Dancing Outlaw DVD

Dancing Outlaw is a classic documentary of a tap dancer and Elvis impersonator from Boone County, West Virginia. The documentary is both comical and sad but it gives a glimpse of life that you probably would not believe unless you saw it. I've first saw a dubbed version of this video several years ago that was of rather poor quality. I recently found "Dancing Outlaw" as well as "Dancing Outlaw II, Jesco Goes To Hollywood" both on a single DVD. The DVD is available for $59.95 on www.dancingoutlaw.com. I purchased the DVD and have now viewed the recently released DVD and it is of much better quality that the VHS tape and offers all the advantages of DVD including the viewing quality not diminishing with use and time.

I own a copy and I highly recommend it.

The Dancing Outlaw is a great video documentary which goes through the quotidian routine of a very abnormal man--Jesco White. He has coined himself the "last mountain dancer" and does a form of tap dancing set to old-timey country music (mainly, The Wildwood Flower.) Where the video is so interesting is in its portrayal of his obvious mental illness(es) including his split personality syndrome (Jesco/Jesse/Elvis,) his dysfunctional and somewhat abusive relationship with his wife Norma, and his brain damage from huffing too much lighter fluid in his troubled youth. You'll see what he does for fun (mud bogging, etc) and basically explore all the areas of this man's life. Even with the obvious humor, it is presented in a very artistic fashion, leaving an intelligent viewer to question how someone from dirt poor roots with this level of mental illness could still exist in this day and age. Yet even more puzzling is that he seems very happy with what most people would consider a pathetic life.

However, most people with whom I've seen the documentary totally miss the social commentary and treat it as a comedy. "Ha ha look at those dumb hillbillies" and "wow West Virginia must be a really weird place" kinds of reactions. If that's all you take from the documentary, you're the unsophisticated one. Do not make broad generalizations about the people of Appalachia or of working-class and rural populations based on the film.

As a fellow West Virginian (I live in North Central WV, in a college town)I can say that everything you see is 100% real. In my youth I played in several bands around West Virginia, and played my share of "house parties" and "outdoor parties" - this is exactly how it goes down in rural WV. I personally know (or knew) guys just Like Jesco and his family. Some are dead now, and some haven't changed in the last 30 years. Many of these types aren't tortured by their own demons or environment, but just like to have fun! I have attended "trailer parties" out in "the country" as we refer to even more rural WV locations, and a few of them I remember make the "mud-boggin'" segment seem like croquet in the Hamptons. However, not to take away from this very true and excellent documentary, if you want a picture of rural Appalachian "Americana", then by all means get this video. You can even Google Jesco White and find an address to write him! P.S.: this lifestyle isn't near-extinct as you might think. You could drive 20 miles in any direction from North Central WV and find carbon copies of guys like Jesco & family!

I was given a copy of this program several years ago, together with a 30-minute segment containing clips that never made it into the original. Since I no longer own a VHS machine, I came looking for a DVD version, and even though I did not find one, felt compelled to correct a quote in the previous review (Stu, July 16, 2004). A review was born.
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"Dancing Outlaw" is the story of Jesco White and his family, all living in rural West Virginia. It is never clear what Jesco actually does for a living, though his identity certainly hinges on Elvis impersonation and filling the shoes (literally) of his now-deceased father, whose tap dancing skills are legendary in "the holler", where they all live.

It is an oversimplification to say this film is funny and engrossing because it showcases hillbillies. If that's all you're looking for, there is probably something more shocking and comic on "reality TV". "Dancing Outlaw" succeeds because it is a story first and foremost, and because that story is told by the participants.

My objection to Stu's partial quote is that it completely strips the intensity from the scene. Jesco (referring to an incident with his wife, Norma Jean): "...I took the butcher knife and put it up to her neck, and said, 'If you want to live...to see tomorrow...you better start fryin' them eggs better then what you been fryin' em. I'm tired of eatin' slimy, sloppy eggs'"

And that is by no means the most memorable Jesco quote from the film. I was a bit more interested in his mother, the self-described "Miracle Woman" who seemingly has buried more children than most of us will ever even raise, and who hosts Saturday night parties in her house that would instantly draw police attention in your neighborhood or mine.

Ultimately, "Dancing Outlaw" is too rich to describe in this small space. The film engrossed me in the same manner as "Hands on a Hard Body" and "Brother's Keeper" did. In each, I learned of a subculture I could not comprehend living right here in my own country. And each is compelling human drama. Jesco's story stands out in that I can always be talked into watching it one more time.

It's both. It's "Dancing Outlaw" and it may very well be the scariest film ever made.

Dancing Outlaw" is the true story of Jesco (Jescoe, Jessco?) White, the most ignorant, backward, and flat out insane hillbilly to ever cut a rug on top of a doghouse. Remember all of those jokes about West Virginians? Well, those people exist and Jesco is one of them. Jesco and wife make the average Jerry Springer guest look like Ward Cleaver.

Besides dancing, Jesco likes to pretend he is Elvis, huff paint, drink, and terrorize his pathetic wife (...So I held the butcher knife up to her neck, right? And I said, "Woman! What did I tell you about cooking them sloppy slimey eggs!?") Jesco is obviously mentally disturbed and that will make you feel even worse about laughing at him. Some might find this documentary to be a bit too cruel. However, I got the feeling that the filmakers actually kind of liked Jesco. It is true, though, that a pretty dark view of humanity is presented here. This is very black comedy and the fact that it is real actually just gives it all a tragic significance. There are a lot of Jescos out there. I have never been so horrified and so amused at the same time.

This tape is expensive; too expensive for me. If you have the money, grab it. This movie will be THE cult classic for years to come. I thought it was out of print, but there it is.