Film only review
Being a fan of this genre of music in general, I had never heard of Anvil which I found really confusing - how had this band that had influenced so many successful bands escaped my radar?!
This documentary lends some explanation as to why....
Anvil were a Canadian heavy ... Read review
At 14, Toronto school friends Steve Lips Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock ... more
together forever. Their band, Anvil, went on to become the demigods of Canadian metal, releasing one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982's Metal on Metal. The album influenced a musical generation, including Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, that went on to sell millions of records. But Anvil's career took a different path - straight to obscurity.Director Sacha Gervasi has concocted a wonderful and often hilarious account of Anvil's last-ditch quest for elusive fame and fortune. His ingenious filmmaking may first lead you to think this a mockumentary, but it isn't. Gervasi joined the legendary heavy-metal band as a roadie for a tour of Canadian hockey arenas, so he has intimate insight into the members' eccentricities. It's fascinating to see the reality of their day-to-day lives as they struggle to make ends meet, take a misguided European tour, and engage in antics on the road - which is not always lined with fans. Gervasi even finds a softer center to this raucous film, introducing us to band members' ever-supportive, but long-suffering, families. At its core, Anvil! The True Story of Anvil is a timeless tale of survival and the unadulterated passion it takes to follow your dream, year after year. Anvil rocks - it has no other choice.
At 14 school friends Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and Rob Reiner made a pact to rock together ... more
forever. Their band Anvil went on to become the 'demigods of Canadian metal' releasing one of the heaviest albums in metal history 1982's Metal on Metal. The album influenced a musical generaton including Metallica Slayer and Anthrax that went on to sell millions of records. But Anvil's career took a different path - straight to obscurity. Anvil The Story of Anvil is a timeless and at times hilarious feel good tale of survival and the unadulterated passion it takes to follow your dream. Directed by Sasha Gervasi we follow the band as they attempt one last shot at the big time with their thirteenth album 'This is Thirteen' and a calamitous European tour. You don't have to be a metal head to love Anvil. This is an inspirational heart warming and uplifting tale of two best friends who refuse to give up on their dream. Metal on Metal forever!
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Advantages: Entertaining and heartwarming documentary whether you like metal or not Disadvantages: I honestly can't think of any
...I had never heard of Anvil which I found really confusing - how had this band that had influenced so many successful bands escaped my radar?! This documentary lends some explanation as to why....
Anvil were a Canadian heavy metal band formed when singer "Lips" and drummer Robb were just 14. They vowed to stay rocking together forever and they meant it. The documentary starts with footage from a show in the early ... ...and all of them cite Anvil as hugely influential - the blueprint for the musical style they would later become famous for.
So what happened to Anvil? They disappeared off the radar. They were the band that should have made it, but instead you see them at 50 years old, doing their day jobs just like regular guys, still playing with Anvil but not for an income, just because they love it and its "what they do".
Being a fan of this genre of music in general, I had never heard of Anvil which I found really confusing - how had this band that had influenced so many successful bands escaped my radar?! This documentary lends some explanation as to why....
Anvil were a Canadian heavy metal band formed when singer "Lips" and drummer Robb were just 14. They vowed to stay rocking together forever and they meant it. The documentary starts with footage from a show in the early 80s where Anvil played a huge rock show sharing the stage with heavyweights such as Bon Jovi and Whitesnake, to a rapturous reception. It is intercepted with interviews with Tom Araya (Slayer), Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Slash (GnR, Velvet Revolver), Scott Ian (Anthrax, S.o.D) and Lemmy (Motorhead). All of these guys made it big with their respective bands and all of them cite Anvil as hugely influential - the blueprint for the musical style they would later become famous for.
So what happened to Anvil? They disappeared off the radar. They were the band that should have made it, but instead you see them at 50 years old, doing their day jobs just like regular guys, still playing with Anvil but not for an income, just because they love it and its "what they do".
The documentary charts their "one more shot" at the big time - these guys truly believe in themselves and in their music and refuse to give up the dream.
You get to know them a little and you can see they are genuinely nice guys who have true passion for what they do. They may bicker but that's because of the brotherly nature of their friendship. They endear themselves to you in no time - it was only about 5 mins into the film before I was totally rooting for them!!
You get to know their families too - supportive siblings and long suffering wives who have tried to be supportive but also wonder when its time to give up the dream and live in the real world.
Hope comes when European fan Tiziana, offers to manage them through "love and passion" and they embark on a European tour full of excitement only to play to a mere handful of people in some of the venues. They make no money from it and your heart just sinks for them. Returning to Canada dejected but determined to not give up, they contact an English producer Chris Tsangarides who throws them a lifeline when he agrees to produce their new CD - This is Thirteen.
They emerge ecstatic with the end result but hit yet another stumbling block when no major record label would touch them. However, in the true spirit of Anvil they decide to distribute it themselves. The result is a major rock show slot in Japan and the reception they get is enough to warm anyone's heart.
The film is directed by Sacha Gervasi who is a long time Anvil fan and one time roadie for the band. You get the feeling that his long lasting love affair with this band provided the drive to make this movie rather than profits.
