An interesting book which should satisfy anyone who enjoys reading about stunts and the golden age of Hollywood.

Happy to include this title in “Hollywood Moments,” the cinema-themed gift list as part of the holiday books package in Zoomer magazine’s Zed Books section.

Thanks to Matador and NetGalley for providing me with a free advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Terribly disappointed in this book. Very short, horribly formatted, this book was painful to read. Way too many names and movies packed into the book. Had high hopes for this book on Hollywood stuntmen before CGI and it was just a jumble. I think the topics discussed were interesting but the book needed to be longer and with more explanation and detail. Sorry friends, this book just was not my cup of tea.

Hollywood’s Pioneering Daredevils!: Film Action Before CGI
By Andy Wilkinson

By Carol Cooper

I’ve been waiting a long time for a book this detailed about the history of stunt men and women in Hollywood. Wilkinson does a great job introducing the many legal, practical, and technical factors that arose to influence the hiring and training of both stunt people and film extras in successful action films.

Many film buffs decry the overuse of CGI in contemporary films as diminishing attention to character development and storytelling by both directors and screenwriters. It sometimes seems that actors and screenwriters work harder on their craft when they can’t hide behind spectacular digital special effects. But with this book in hand we now have enough facts about the tactical evolution of “cinematic realism” when depicting big battles, chase scenes, or bank jobs to perhaps compare analog and digital stunts more fairly.

I particularly enjoyed Wilkinson’s detailed overview of classic stunt work featuring horses, trains, airplanes, and automobiles. Going as far back as the silent film era, the author reminds us how human bravery and ingenuity consistently managed to capture impressive, emotionally compelling and realistic action scenes on film without computer intervention.

Although Wilkinson traces the first significant use of CGI to 1973 and the science fictional feature Westworld; the industry didn’t wholly capitulate to computerized effects until the surprising success of Star Wars in 1977. With its emphasis on directors and stunt coordinators whose finished work was both innovative and trendsetting, Hollywood’s Pioneering Daredevils becomes a must-have guide to what movie audiences should value most in any cinematic experience.

Sometimes you read a book and find that what you thought was the premise of the book turns out to be wrong. Though some of the original "stunt" men are highlighted in this volume, they are all written about under the assumption that Wilkinson is the premiere expert on this genre, which is based on his own opinions. He makes a
statement in the "intro" that he only mentions the first time a "stunt" was done on film and not those that copied or flowed from earlier films.

The Problem with his premise if that it's all opinionated and not backed up by anything but his own "expertise". Some of the candidates can't be denied but others don't seem to have anything more inventive than that Wilkinson saw them when he was a child or teenager. To set yourself up as the "plus ultra" of this genre is a lot absurd not to mention self-aggrandizing.

So for better or worst (sic) that's MY opinion.