5/26/15

Being Evel

As you can tell by the spelling, this award-winning documentary from the US to the 2015 Seattle International Film Festival, is about Evel Knievel a dare-devil who made a career out of being a dare-devil. Nominated at both the SXSW Film Festival (Audience Award) and Sundance (Grand Jury Prize), this film won Grand Prize at the Boulder International Film Festival.

Through Director Daniel Junge, we meet a motorcycle hotdogger named Robert "Evel" Knievel, a goofy guy from Butte, Montana. He is described by Johnny Carson as "the only man in history who has become very wealthy by trying to kill himself."

We enjoy humorous interviews with articulate friends, colleagues and family members who have witnessed the astonishing arc of his life. For example, in 37 years of broadcasting, the Wide, Wide World of Sports says out of their ten all-time top shows, seven of them feature Evel Knievel. That's quite a statistic, and it's only the beginning.

Junge takes us to Evel's iconic jumps: Caesar's Palace, Wimbledon, Snake River and many others you will recognize; but he also takes us through our hero's meltdown and decline. We also see the impact Knievel has on today's sports.

Jay says, "This is a funny, involving, informative and interesting documentary."

SIFF says, "Wear a helmet."
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This is trailer is from an unusual source:
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