Anvil: The Story of Anvil
by Sacha Gervasi
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DVD details
Actor: Glenn Gyorffy, Kevin Goocher, Robb Reiner, Steve 'Lips' Kudlow, Tiziana ArrigoniDirector: Sacha Gervasi
Brand: Universal Studios
Producer: Sacha Gervasi
Producer: Christopher Soos
Producer: Dana Sano
Producer: Lauren McClard
Producer: Rebecca Yeldham
Producer: Rick Krim
Producer: Sean Barney
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; French Canadian (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 80 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-10-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: VH1 Films
DVD Reviews of Anvil: The Story of Anvil
DVD Review: If you like metal, WATCH IT!
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is really funny and really heartbreaking at the same time.
There are the constant comparisons to spinal tap. I finally watched "this is spinal tap" after seeing this movie and spinal tap just felt flat, phony and uninspired. Nigel Tufnel was a great character, but other than that, the movie felt very slapped together and misdirected.
Anvil on the other hand is, of course, not phony, these are real people and because of that it is a very powerful film. If you like metal, or good documentaries, WATCH IT!!! Also watch the full interview with Lars Ulrich in the bonus features, maybe even watch it first, it will answer alot of questions.
DVD Review: Best Rockumentary Ever
Summary: 5 Stars
Like the best of comedy, drama and documentary has to offer, ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL is a character study focusing on two high-school friends growing up to accomplish their dreams only to see said dream fade away before they were finished with it.
I won't spoil any surprises, but it was (is) great to see that Anvil have found a light at the end of their tunnel.
Sascha Gervasi is indeed a good friend of us all for telling this story.
*A side note. Encouraged to search out other Rockumentary's, I rented METALLICA'S SOME KIND OF MONSTER, and all I can say about that film is Ugh. Lars Ulrich (in case you didn't know) is a brat. I feel sorry for his bandmates.
DVD Review: Never Give Up
Summary: 5 Stars
Anvil: the Story of Anvil chronicles the journey of the band from near fame to near obscurity and back again in the unyielding pursuit of a dream. The band battles through a series of uproariously funny events, maddeningly frustrating encounters, and, finally, agonizingly poignant exchanges. Their story, expressed in the crunch of distorted guitars, the abandon of the stage and the rebelliousness of leather and long hair will excite a very pleasant nostalgia for those steeped in the ethos of 80's metal music. But the incomparable glory of this documentary is that, in the deepest sense, it is not about music at all. Music is simply the means through which deeper themes are voiced. In the end, The Story of Anvil is about loyalty, friendship and perseverence: the single-minded perseverance to follow your deepest aspirations, unbowed, in the teeth of any and all opposition.DVD Review: Be prepared...
Summary: 4 Stars
While this is a great film, don't expect to feel good after watching this. The whole film is mostly really depressing as you watch the lead singer desperately trying to cling to something that just is no longer there. It's interesting, and it's great to see their attitude about the situations they're in, but it's also kind of sad as you realize that this is how most bands turn out, being left behind by the music industry and all but their fiercest fans. As a musician it really pierced my heart even more so. DVD Review: Almost a masterpiece
Summary: 4 Stars
(Caution, spoiler ahead)
This is a wonderfully funny, sad and moving documentary about two close friends who formed a metal band in the early 1980s, made it big very briefly, and then descended into obscurity for decades while the many groups they inspired enjoyed great success. The lead singer and the drummer are in dead end jobs (one delivers school meals, the other operates a power drill) and yet they are convinced, against mounting evidence, that they will make it. What really makes this succeed is the total honesty and emotional openness we see in the two characters, who are often excited, angry or in tears. There are no cold characters here -- everyone, despite their flaws, is warm and honest and reflective.
After a part-hilarious and part-tragic tour of Europe, where the large crowds promised by the hapless promoter singularly fail to materialise, Anvil records a demo tape of their 13th album and reestablishes contact with the English music producer who worked on their first album in the 1980s. He is very blunt about why their star faded so quickly -- bad songs, bad production, bad recording labels and bad promotion. The lead singer borrows $25,000 from his sister to make the album and yet, despite all the effort and sacrifice, it attracts little interest.
(Here's the spoiler). My problem with the documentary is what comes next. The band are as down on their luck as ever, when all of a sudden, they get a phone call from a Japanese promoter who promises them a big gig in Tokyo. Over they go to Japan and hey presto!, they're playing in a huge space in front of thousands and thousands of young screaming fans, finally hitting the big time after all those years of poverty and frustration. This all seemed just a little bit too convenient to me.
That said, the richness of the relationships between the lead singer, the drummer and their families is what makes this stand out. You don't need to know anything about, or even like, metal music. The hapless promoter may be not very good, but she's a warm human being, and ends up marrying one of the back-up band members.
The other notable thing about this delightful work is that it's only 80 minutes long, yet never feels forced. I can't believe it didn't make the Oscars shortlist.
Description of Anvil: The Story of Anvil
AT 14, THEY MADE A PACT TO ROCK TOGETHER FOREVER. THEY MEANT IT.Is Anvil the real Spinal Tap? That's a label that could be applied to any number of hapless hard rock bands, but there's enough evidence in Anvil: The Story of Anvil to suggest that these guys may have, uh, tapped into the motherlode. The parallels are many, including getting lost on the way to a gig, playing before 174 people in a 10,000 capacity venue (in Transylvania, yet), inept management, ridiculous songs (even Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins couldn't match "Thumb Hang," an Anvil tune about the Spanish Inquisition). heck, they even visit (the real) Stonehenge. But dig deeper and you'll find some real heart in this 2007 documentary. Two hearts, actually--the ones belonging to singer-guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner (remove one "b" and you've got the director of This Is Spinal Tap). These two were there when the Canadian metal band formed in the early '80s and went on to share festival stages with the likes of Bon Jovi and Whitesnake. Now, a quarter century later (a new bassist and guitarist joined in the '90s), Reiner and Kudlow are in their fifties, living in Toronto with wives, kids, and menial jobs. But they still haven't given up their undying belief that with a new album (their thirteenth) and couple of breaks, they will be rock stars.
It doesn't happen on a mostly disastrous European tour organized by a well-meaning but inexperienced fan. It doesn't happen when they reunite with British producer Chris Tsangarides (Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy) but find little interest in the new recording. But Kudlow, despite some bleak moments, is remarkably resilient (of the tour, he says, "Things went drastically wrong. But at least there was a tour for them to go wrong on"). And while it's a sad truth that Anvil just isn't that good--they're nowhere near the level of some of the bands they inspired, like Anthrax and Metallica--only the hardest of heart will resist rooting for them. Bonus material includes deleted scenes and commentary by director (and former roadie) Sacha Gervasi. --Sam Graham
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