and then punching through a pavilion. As a result, the actor suffered multiple third-degree burns, a dislocated pelvic bone, and a damaged spine.

During his long career, Jackie Chan suffered so many injuries that his name is blacklisted by most insurance companies.

Afterword

These are our picks of the 5 coolest and most insane stuntman performances. Of course, we don't want to insult the other brave and talented professionals who have risked and continue to risk their lives for movies. There are many more noteworthy stunts to add here, such as the practical destruction of an airplane in the first scene of Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012) or the escape from a block of rock in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981). However, we want to leave space for you to remember your favorite and craziest movie stunts - and don't forget to share your finds. See you next week!