BMX Bandits / Evel Knievel Double Feature [DVD]

Nicole Kidman (Primary Contributor), George Hamilton (Primary Contributor), David Argue (Actor), Sue Lyons (Actor)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2004

This disc includes two full-length feature films: BMX Bandits, starring Nicole Kidman in one of her first roles; and Evel Knievel, a biography of the world's most famous daredevil, portrayed by George Hamilton.

Product Details

• DVD
• Publisher: Family Value Collection (2004)
• ASIN: B000BP5LZS
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,054,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Two Movies For Bikers On A Budget, November 27, 2011

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: BMX Bandits / Evel Knievel Double Feature (DVD)

This low budget DVD contains two movies on one disc. It is cheaply made and you should temper your expectations of greatness (or even goodness) with the knowledge that it's very inexpensive.

This edition of "BMX Bandits" is a technical disaster. There is a new (2011) anamorphic version available that evidently fixes the malfunctioning menus, washed out colors, and frequently inaudible sound found here (it's probably the worst sound quality I have ever heard on any DVD.) It's even available on Blu-ray! For fans of the movie that's great news, but I couldn't stop wondering why anyone would go through the effort.

I understand watching movies for nostalgic reasons and there are a few films that I feel that way about, and I respectfully realize that this film has a following. I don't get it though: it's in the Australian coming of age comedic crime bungle genre, and stars a very young Nicole Kidman as Judy, who with her friends P. J. (the wonderfully named Angelo D'Angelo) and Goose (James Lugton,) ride their bicycles over, on, and through things in one big chase. Kidman even takes her BMX down a water slide. Don't even ask why. That's pretty much it. The film pits the teens against organized crime and the police to control some stolen goods. What is this incredible cache, you ask? A set of amazingly clunky police radios. There must not be much crime in Australia, because the cops make this their highest priority case, and before it's over we are treated to dramatic interactions with robbers in pig masks, lots of boating (in)action, a pointless chase through a cemetery at night (lightning included, naturally,) and psychoanalysis by radio, among other insipid plotpoints.

To make matters worse, there are some simply wretched 1980s songs and a relentless soundtrack constantly assaulting the audience with boring electronic piano noodling. Of course the big "attraction" here is the BMX riding, which fills endless swaths of screen time. For a film that's really just a series of chases stitched together with a couple of expository sentences about (or on) the stolen walkie talkies, it is stunning how boring this picture can be. The menu didn't work properly in my copy in that I couldn't fast forward (seriously; I could skip chapters though, oddly.) You will see why this is a big deal if you watch the movie.

Sometimes I miss the '80s, too, but there are many better ways of remembering that decade than watching Nicole Kidman and two guys ride bicycles all over Australia. The plot is thin, the acting is terrible, the hair is huge, and the music is like fingernails on a blackboard. In the words of then-First Lady Nancy Reagan, "Just say no."

The heavily narrated 1971 pseudo-biography "Evel Knievel" stars George Hamilton as the legendary "king of the stuntmen," and is by far the better of the two movies. This will be entertaining to anyone interested in motorcycles, bike stunts, Knievel, or fans of George Hamilton. I had an Evel Knievel lunchbox when I was very young, and thought this movie might be nostalgically entertaining. It's entertaining enough, though it's not at all like I thought it would be. Hamilton generally does fine with the role, but the portrait painted isn't necessarily flattering, as he comes off as an arrogant controlling part time criminal. (Among his accomplishments is blowing up the vault in the Butte, Montana city hall.) I have no idea how accurate this picture is, but if it is accurate, he seems like a person who was lucky to escape major jail time, and is someone you might think twice before associating with. I presume that it isn't completely off the mark, as much of Knievel's real stunt footage (especially the dramatic spill in front of Caesar's Palace) is used throughout.

Some of the dialogue is amazingly hambone, but given the legend may be closer to the truth than I would have expected. Hamilton's over-the-top performance seems intentionally directed by Marvin J. Chomsky to make the character look maximally manic. Some other directorial choices are questionable: the story is largely told in flashbacks, but the selection and order of the flashbacks seemed almost random to me, likewise character motivations are elusive. Example: there is a lengthy scene about a store robbery that Knievel engineered to work the local populous up and which (after a false police report) sets law enforcement on edge. This contributes absolutely nothing to the storyline, and succeeds only in making the bar patrons of Butte look totally gullible.

The movie makes Knievel look positively neurotic and self-promoting. I can understand the self-promotion as a showman, but the neurotic part seemed bizarre, e.g. when doing a stunt in the west, he was abuzz with worry about an earthquake swallowing up his landing ramp during mid-jump. (Really?) I do believe he would have made claims like "Fear is not a word in my vocabulary," but had to wonder about the wisdom of having Hamilton claim "I'm a master of all sports" as he dribbles and shoots a basketball with stunning awkwardness. I was, on the other hand, particularly entertained by the escape from a hospital on a motorcycle and the presence of Dub Taylor as a huckster promoter. Outside Knievel himself, my favorite character in the film was easily Doctor Kincaid (Bert Freed,) the man with positively the worst bedside manner I have ever seen in any movie. I especially loved how Kincaid would keep doing surgeries to repair Knievel's broken appendages, and would take particular time out to note how well his previous repairs had held up in the latest crash. Priceless.

The quality of this print is about what you would expect from an early 1970s film with a modest budget, with some bad color reproduction, optical flaws, and notable hiss on the soundtrack (though hugely better than "BMX Bandits.") Having said that, nothing was really distracting, so if you're interested in the subject matter it won't be a problem. Interestingly, the fast forward function also failed to work on this side of the disc, but unlike on "BMX Bandits," there was really no pressing need for it. "Evel Knievel" passes the time quickly, and though the protagonist doesn't come across as a particularly admirable man in some ways, the things he could do on a motorcycle are still the stuff of legend.