The Last Of The Gladiators: Evel Knievel

"Legend", "Myth", "Hero", "Warrior" reads the back of the video box. One might also add Self-Righteous Egotist; but that doesn't diminish the first four. Robert (a.k.a. Evel) Knievel is a paradox, and this film, which features several on-screen comments from Knievel is his authorized docu-biography. Stories of his early childhood (often dramatized with clips from the film starring George Hamilton) are related by the locals in Butte, Montana where Knievel grew up. A daredevil entrepreneur, Knievel soon discovered that people were willing to pay for the chance to see a stunt (especially a life-threatening stunt). All of the great jumps are included here: the 1968 Caesar's Palace crack-up, the 1974 Canadian National Expo world-record breaking jump, and the failed Snake River Canyon rocket-bike jump. Whether you find Knievel obnoxious or not is somewhat beside the point. There's an old street saying: "If you're gonna talk the talk, you've got to walk the walk". Knievel has done precisely that. During his career he made over 300 jumps, and broke over 60 bones in 15 major crashes. Recommended.