Friday, January 22, 2010

Anvil! The Story of Devotion

I love a good movie that rocks. From The Blues Brothers to Hedwig And The Angry Inch, any movie that has to do with music typically resonates with me. When I first heard of a small documentary about a thrash metal band from Canada entitled "Anvil! The Story of Anvil", I knew it would be my kind of movie.



Now after seeing it a half dozen times, "Anvil!" is my favorite film 2009 had to offer. Regardless of whether you like metal music, you will enjoy this movie. On the surface it is a documentary about a couple aging metalheads that never quite made it to the big time (however are referenced as influences by Metallica, Guns 'N Roses, Anthrax and Slayer.) But at its core, the movie is about two guys who are so passionate and devoted to their craft they forge ahead, even if only a handful of people, not including spouses, children and siblings, appreciate their work. The result is a movie that will not only melt your face off but touch your heart.

Anvil! The Story Of Anvil trailer
Posted by at
Labels: ,

3 comments:

  1. Jerome TurnerJanuary 25, 2010 at 9:19 PM

    Good call, PD. The trailer inspired me; I'll be renting that this weekend, then get back to you on my thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. VladdracFebruary 8, 2010 at 3:05 PM

    I enjoyed the movie. A few thoughts:

    1. I'm not sure if it's that Spinal Tap was so spot on (if you watch It Might Get Loud you'll hear the Edge say he wept when he first saw that movie because it was so accurate) or that it served as a self-fulfilling prophecy for a lot of aging bands who saw it, but the similarities are striking. From the amp that goes to 11 to stonehenge references, This really is Spinal Tap. I guess it's not as funny when it's real though. The fact that the drummer's name IS ACTUALLY ROBB REINER almost makes me wonder if someone is pulling my leg.

    2. Does anyone else want to punch Lars Ulrich in the face every time they hear him talk?

    3. The cameos they get are pretty impressive. It is surprising how much of an impression they left early on only to have it fizzle out so quickly.

    4. Does anyone else want to lick Lemmy's mole? Come on, you know you do.

    5. Who could possibly like Cactus?

    6. This one is the biggest mystery to me, so help me out if you can. What in the world is the deal with the painting of the turd he has hanging in his stairwell? Again, scenes like these are almost too good to be true and if I didn't know this was all real I'd think someone was doing a really straight-faced satire. Same kind of impression I got watching Grizzly Man.

    Good movie, I think they're playing in PDX soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. RJDFebruary 9, 2010 at 10:26 AM

    Answers:

    2. Yes, very hard and repeatedly.

    4. Chew on not lick.

    5. Robb Reiner and Paul Dambowy

    6. Gastroenterology Art Deco and funny as hell. Notice Robb's straight face when touching the turd. Stuff like that can't be scripted. Priceless.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)