Evel Knievel

This film is a comedy and a satire, and as both, it is a double-edged sword - it laughs with it's target audience - 'good ol' boys' and wannabees along the drive-in circuit, primarily in the South - and at them. It is dangerous to laugh at this film, because you may find out you're laughing at yourself - but of course, it is so good-humored, you won't be able to avoid it.

This film is not really an Evel Knieval biopic; it is really a study in the culture that makes Knieval possible. The makers of this film - primarily producer-star Hamilton - understand that in the 20th century, Americans developed an unhealthy fascination for 'sports' wherein the performers flirted with death; this could only make sense if some of the performers actually did die. The performers themselves well understood that, but all believed they were invincible, that therefore they were manipulating the secret desire of the audience rather than satisfying it. However, inevitably some - like the rodeo bull-rider early in this film - just did die; no human is invincible, after all.

How do film-makers address such a culture without getting cynical or preachy about it? You take one such 'sports'-star and take him on face-value. The ground of this film is the Evel Knieval legend that Knieval himself was hyping at every opportunity - it is simply arraigned in a way that many of his tall-tales reveal themselves as just 'too much' for their own good - even if true, why would anybody do that? Finally, one has to note that this is a fine specimen of a film made specifically for the drive-in circuit: clearly enunciated dialog (those car-speakers), over-lit (has to play against moonlight), fast-paced, careful avoidance of close-ups (only Sergio Leone's were able to hold attention at the drive-in), sweeping scenery, episodic (plenty opportunities for couples to neck), and none too deep.

Bottom-line: I first saw this film 20 years ago and only recently saw it again; neither the film nor my opinion of it has changed much all those years - there must be something that still works here.

George Hamilton is looser than usual portraying 20th century phenomenon Bobby "Evel" Knievel, a young hell-raiser from Butte, Montana who graduated from motorcycle stunts in front of small rodeo crowds to death-defying jumps in front of thousands. Written by Alan Caillou and John Milius, the high-flown 'humility' from Knievel is sometimes hard to swallow (particularly his lengthy speech at the picture's opening); however, the self-praise isn't damning in the rowdy flashbacks to Knievel's early years, which include cop-baiting chases and sorority-crashing adventures. The modern-day Evel is shown as a paranoid egomaniac with a short temper, and every segue back to the present day is a bummer. Not particularly well-directed or assembled, but produced handsomely (by Hamilton) and moderately engaging. ** from ****

Even though as a kid growing up in the 1970s I thought Evel Knievel was, along with Bruce Lee and Bill Bixby as "The Magician", one of the coolest guys on the planet, I'd for some reason never seen this biopic. Boy, watching this now is a trip! It's a mess of a movie really, but fascinating just the same. Firstly you have the oddball casting of George Hamilton as Knievel. Okay, it maybe isn't as left field as him playing Hank Williams, but it's still very odd. Secondly, Evel comes across as a real idiot, giving long winded egotistical speeches, slamming 'Easy Rider' and those "weirdos" for "giving bike riding a bad name". Thirdly, as an actual biography it's useless. We learn nothing about his life or how he became a stunt rider, let alone WHY he did what he did. Instead you get some utterly preposterous flash backs which include Evel kidnapping his future wife, robbing a store and even City Hall (with dynamite!), making you think you're watching some kind of proto-'Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind'! Hamilton gives a very unnatural, mannered performance, and the supporting cast includes Sue Lyon ('Lolita') as his wife Linda, Bert Freed, who was in everything from 'Paths Of Glory' to 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?' to 'Billy Jack', made the same year as this (he's the guy who says "We got the law here, Billy Jack"), plays his long suffering doctor, and Peckinpah regular Dub Taylor has a nice bit towards the beginning as the promoter who gives Evel his first break at a rodeo. 'Evel Knievel' is in many ways an awful movie but 1970s heads will get a kick out of it. You either dig these kind of Drive In exploitation movies or you don't. If you do, check this one out, it's a hoot!

"Evel Knievel" doesn't pretend to be anything more than lightweight, escapist entertainment. If it takes liberties with Knievel's life, guess what--it's by no means the only such movie that's done so. Virtually every movie that's been made about an actual person(s) or historical event has taken liberties.

Most of the reviewers here seem to have taken a perverse satisfaction in beating up on a movie that Variety complimented for its "sheer comic relief." In fact, some of the reviews are so similar, it's difficult to believe that their authors have not taken "inspiration" from their predecessors, especially the first review, which offset every negative criticism with a positive one and made the word "mishmash" a must-use adjective for his successors.

