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The Devil at Your Heels

1981 · 103 min

A slow-burn documentary that builds tension through years of preparation, culminating in a spectacular, sobering crash.

Tagline
The story of a daredevil... Ken Carter wants to jump a car a mile
Overview
Devil at Your Heels, traces the trials of stuntman Ken Carter who attempts a death-defying aerial jump in a car. Not content with a normal jump, Ken Carter attempts a jump from Canada to the USA. This feature-length documentary shines a light on the intense preparation that led to Carter’s first attempt to jump a car across a mile-wide stretch of the St. Lawrence River – a 5-year period during which the dare-devil raised a million dollars, erected a 10-storey take-off ramp and built a rocket-powered car. Winner of the Canadian Screen Award for Best Feature Length Documentary at the 4th Genie Awards in 1983.

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Free in the UK
  • Filmzie
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 1 of 3
  • earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • obsession
  • ambition
  • survival
  • betrayal
  • fate
Places
  • countryside
  • road trip
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action4
Horror1
Humour3
Realism9
Romance0
Tension6
Darkness4
Complexity5
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Free
  • Filmzie

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
documentary
Directed by
Robert Fortier
Written by
Charles Lazer, David Wilson
Starring
Gordon Pinsent, Ken Carter, Evel Knievel, Dar Robinson, Robert Fortier, Kenny Powers, Mark Sennet, Hugh Kennedy
Music
Art Phillips
Cinematography
Barry Perles
Runtime
103 min
Country
Canada
Languages
English

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