''Evel Knievel'' is a 2004 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

John Badham John MacDonald Badham (born August 25, 1939) is an American film and television director, best known for directing the films ''Saturday Night Fever'' (1977), ''Dracula (1979 film), Dracula'' (1979), ''Blue Thunder'' (1983), ''WarGames'' (1983), ...

and written by

Jason Horwitch Jason Horwitch is an American film and television writer. He is the recipient of the Writers Guild of America’s Paul Selvin Award for FX’s '' The Pentagon Papers''. Horwitch created AMC’s conspiracy thriller television series ''Rubicon'' an ...

, about American

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

and entertainer

Evel Knievel Robert Craig Knievel (October 17, 1938November 30, 2007), known professionally as Evel Knievel (), was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Throughout his career, he attempted List of Evel Knievel career jumps, more than 75 ramp-to-ra ...

. Based on the 2000 biography ''Evel Incarnate'' by Steve Mandich, the film stars

George Eads George Coleman Eads III (born March 1, 1967) is an American actor, known for his role as Nick Stokes on the CBS police drama '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. He later starred as Jack Dalton on the CBS action-adventure series ''MacGyver'' fo ...

as Knievel, with

Jaime Pressly Jaime Elizabeth Pressly (born July 30, 1977) is an American actress and model. Known for her role as Joy Turner on the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'' (2005–2009), she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy ...

Lance Henriksen Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in various science fiction, action and horror genre productions, including Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise and Frank Black in the Fox television series ...

Fred Thompson Freddie Dalton Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a Unite ...

Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor. He is a three-time Emmy Award, Emmy, two-time Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nomine ...

Matt Gordon Matt Gordon (born 1969) is a Canadian actor, perhaps best known for playing Doc in the sports sitcom ''Rent-a-Goalie'', and for his portrayal of Officer Oliver Shaw in the drama series ''Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police pr ...

and

Peter MacNeill Peter MacNeill is a Canadian film and television actor and voice-over artist who has starred in numerous television series and films. His film credits have included '' The Hanging Garden'' (for which MacNeill won a Genie Award for Best Support ...

. The film premiered on

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

on July 30, 2004. The movie is well known for its many gaffes and inaccurate portrayal of Knievel and his career.

Plot

The film begins with Knievel preparing to jump the fountains at

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

in front of a large audience. A flashback to

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the 2 ...

in 1950, 12-year-old Bobby Knievel steals some hubcaps and then escapes on his bicycle before being caught and arrested. In 1958, while working for the

Anaconda Mining Company The Anaconda Company, also known historically as the Anaconda Gold and Silver Mining Company (1881–1891), Anaconda Mining Company (1891–1895), Anaconda Copper Mining Company (1895–1899), Amalgamated Copper Company (1899–1915), and Anacon ...

, he observes the lung damage affecting the older miners and resolves to make a living performing motorcycle stunts instead. He meets Linda Bork, whose friends advise her to stay away from him. They marry and have two children as Knievel's reputation as a stunt rider grows. Knievel makes a deal to jump the fountains at

on New Years Eve 1967 (subtitled with the incorrect date of 1968 and using

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

's 1974 song "

Call Me the Breeze "Call Me the Breeze" is a rock song by J. J. Cale. It first appeared on his 1972 debut album, '' Naturally'', as the opening track. The song consists of a 12-bar blues guitar shuffle and features the early use of a drum machine. Lynyrd Skynyrd ...

").

John Derek John Derek (born Derek Delevan Harris; August 12, 1926 – May 22, 1998) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer.

and his wife

Linda Evans Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is a retired American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s, she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck), in the Wes ...

film the event. Knievel's assistant Bill tries to keep alcohol away from him but Knievel finds it and drinks some. He clears the fountains but tumbles off of his motorcycle from the force of the landing. He breaks many bones, including his pelvis, and falls into a coma. Linda stays with him at the hospital until he awakens. The doctors tell her that they have inserted metal rods to hold his bones in place and that Knievel will never be able to jump again but when he leaves the hospital he continues to tell the press that he will jump the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

. Knievel fights with Linda over his desire to return to doing stunts. In 1970, an employee of the

Ideal Toy Company Ideal Toy Company was an American toy company founded by Morris Michtom and his wife, Rose. During the post–World War II baby boom era, Ideal became the largest doll-making company in the United States. Their most popular dolls included Betsy ...

attends an event where he witnesses Evel Knievel get into a fight with bikers after one throws a tire iron at him. Knievel's fans attack the bikers and injure several. Recognizing his broad appeal, Ideal creates a line of Evel Knievel action figures. During a rafting trip, Knievel, his two sons, and his father-in-law John Bork fall out of the raft. Knievel is unable to reach John, who is carried away by the river and dies. On August 20, 1974, at the

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual fair that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Labour Day (Canada), ...

, Knievel has his sons Kelly and

Robbie Robbie and Robby, also Robbi and Roby, are given names. They are usually encountered as a nickname or a shortened form of Robert, Rob or Robin. The name experienced a significant rise in popularity in Northern Ireland in 2003. Robbie is also a s ...

ride as part of the performance. Unable to get a permit to jump the Grand Canyon, Knievel conducts test jumps over Snake River Canyon using rockets. The jump is broadcast on

closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

on September 8, 1974, and Knievel gets into a fight with one of the reporters before the jump. He ultimately uses the

Skycycle X-2 The Skycycle X-2 was a steam rocket, steam-powered rocket owned by Evel Knievel and flown during his Snake River Canyon (Idaho), Snake River Canyon jump in Idaho in 1974. An earlier prototype was designed, named the Skycycle X-1, by Douglas Malew ...

for the jump but the parachute deploys early and the drag prevents Knievel from reaching his intended landing spot. He instead crashes into the river bank at the bottom of the canyon but manages to survive. The public is dissatisfied and the media criticizes his effort. In October 1975, Knievel performs his second stunt since the failed jump over Snake River Canyon. He jumps fourteen buses at

Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Islan ...

Mason, Ohio Mason is a city in southwestern Warren County, Ohio, United States, approximately north of downtown Cincinnati. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, Mason's population was 34,792. It is home to Kings Island amusement park and one of ...

to break his previous record. He retires from motorcycle jumping in 1980 and moves to Florida. The film ends with a compilation of footage of Knievel's jumps and crashes.

Cast

Production

Filming took place in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

References

External links

* {{John Badham 2004 television films 2004 films 2004 biographical drama films 2004 in American television 2000s American films 2000s English-language films American biographical drama films American biographical television films American drama television films Biographical films about entertainers Cultural depictions of Evel Knievel English-language biographical drama films Films about stunt performers Films based on biographies Films directed by John Badham Films scored by Stewart Copeland Films set in the 1950s Films set in the 1960s Films set in the 1970s Films set in Idaho Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Films set in Montana Films set in Ohio Films set in Toronto Films shot in Toronto Icon Productions films Television films based on books TNT (American TV network) original films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links