On first glance you might feel that if you are not a fan of rock / metal then this film is not for you but I urge you to give it a chance because metal head or not, this is a brilliantly entertaining, heartwarming and well made documentary. It's a tale of determination and spirit that anyone can relate to and feel warmed by!
In the words of one European fan chanting at a gig (and the reason for my title): Anvil, Anvil, Very Good, Very Good!!
Advantages: Best rockumentry for years Disadvantages: Anvil suck
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The narrator and film maker, Sacha Garvesi, was a fan of the band in his youth and so felt he needed to tell the Anvilstory, he too bemused why the band never made it. But any serious rock fans of the time (me) will tell you they weren't melodic enough and that's what the commercial selling point was back then, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi and Def Leopard selling huge volumes of records in that decade on that vibe, Anvil, fatally for them, labelled in the 'New Wave of British Heavy Metal' category, which meant musically ahead of their time but seriously behind in record sales. They carried on banging out records through the 1990s but their seminal effort, 'Metal on Metal', was sadly for them the last sight of the rock periscope as they disappeared under the liquid metal waves, only to resurface in this unexpected, uplifting and funny documentary ...
When my hubby put this put this documentary on the other night, I thought he was having a laugh. We are not into heavy metal at all and the whole thing was about a rock band of this genre. After fifteen minutes of viewing, I was hooked and I'm so glad I gave it a chance as it's one of the best documentaries I've ever seen.
The programme follows Anvil, a heavy metal band which were set to make it 'big' but whilst all the other bands that they first toured with did, they just didn't make it off the starting line. Thirty years on and the band are still together, still rocking and doing the odd gig here and there.
The documentary mainly focuses mainly on 'lips' the lead singer of the band, who is such a nice guy that you can't help but like him. He is so genuine and real throughout the whole thing and not a moment went by where I ...
Documentary is my favourite movie genre for its ability to shock. I have watched some documentaries that, by rights, should not have interested me in the slightest, and yet have completely blown me away: Anvil is one of them.
Anvil are a rock band that started out in the 80s, and looked like they were going to make it big. Cited by top bands as their influence, it looked like it was going to go huge for the band, but it didn?t.
Thirty years on, this documentary follows the band as they try to keep the rock n roll lifestyle going. They never quit, but their following is now so small that they are dragging themselves along by the bare bones.
The film mostly follows Lips, the front-man of the band. He?s so likeable, always positive, and massively passionate. He?s probably the main reason this is such a good documentary, as you can ...
Documentaries & Biographies - Entertainment Biography
Classification
15 years and over
Production Year
2008
Consumer Advice
Contains strong language
Video Category
Feature Film
Country Of Origin
United States of America
Plot
ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL is the sensitive and irresistibly funny story of unsung heroes of Canadian heavy metal Anvil. The band gained a cult following among heavy metal enthusiasts during the eighties, but never really made it in the mainstream rock circuit. But rocking out isn’t just a matter of attitude or luck; it is instead a vocation which Anvil never turned its back on. Director Sacha Gervasi (THE TERMMINAL) witnessed Anvil’s fall from grace directly, having worked as a roadie for the band in its heyday. Moving and hilarious, ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL documents the group’s last shot at stardom and follows it on the road during an often farcical European tour.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK; CINRAM LOGISTICS (SWINDON)
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Sound
Dolby Digital
Professional reviews
Review
The most heartwarming film ever made about metal music (Los Angeles Times, 30/04/2009)
The most stirring release of the year thus far (The New Yorker, 30/04/2009)
Thoughtfully constructed […] has to be one of the most engaging, big-hearted music movies yet made. It’s an emotional journey for the audience, one that is as likely to have them weeping with laughter as it is to have them welling up over the bitter disappointments of the men it follows. It’s a heart-lifting story about following an impossible dream. (The Times, 30/04/2009)
DVD Description
ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL is the sensitive and irresistibly funny story of unsung heroes of Canadian heavy metal Anvil. Jewish teenagers Robb Reiner and Steve "Lips" Kudlow met in the mid-seventies in a Toronto high school and soon decided that rock was their destiny. Anvil was forged. The band gained a cult following among heavy metal enthusiasts during the eighties, but never really made it in the often cruel and clueless mainstream rock circuit. Not withstanding a plethora of eager fans including Metallica and Guns ‘N’ Roses, who have frequently cited Anvil as a source of inspiration, the Toronto based outfit got irremediably swallowed by oblivion. But rocking out isn’t just a matter of attitude or luck; it is instead a vocation which Anvil never turned its back on, while patiently waiting for its call to greatness. Director Sacha Gervasi (THE TERMMINAL) witnessed Anvil’s fall from grace directly, having worked as a roadie for the band in its heyday. Moving and hilarious, ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL documents Reiner and Kudlow’s last shot at stardom and follows them on the road during an often farcical European tour. The film’s recurring grotesque and surreal situations could see it mistaken for an attempted mockumentary, when it is nothing more than the heart-felt portrait of two stubbornly dedicated dreamers.
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