Documentary
In the history of sports, few names are more recognizable than that of Evel Knievel. Long after the man hung up his famous white leather jumpsuit and rode his Harley into the sunset, his name is still synonymous with the death-defying lifestyle he led. Notoriously brash, bold, and daring, Knievel stared death in the face from the seat of his motorcycle, but few know the larger-than-life story of the boy from Butte, Montana.
Directors
Evel Knievel
Self (archive footage)
Johnny Knoxville
Self
George Hamilton
Self
Travis Pastrana
Self
Mat Hoffman
Self
Tony Hawk
Self
Krystal Knievel
Self
Geraldo Rivera
Self
Robbie Knievel
Self
Tim Perior
Self
Directors
User reviews1
Review
Featured review
Released in 2015 and directed by Daniel Junge, “Being Evel” is a documentary on the rise, glory and fall of the stuntman who started the sport of motorcycle jumping and was the catalyst to widespread daredevilry of the sort.
To let you know how great this documentary is, I decided to check out 15-20 minutes when it was already past my bedtime and I ended up viewing the whole film. It’s THAT compelling. The movie contains interviews with every primary person linked to Robert 'Evel' Knievel, including associates, employees, relatives, reporters and those he inspired. It’s such a fascinating story of a flawed man who was obsessed with success and recognition to the point he regularly risked life and limb.
Family members point out that they lost Bobby Knievel to Evel Knieval as he conquered the world with his daredevilry and ensuing fame. To cope with the stress of regularly facing death and the ever-increasing pain of his multiple wounds he turned to alcohol, meds and loose sex. By the time of his Snake River Canyon jump he was so anxious he turned on the reporters, which was a bad move since they were the ground laborers that assisted his fame. After his 1977-78 conviction and six months prison sentence for assaulting the writer of his biography (which everyone involved said was accurate and, if anything, too tame), he lost most of his marketing endorsements and deals, including Harley-Davidson and Ideal Toys, which led to his bankruptcy.
Despite his glaring downfall, the movie thankfully ends on a very positive note.
The film runs 99 minutes.
GRADE: A+
Wuchak25 Feb, 2018
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