From the Archives: Why Setting Someone On Fire is the Best of Cinema

It is often said that the best special effect to ever be committed to celluloid is Robert Redford’s smile, and while I appreciate the wholesome notion being put forth, I’m inclined to disagree. The greatest special effect in cinema history is not something that can be created by a single artist. It is not something which manifests on the screen of a computer. It’s not something that can be edited into a shot during post-production. It’s not something that can be included in a film in any meaningful way without a few people getting their hands dirty. Sure, it’s incredibly badass when a skateboard flies, or a man turns invisible, or all of Earth’s mightiest heroes impossibly square off against the universe’s most evil baddies, but even those special effects are lacking compared to what I submit is the pinnacle of cinematic artistry.

I am referring, of course, to the stuntman who is completely on fire. And none of that CGI fire garbage that has taken over the “action” of so many modern movies. No, I’m referring to a stunt performer who is wrapped in wet rags and a flame retardant suit, doused with an accelerant, and then ignited for our viewing pleasure. These unnamed heroes have consistently put their lives on the line just so that we at home can go “whoa, that dude is on fire,” and I want the world to recognize the incredible efforts of these intrepid men and women. Note: I’ll be using the term “stuntman” for readability’s sake, but with the full understanding that stunt performers are not exclusive to a single gender.

Historically, cinema has a way of figuring out a certain visual gimmick and then applying it to the point of overkill. The late 90s/early 2000s was when we figured out how to do that thing where a person gets cut into pieces but doesn’t realize it until they begin to fall apart. This effect was soon replaced by that thing where someone is driving and just as they pass an intersection, their car is t-boned with them still in frame. The later 2000s brought particle physics (the application of which pales in comparison to the very real splashes of particulate vomit that such visuals induce). And presently we are in the heyday of that thing where a car flips with people inside of it and we get to watch the rotation occur from within the vehicle while everyone’s bodies flop around willy nilly. This is sometimes in slow motion.

But none of this stuff will have the staying power of seeing a person completely on fire. Why? Because in order to make it look like someone is completely on fire, you will have to actually light someone on fire. The best cinematic tricks in my opinion are ones that are done in pre-production, and there is no stunt on the planet that requires more pre-production than lighting a human being entirely on fire (I’m sure that there are stunts that literally take more pre-production, but you get my meaning when I say this, so stop being a jerk, ya jerk).

The example I always use of the value of pre-production is The Dark Knight. You’ll remember a scene where Batman uses his Bat cycle to tie up the Joker’s stolen big rig, resulting in an epic action moment where the truck flips end over end. When I first saw that movie, the crowd cheered when this happened. Why? Because Chris Nolan and gang actually flipped a fucking truck. While most productions nowadays would see fit to just build a digital truck and let it flip on its digital axis for a bit, these fuckers FLIPPED A FUCKING TRUCK, and it’s a goddamn legendary moment. Such is the same for lighting an actual person on actual fire. Heck, imagine if Batman flipped the truck and then Joker emerged from it completely on fire! If that happened, it’s very likely I’d have shitsploded on the spot.

Soooooo often I see actors pantomiming as if they are on fire, but the flames are just orange pixels added after the fact. It’s gross and NO THANK YOU. Light that fucker on fire or go kick some rocks.

What makes the fully on fire stunt performer so compelling to me is that it’s almost vaudevillian in the way the viewer must suspend their disbelief. What I mean is that there are so many inherent falsities required to actually light a real person on fire using real fire, that oftentimes, the stunt lands in a realm that’s borderline comical. No matter. Even then it still works. And when the gag lands effectively, it’s about the most effective thing ever. But the falsities sure are a lot of fun.

First off, since not many people are capable of being set fully on fire with real fire, we are limited to just a handful of performers. Amidst this small group, not all body types are represented. As such, there are times when a character appears to change in size the second the flames engulf their body. Add to that the layers of protective gear (which are usually quite visible – suddenly, we are to believe that our character has become a mummy), and there are times when a perfectly not on fire character gains a ton of weight and grows a few inches as soon as they are immolated.

Also, it’s not like a stunt performer can just do whatever they like while on fire. Nope, they must adopt a certain body position and walk at such a rate that it keeps their face ahead of the flame itself. It’s a sort of clinical Frankenstein walk that absolutely must be adopted in order for the stunt to not actually kill anyone. This action allows the performer to both breathe AND keep their face intact for future job interviews/sexual escapades/crimefighting situations where they must trade a face with someone else in order to elicit information from the unknowing colleagues of a high profile terrorist. This means that in the reality of a film, we are asked to believe that a person who is suddenly fully engulfed in flames would march forward calmly and without much physical expression, rather than shitting their pants, screaming, and rolling around like a person who is actually on fire.

In the context of any narrative this makes no sense at all, but the fact remains that there is a person on screen who is ACTUALLY ON FIRE. And for the most part, this is enough spectacle that any self-respecting audience member wouldn’t think twice but to just go with it (it’s only after my life descended into obsessive consumption of cinema that I was ever forced to confront the narrative reality of a fully on fire stuntman, and even now I feel like a dick for pointing out the holes).

So yeah, you get it. I LOOOOOVE when a film lights a person on fire by actually lighting an actual person on actual fire. To share in my love, I’ve gathered a few clips and photos of some examples where it really works well. The good news is that I found quite a few. The bad news is that there are a few examples which were impossible to find online, mostly because just about every keyword I could think to search just brought up clips of Tony Scott’s excellent kidnapping thriller, Man on Fire which, if memory serves, does not actually feature a man on fire. It does, however, feature a man with a bomb up his ass being exploded, which is its own kind of cool.

First and foremost is this wonderful chase scene from Last Action Hero, the underrated classic from the power combo of Shane Black and John McTiernan. Feel free to fast forward to the end for the flaming stuntman. Although why you would skip any bit of footage from this masterpiece is beyond me. Watch how the stuntman calmly and assuredly walks toward the fountain that he douses himself in. Note – This clip also features two other favorite cinematic tools of mine: A flying dummy, and a lady screaming directly at danger rather than running from it.

At the beginning of Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II, the absolutely bonkers in-name-only sequel to the slasher classic, our titular character is lit on fire accidentally while accepting her prom queen crown. Don’t worry, she’s a real jerk up until that point. Here’s an instance where clever editing works around the safety requirements of lighting someone on fire, allowing for a very realistic response to immolation. It rocks.

This wonderful gag can also be used for comedy. This moment from Billy Madison, during the Home Economics portion of Billy’s “Academic Decathlon” features a young Bradley Whitford failing miserably at using an oven. This is firmly secured in the top five funniest moments in any film ever if you ask me, and it’s because of the primo use of the flaming stuntman.

Both John Carpenter’s The Thing and its source film, The Thing From Another World feature the BEST uses of the flaming stuntman. Unfortunately, the example from Carpenter’s film is very hard to find in video form on the interwebs, but this photo should bring you a taste of its glory:

Now check out this bad boy. This, my friends, is how it’s done.

It should also be noted that in the wildly underrated/underseen A Cure for Wellness, the villain spends an entire scene completely on fire. This feat of supernatural badassery seems to have been created by using CGI to place the actor’s face on top of a flaming stuntman. It rules so hard, but I can’t find it anywhere. Still, you need to know about it because you need to watch that movie immediately, regardless of how you feel about a Dane DeHaan, who you are likely incorrect about anyway.

Stay safe, friends. Wash your hands. Practice social distancing. Stop, drop, and roll.