MovieChat Forums > The Mechanic (1972) Discussion > Motorcycle Stunt - how'd they do it?

Motorcycle Stunt - how'd they do it?

posted 14 years ago by andrewkasson
2 replies | jump to latest

I backed up a few times to see if I could figure out how they did this stunt, but could not. Maybe you do?

In the motorcycle chase, where Bronson ends up chasing the guy over the cliff, there are a few cuts, but then there is one solid take of where you see the motorcycle go over the cliff, land and explode, with a body attached.

Now usually it's just a dummy, and usually looks like it. But in the stunt, it looks like when the motorcycle starts to fly off the cliff, the "rider" jerks a little before making the plunge, the way a rider might make when making as jump.

Maybe it was just the wind and gravity making it look that way, but in just watching it, it looked pretty real.

But, of course it's not...

[–] rickathedj 14 years ago

This is in no way answers your question, but tangentially related. Your post brought to mind an interview I saw many years ago. It was with a stuntman about the time they started using airbags for high falls. The interviewer said "I thought they used dummies for that." The stuntman laughed and said, "Yeah," suggesting that anyone who did what he did for a living couldn't be too bright. He got a big laugh from the audience.

[–] meezter42 14 years ago

I wondered the same thing. It looks like a real person because of the motion the rider appears to make but surely it wasn't. That stuntman would be dead or critically injured. You can see the helmet come rolling off after the explosion, and there were no cuts between the fall and the bang. The cut at the beginning of the jump is what disguises the dummy from actually leaving the cliff, and they probably had some contraption rigged on a timer to give him the appearance of pulling. Just my guess. Great looking stunt though.

The mind has to wrap around the foot.