Whatever happened to director Richard Rush? Honestly said: he sank into the nexus of Hollywood's forgotten talents. Those who actually know his film THE STUNTMAN starring Peter O'Toole and liked it, will be interested in THE SINISTER SAGA..., a 20-years-after Making-of... that gives a refreshingly unique insight into Hollywood politics, rather than explaining for the umpteenth time how a stunt evolves. Rush himself narrates the film, meeting colleagues and cast from his film (O'Toole, B. Hershey etc.). The voice of the film is poignant but bitter. Rush has only made one more film (COLOR OF NIGHT) since battling windmills with THE STUNTMAN.
Although THE SINISTER SAGA... is highly informative and fairly entertaining, its feature length asks for a lot of patience. The film is crudely edited, obviously on semi-pro equipment. The director's comments vary from sarcastic to self-celebration, repeatedly reciting past critiques, clearly wondering WHY his talent never got the wide recognition Rush claims to deserve. Still, THE SINISTER SAGA... is a substantial eye witness comment on Hollywood that goes under the surface, thus worth a look.
