Richard Hammond Meets Evel Knievel - Subject

Subject

The documentary is based around the Evel Knievel Days event in Butte, Montana. The presenter, Richard Hammond, spends four days with former motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel. Knievel, by now 69 years old, had become very ill, requiring an oxygen tank strapped up to him constantly to aid with breathing. 48 hours before the film crew arrived, Knievel had a stroke. At several points during filming, Knievel cuts the interview short and leaves before Hammond has finished asking questions.

During the festival Knievel was meant to lead a bike parade, and invited Hammond to ride alongside him, but he was taken to hospital and was unable to lead the parade. He later showed up at the end of the day. On the last day of the festival fellow daredevil Trigger Gumms completed a jump over double what Evel jumped. The day after in the local newspaper Knievel stated he was not impressed with the jump.

Hammond also conducts interviews with Knievel's former bodyguard Gene Sullivan, former daredevil Debbie Lawler and his former publicist Shelly Saltman, who was assaulted by Knievel in 1977, an attack which destroyed Evel's reputation and eventually caused him to declare himself bankrupt. On the final day of filming, Evel asked Hammond to go and view his tombstone which he had paid for himself.

Archive clips shown during the programme and discussed with Knievel include his jumps at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Snake River Canyon, Idaho and Wembley Stadium, London as well as his conversion in the Crystal Cathedral in California. Evel died four months after the show was filmed but before the programme was first broadcast.

Knievel is sympathetically but, at the same time, revealingly portrayed as a bitter old man that surely lives up to his legend (showing up for disturbing screenings and even more challenging interviews about his former traumatic failures, despite being ill and in excruciating pain, but displaying nothing more than a grudgy attitude), but is reluctant to face the moral challenges that come with re-living his relationships with his family, his "rock'n'roll star" behaviour patterns and, ultimately, the issue of surviving his career by a long stretch. Knievel's inner controversies are captured in his reluctance to be interviewed by Hammond in the first place, and punctuated by editing and writing of the documentary. Hammond feels somewhat embarrassed to pursue his goal of clarifying the feelings of Evel about his career during the interviews (given the struggle between admiration and ire of being constantly put off by Knievel), and thus gives the viewer even more insight into the Evel's personality and the phenomenon behind his popularity. Finally, the film clearly shows Knievel shutting himself off the BBC filming team, as he finally thanks Hammond in a polite way, but firmly advises him to "get on his airplane and get outta here".