Heavy Metal in Baghdad
by Eddy Moretti, Suroosh Alvi
List Price:
Our Price: $2.51
You Save: $17.44 (87%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.60 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Eddy Moretti, Faisal Talal, Firas al Lateef, Marwan Reyad, Suroosh AlviDirector: Eddy Moretti, Suroosh Alvi
Brand: Hart Sharp Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Surround Sound, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 148 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-06-10
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Model: 670498
Studio: Arts Alliance America
Product features:
- In the late summer of 2006, in the middle of the insurgency, filmmakers Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi traveled to Baghdad to meet and interview the only heavy metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda. "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" is the story of the band and its members, young Iraqis whose lives have been distorted and displaced by years of continual warfare in their homeland. The filmmakers have coll
DVD Reviews of Heavy Metal in Baghdad
DVD Review: A first-rate documentary...with METAL!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Heavy Metal in Baghdad" chronicles a mere three years of the existence of Iraq's only heavy metal band, Acrassicauda (latin for Black Scorpion). It's an eventful three years. The band endured a war, a gunshot wound, gigs played with intermittent electricity, and a destroyed practice space before fleeing their country and learning a lot about the world and the true meaning of metal in the process. And you too will learn more about real musicians and Iraq in this 90 minutes then in 100 years of 24-7 coverage on any mainstream news channel. This is documentary filmmaking at it's very best.
The band began under the rule of Saddam Hussein, whose thugs told them that they could only perform if they wrote and played a tribute song for Hussein in person. Yes, that man really was that full of himself. The band derisively recounts that the tune itself wasn't bad but the lyrics praising the dictator by name were "just a bunch of [...] lies and sh!+". Note that the members of the band "perfected" their English by listening to Slayer albums. But even in this hardcore Islamist climate where wearing a Slipknot shirt is reason enough to be shot on sight, people hunger for the raw energy and catharsis that only heavy metal can provide. The drummer has to fill his instrument with clothing to keep the noise down, and any expression of an art form viewed as evil and American risks their lives, but these people do it anyways. The crowds bang their heads even though they are chastised for it's resemblance to Jewish prayer, they mosh politely on their knees so that they don't obscure the view to the tiny stage, they don Sepultera and Megadeth shirts; like you and me they live for this. The difference between there and here is, they sometimes die for it. Western metal bands sing about death. These guys live it.
One member of Acrassicauda recalls being shot as he drove down the street following America's "Mission Accomplished". With 300 civilian deaths daily, the young man asks if this is our democracy and freedom. "[...] this democracy", he states matter of factly. Looking at his bombed-out neighborhood, it's hard to argue. When the band's practice space is hit by a rocket and destroyed along with their instruments after the extreme pains they took to put together a mere 6 shows in 5 years as the only metal band in Iraq, it's even harder. In a city where the only music store was driven out of business because of death threats, vigilante Islamist militias disguise themselves as the police, and neighbors and friends don't see each other for months because going out in the street is not a risk they are willing to take, it's DAMN hard to feel good about Bush's brand of democracy. Particularly when the media continues to report how pleased the Iraqi citizens are with their new overlords. Acrassicauda's bassist delivers a firey lecture on just how far the news coverage has been from reality. Lots of f-bombs are dropped. He also points out that the whole jihad thing is a myth propagated by the media. The truth: almost all Muslims are indistinguishable from anybody else walking down the street in any city in the world. Seeing real footage of real people in Baghdad, you'd never think it was the same place portrayed in our media.
"Heavy Metal in Baghdad" is a true reality check for both music fans and people who think they can know a damn thing about the world from watching the news. When a bandmember holds up an Iron Maiden album cover and declares "this is what life looks like here", he laughs but he's not joking. Armored humvees fill the streets, Apache helicopters fly by, they can tell which explosions are missiles and which are car bombs. This is real life to these people. When Acrassicauda's formerly non-political singer directs his anger at the audience and accuses that this is the stuff we turn off when it comes on our television, I saw a man who'd grown up a lot. He had previously declared that the band was not political and that he would change the channel when that stuff came on. But three years of watching your country die and being forced to flee to Syria where he was not allowed to travel freely simply because of his nationality taught him a lesson. Life is not fair, and we have no right to treat people as second-class world citizens simply because they were born in the wrong geographical area. The previously non-political band records the first heavy metal album ever in the world's oldest city, Damascus. Among the songs is a bitter, heartfelt view of the war that took his country from him. Now he truly gets what metal is all about.
