Released to "commemorate the King of the Daredevil's milestone 30th anniversary of his Snake River Canyon jump"--which, incidentally, was an abysmal failure--Evel Knievel's Spectacular Jumps offers a visual catalogue of the virtuoso motorcycle stuntman's greatest hits and misses, intercut with interview segments in which Knievel sings his own praises, waxes patriotic, and counsels stadium audiences to stay off drugs. Say what you will about Knievel's oft-grating persona, the man could ride and jump a bike: from the world-famous January 1, 1968 Caesar's Palace smash-up (arguably one of the most well-known film clips from the '60s, which was shot by Linda Evans, later starring on TV's Dynasty) to the world-record-setting August 20, 1974 Canadian Expo jump (135 feet over 13 eight-foot-wide Mack trucks), nearly all of Knievel's jumps live up to the title's claim of being "spectacular." Originally released on VHS, this 1987 production has been given a lackluster DVD transfer, with obvious aliasing problems on some of the interview clips (though the jumps themselves look clear). Still, given the near-mythic status of the man, who made over 300 jumps, and broke over 60 bones in 15 major crashes, this bargain-priced DVD (which also includes text career highlights and a biography) is a strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)
Evel Knievel's Spectacular Jumps
(1987) 28 min. DVD: $9.95. Kultur. Color cover. ISBN: 0-7697-1793-4. Volume 19, Issue 6
Evel Knievel's Spectacular Jumps
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