Film-maker Daniel Vernon follows the veteran escapologist Ron Cunningham aka The Great Omani for more than five years and the result is this poignant documentary about the great entertainer. In the final years of his life, Cunningham was a shadow of his former self, being career by his limelight hating son who got roped into helping his father with stunts over the many decades. Ron is battling cancer and is also partly wheelchair-bound by a series of strokes. However, this remarkable man continued to perform with specially choreographed routines which saw him set himself alight and shower himself in glass. Two years before his death, he was still as fired up as ever and preparing himself for one final ‘farewell’ stunt.
2008-02-28
0