The band's reunion performance in Damascus is fantastic to watch unfold. At first, a very few people show up and the band declares to the cameras that this will be Acrassicauda's final show. Risking your life to play this music just is not worth it if nobody even shows up to your gigs. The band timidly opens with an 80's hair band cheese classic, having decided that they would stick to covers and try not to frighten away the small crowd they did have. More people show up. The band breaks in something a little heavier: a little Guns n' Roses. The crowd continues growing in both size and excitement. Acrassicauda breaks into Metallica's "Fade to Black". The audience explodes. Soon, the group's ultra-heavy original material is whipping the crowd into a frenzy; guess they won't be breaking up after all. The simple fact is that music is a universal language. Contrary to whatever regime is in power or what the social norms of a region are, there will always be an audience for true, passionate music that speaks to our deepest feelings. It is a global phenomenon and it cannot be suppressed.
"Heavy Metal in Baghdad" speaks to the viewer on many levels and does an amazing job of educating without ever talking down to the audience. It shows us reality when all we get on television is propaganda and lies. It shows us what it really means to have a passion for music; even if it invites your own death. When asked why he would even take the risk of wearing a metal t-shirt, the musician simply states that he believes in his fate whatever it may be and he's ready to die if necessary. How many top-40 fans would say such a thing? Every emo kid who spends more time on his hair then practicing his instrument, every hardcore wannabe who screams venom at the parents who paid for his instruments, every trendchaser looking to make it big because you want to be rich and famous: take a good hard look. Acrassicauda is everything a true band or artist should strive to be. The worst thing that will ever happen in your life is better then these guys' best day and they still carry on doing what they love ONLY because they love doing it. If only we could all have that kind of integrity of character.
Description of Heavy Metal in Baghdad
Heavy Metal in Baghdad is a documentary feature film that follows the Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda (Latin for a deadly black scorpion native to Iraq) from the fall of Saddam Hussein to their escape from Iraq. The band members - Firas (bass), Tony (lead guitar), Marwan (drums) and Faisal (lead vocals and rhythm guitar) - were bred on American heavy metal albums, learning to speak English by listening to Slayer, Metallica and Slipknot. Playing heavy metal in a Muslim country has always been a difficult (if not impossible) proposition, but, after Saddam s regime was toppled, there was a brief moment for the band in which real freedom seemed possible. That hope was quickly dashed as their country fell into a bloody insurgency. Bonus Features include: 45 Minute Featurette: HEAVY METAL IN ISTANBUL - the documentary that picks up where Heavy Metal in Baghdad left off 7 Additional & Deleted Scenes: 30 minutes of extra content including extended interviews with the band plus a meeting with the Iraqi Godfather in Syria 3 Live Performances: Acrassicauda Live! - Original Acrassicauda songs Underworld;King Without A Throne; Message From Baghdad performed in 2006 & 2008 8 Page Booklet: including the original Vice magazine article No War For Heavy Metal Theatrical TrailerBestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolutionby Salman Ahmad
Free Press; Published: 2010-01-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.24
Price in other shops:
Until the Light Takes Us (2009 Limited 2 Disc Set)Release date: 2010-10-19; DVD
Best price: $18.80
Price in other shops:
Heavy Metal in Baghdad: The Story of Acrassicaudaby Andy Capper, Vice Media, Gabi Sifre
MTV Books; Published: 2009-11-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.12
Price in other shops:
Anvil: The Story of AnvilVIS; Release date: 2009-10-06; DVD
Best price: $3.70
Price in other shops:
Heavy Metal in Baghdad: The Story of Acrassicaudaby Andy Capper, Vice Media, Gabi Sifre
MTV Books; Published: 2009-11-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Acrassicauda - Only The Dead See The End Of The War (EP)Release date: 2010-03-09; Music CD
Best price: $3.23
Price in other shops:
Get ThrashedUni; Release date: 2008-09-16; DVD
Best price: $5.18
Price in other shops:
Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance, and the Struggle for the Soul of Islamby Mark LeVine
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2008-07-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.40
Price in other shops:
Global MetalWarner Brothers; Release date: 2009-07-21; DVD
Best price: $16.95
Price in other shops:
Metal - A Headbanger's Journeywhv; Release date: 2006-05-23; DVD
Best price: $12.47
Price in other shops: