Bigger, Faster, Farther, Deeper

As long as there have been movies, there have been stunts. And the basic gags have stayed the same-- stuntmen and stuntwomen have been called on to jump from high places, crash cars, survive fires and explosions, swim, ride horses, fight and perform a host of other feats.

Today, though, everything is bigger. Falls are performed from hundreds of feet up. Fire engulfs actors in a scene. Luckily, safety advances have improved with the years. Here is a look at how classic stunts have changed:

* High falls originally were performed from 30 or 40 feet up, about the height of a three- or four-story building. Stuntmen--and they were mostly men--landed in a steep slope of sand that had been constructed at the bottom. Later, a pad filled with rags was used to break the performer’s fall.

During the 1940s and 1950s, stunt performers hit on the idea of placing the pad on top of boards that had been placed across two sawhorses. The actor would come crashing down onto this contraption, first breaking the wood and finally landing on the pad when it hit the ground. This setup enabled falls from grander heights.

Finally, large air bags came into use, enabling falls from up to 300 feet. Today’s stunt performers also may use a device called a decelerator--a wire attached to a harness that tightens as they approach the ground, slowing them enough to allow them to land safely.

* Car stunts have evolved considerably since the early days. Vehicles travel much faster now, so chases and crashes can be more spectacular.

Borrowing from the technology used to protect auto racers, today’s stunt drivers build roll cages to cushion themselves and wear harnesses to keep their bodies stable. Cars are also weighted heavier in the back end, so that the nose is up during a jump, making it less likely that it will nose over and wind up upside down.

* Daring motorcycle jumps and tricks are safer today, in part because the bikes themselves have greater flexibility.

“The technology has changed a lot,” said director Hal Needham, a former stuntman. The front wheels of motorcycles used to allow a rider to rebound four or five inches. “Today, they got them so they rebound 17 inches,” he said. “As a result, kids today can do great jumps in the air. When I was a stuntman, if you tried those kind of stunts, they’d be walking slow and singing behind you.”

* The technology for setting oneself on fire has improved considerably since the early days, but it still gets pretty darn hot. In the 1950s, stunt performers wore fire-retardant clothing under their costumes and protected their heads with helmets and masks. They breathed through tubes connected to oxygen tanks under their clothes.

Now, they still wear protective clothing but instead of the helmets they cover their faces and arms with a special gel. The gel keeps the flames away for about 30 seconds. After that the backup crew must come in with fire extinguishers to put out the blaze.