Stunt Rock

I must have seen bits and pieces of "Stunt Rock" footage in the downright fantastic documentary "Not Quite Hollywood", probably found it instantly cool, promptly added it to my never-ending watchlist, and then subsequently forgot about it for the next ten years or so. They obviously only showed the awesome stunt parts in "Not Quite Hollywood", and from the documentary I couldn't derive that this really isn't the type of "film" I usually seek for. "Stunt Rock" isn't a film, in fact, because there aren't any real characters and there isn't a plot. It's a mixture of impressively performed stunts by Grant Page, integrally sung rock anthems by a band named Sorcery and inventive magical tricks shown by a Merlin lookalike wizard and a sort of devil named Prince of Darkness. It's original, exhilarating and entertaining for about half an hour, but then it becomes rather tedious and repetitive. I don't want to talk too negatively about "Stunt Rock", because I have tremendous respect for its director Brian Trenchard-Smith. After all, he's the Ozploitation pioneer who created cult hits like "Blood Camp Thatcher" and "Dead End Drive-In". He's clearly fascinated by the world of stuntmen and wanted to bring an ode to their business; good for him! Some of the Sorcery songs are quite catchy, for example the one that has a similar beginning as "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads.

This film has a minor cult following and it's easy to see why. The story is about Australian stuntman Grant Page (playing himself) traveling to Hollywood to handle the stunts for the new TV series "Undercover Girl". Grant hooks up with his cousin, who is a member of a rock band called Sorcery. Sorcery uses real "magic" on stage with their music and their entire stage show is a rock opera that tells the story about a duel between the King of the Wizards (Paul Haynes) and the Prince of Darkness (Curtis Hyde). They go see Sorcery rehearse in the studio and then to an actual stage performance, where the band uses fire, and some pretty awesome prog-rock tunes to tell their story about good versus evil. That's about the entire plot of the film, as Grant performs a series of dangerous stunts (along with footage of other stunt men and women) and Sorcery performs a series of original tunes and magic to an appreciative audience. Director Brian Trenchard-Smith treads a fine line between fiction and reality and, by all accounts, he should have failed miserably. Surprisingly, though, this film is a total blast from beginning to end, thanks in no small part to Grant Page's on-screen charisma and devil-may-care stuntwork and Sorcery's kick-ass music and stage show. But none of this would have mattered if it didn't gel with the concert footage. Luckily, Trenchard-Smith chose SORCERY, a big-haired prog-rock Los Angeles band (the keyboard player wears a hood over his head and his voice is electronically altered) with a loyal cult following.

I must confess that I never heard of them or their music before this film, but their songs and stage show won me over pretty quickly. They are kind of like Emerson, Lake and Palmer mixed with an Arthurian Legend stage show, complete with a Merlin-like wizard (who at one point is spun on the tip of a sword and then impaled!) that performs many magic tricks. It's like watching a David Henning magic show with fist-pumping rock music, but without the extreme overbite. It's a feast for the eyes and the ears.

This ones a classic, all it has is a man doing these awesome stunts that make me cringe just watching him burn himself up, hanging over cliffs and all kinds of stuff and the band Sorcery reminds me of a cross between KISS and Uriah Heep and I loved it! I loved the theatrics, the music, the stunts pulling together with the music, man this guy is awesome. Hated the ditzy girlfriend though he should have gotten somebody more wilder and adventurous than her. I liked the song "Woman" the best.

Enjoyed the picture. The band "Sorcery" were amazing as well. Sorcery's stage show was the best presentation of music and magic ever seen!

The good vs. evil theme was never so well played out on any stage before. "Hard rock music/heavy metal magic" was the way to describe this group. They were and continue today to be the only magic/music show of it's kind in the history of ROCK! Not any other group ever came close to this! If you're into hard rock music and/or some of the best magic illusions ever performed live,don't miss this one. See the movie and the band.

"Sorcery"....(Polygram records/Sorcery music 1978) A U.S. band in the late 70's from Hollywood, California.

They combined Music and Magic, in a live stage show. The theme of the show was of good vs. evil... as the Sorcerer(Merlin) takes on the Devil. Quite good actually. A true one of a kind group with great magicians and world class musicians gave an excellent live show. It was a great time for anyone seeing them LIVE! It seems they also can do tricks with time as well. They turned an hour and a half into what seems like 15 minutes!!

Really extrodinary,for the viewer and the listener. I also have enjoyed their movie "STUNTROCK" as well, and

think they were an excellent example of the great Live acts

of the 70's and 80's. Rock on SORCERY....Glad to see there still around.