Evel Knievel: to like him, or to loathe him?

Legendary stuntman’s flawed character is revealed in new documentary

REMEMBER JOHNNY KNOXVILLE? He of TV reality stunt and idiocy show Jackass? Well, it’s probably no surprise that the late Evel Knievel was a hero of his, and so he set out to produce a documentary on the man – resulting in Being Evel, produced and narrated by Knoxville. It’s brilliant. Rather than indulging in pure hero worship, Knoxville has covered the good and bad sides to Knievel: the latter included womanising, drinking and violence to a quite shocking extent. As the story unfolds, Knievel’s ever-crazier stunts and ever-increasing injuries give Being Evel a compelling can’t-look-away quality, as the ageing stuntman careers towards his inevitable downfall. All this is achieved through well-chosen archive footage of Kneivel’s stunts and TV appearances. These are mixed in with interviews of former colleagues, friends and relatives, including…

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Octane (Digital) - 1 Issue, December 2015

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