Stunt Man vs. Iphigenia in Tauris
             The similarities of the two stories are apparent at times and very subtle at others. Each has its own plot and purpose. Euripides's play was a comedy concluding the story of Orestes and the family of Agamemnon. It was a story of family and reunion, as well as purification. The movie, Stunt Man, is a story about a young Vietnam veteran's return to normal life and his adjustment to civilian life again. It is a story of conflict between fantasy and reality.
             In the Stunt Man many of the characters mirror or parallel characters from the play. The director, Eli is similar to an Apollo character. He sends Cameron on different and more dangerous stunts throughout the course of the film. He calls all the shots on the set and is feared and respected by all the cast and crew. He portrays himself as a God, claiming to have the ability to take and give life. Threatening to "kill" anyone who interfered with his movie or disobeyed him. Cameron, the young Vietnam vet, is the Orestes of the movie. He is given tasks to perform, the stunts, by Eli and who is hounded and followed by the Police, the Furies at every turn. When he falls into the whorehouse during the first stunt, that symbolizes Orestes in the temple, where the priestesses live. They are both homes of all women, although the ones in the movie are far from chaste. Even in the movie, "the gods save those who save themselves." In the end, when he crashes the car off the bridge and everything seems to be going wrong, Cameron finds a way to save himself and in doing so saves himself from the Police, his Furies. He finds his Iphigenia in Nina, the beautiful actress who he falls for in the film. They have a rendering scene of recognition when he attempts to rescue her from the sea, only to realize that she is not an old woman at all, but a young and popular actress. Both he and Nina are searching for a sense of b...