This film is not a mishmash--it's a disappointment. Anyone who can't follow its storyline must still be reading the funny pages. The main problem is that half of this movie is good and the other half isn't. The good half is the flashbacks that deal with Knievel before he became the legend that he was when this film was released.

The film has its comedic moments, portraying Knievel as a man fearful of being hurt (he's afraid of needles, for instance) except when he's on a motorcycle. The filmmakers want us to like Knievel and realize that, in many ways, he's just like us. So, we end up with a semi-caricature, an ersatz imitation. But, this is most evident in the "present" time scenes, which are largely disposable, and serve no better purpose than filling gaps between flashbacks.

This was a low budget film, a quickie vehicle to make a quick buck, that has a movie-of-the-week quality at times. During the climactic jump, actual footage of the real Knievel is spliced with close-ups of extras turning their heads to watch the bike's trajectory, along with close-ups of what is supposed to be Knievel's bike suspended in air, are amateurishly staged. One particular highlight is a montage of Knievel stunt footage and, of course, the infamous Caesar's Palace jump.

Hamilton's performance is surprisingly good. In that sense, he is miscast but has a winning persona. The flashbacks are really not confusing. In fact, with few exceptions, they're the best parts of the movie. Perhaps it would have been better if the story had been told in a linear fashion. The biggest problem is when the flashbacks end and the movie returns to the present, where Knievel and his wife, Sue Lyons (who is basically window dressing and shares zero chemistry with Hamilton; and although the supporting cast contains a couple of familiar faces, they are lackluster) are spending the day behind-the-scenes at the Ontario Motor Speedway, where Knievel make a jump that evening.

Little of this material is good and is contrasts badly with the flashbacks. Hamilton's performance even suffers in the present-time scenes. He comes across as a stiff, pompous, bellyacher. Part of this is due to Knievel the iconic hero being portrayed as a high-maintenance griper, without the winning "bad boy" qualities Hamilton plays so well in the flashbacks, when he's a likable, non-dangerous hood.

His real private life became all-too-public and ugly at the height of his fame. A number of documentaries (with which Knievel cooperated) have shown about what the daredevil's private life was REALLY like, this is understandable (think of a boozing, out-of-control, sex-addicted rock star, besieged by groupies, enjoying a different woman every day and often more than one—his personal record for a single day was something like seven women). Unfortunately, the films suffers badly as a result.

This was another piece of merchandise cranked out when Knievel was a household name and an incredibly popular hero whose image was on posters, lunch boxes, his own cartoon series,and even an Evel Knievel, motorcycle-riding doll by Mattel. So we get a sanitized version of Knievel's life in keeping with the squeaky-clean public persona that never was. That's one reason why the flashbacks are probably more entertaining—they're closer to the truth.

Even so, Knievel is good, clean fun and I've always liked its theme song, although I don't know who sang it and it never charted.

This is a biopic of Evel Knievel with George Harrison playing the larger than life stunt rider/dare devil Bobby Knievel.

The film is told through remembered highlights of his life while he is preparing for a big jump in front of thousands. He grew up in Butte, Montana which he described as being dangerous because there were mines ready to collapse every where. His inspiration may have come from his first daredevil show that his grandmother took him to in which one gentleman blew himself up with dynamite and another guy got smashend to death on a retaining wall. "I found it to be a very moving experience."-Bobby Knievel

It then goes on to show Bobby stealing in a very public way from the safe of a local store...then dynomiting through the wall of City Hall to steal tax money. Both of these were done in a way that showed just how charismatic he really was. Everyone seems to know him in his home town, including the police.

He meets his future wife, Linda, when she is still in high school and he is a bit of a show off hoodlum dropout. While showing off to Linda, he gets himself arrested and thrown in jail for reckless driving. While in jail it is discovered during role call that he is in the clink with a man nick-named "awful" knoffl and thus was born his moniker "Evel" Knievel.

Evel started motorcycle jumping at a rodeo as Bobby and his jumps just got more elaborate as Evel. They were performed in front of bigger and bigger audiences. They showed that he had a contentious relationship with his doctor who continued to reset all of the bones he broke in his daredevil stunt mishaps.

He was famous for saying repeatedly, "Fear is not a word in my vocabulary."

The movie all leads up to a big jump in front of a huge crowd and end with him driving his motorcycle up to the Grand Canyon, a jump he always wanted to make.

When I was a child in the 70's I actually had one of the Evel Knievel stunt bikes and I ran into Evel at a gas station in Post Falls, Idaho where we were both gassing up...of course he was in his sixties at the time and it would be close to the end of his life.

"The only choice left to us is death...and mine will be glorious!"-Evel Knievel.

This was actually a fun biopic. I appreciated George Hamilton's confident take on such a charismatic character.