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Anvil - The Story Of Anvil - BLU-RAY Version (2008) Certificate 15

Anvil - The Story Of Anvil - BLU-RAY Version

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Rated 4.0 stars
Average rating
(75%)
 
Starring: Steve 'Lips' Kudlow | Robb Reiner | Kevin Goocher | Glenn Gyorffy | Chris Tsangarides
Director: Sacha Gervasi
Studio: UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK
Run time: 90 mins
Genres: Documentary | Music/Musical
Languages: English
Released: June 15, 2009
Also available on: Also Available on: DVD

About the Canadian metal band Anvil. At 14, Toronto school friends Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock 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." It went on to sell millions of records, but Anvil's career didn't flourish afterwards. Instead, they went straight to obscurity.

The Times

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.

Highest rated reviews

1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

*** May contain spoilers ***


Rated 3 stars
A real life Spinal Tap? Maybe

jimweibo from , 12th July, 2009

'This is Spinal Tap' was a mockumentary that has spawned a cult following and given birth to a real-life band. Anvil are a real-life band with a cult following that has now spawned a documentary. It's an enjoyable enough ride, but somewhere along the way you get the sense that it's not all as spontaneous as it seems. The core of Anvil is two nice Jewish boys from Toronto who had a dream of making it big. At the start of the movie, a series of big names from the metal world sing the praises of Anvil's seminal 'Metal on metal' album, and wonder out loud why the band was never a great success. (Seeing Lemmy's monster facial mole on Blu-ray is quite an experience)! Then we start following the band around. They all hold down humdrum day jobs because the band can't get enough gigs or shift enough CDs to put bread on the table. Small clubs, weddings...nothing is too small. Then a female Anvil fan from Europe puts together a tour of Northern and Eastern Europe and organises it herself. A couple of gigs go quite well, but then the travel arrangements fall apart and the crowds dwindle. A 'festival' in a 10,000 seat venue in Transsylvania attracts a crowd of fewer than a hundred. Back in Toronto the band begs, borrows and steals money to record another album -- their 13th!! -- and heads to London to record it with a superannuated heavy metal specialist. Finding a label willing to publish it proves more difficult, however. Still, by the end of the movie, things seem to be on the up, as a gig in Japan materialises out of thin air, and the band plays to an enthusiastic crowd. Does the gig in Japan remind you of Spinal Tap by any chance? It's not the only thing that will. There's an arch reference to amplifiers 'going to 11', the European tour organiser recalls David St Hubbins's bossy girlfriend, and the songs are similarly inept -- though of course, Spinal Tap's were meant to be that way. (Anvil has a song about the Spanish Inquisition -- 'thumbs twist, can you resist?' that's way more absurd than 'Stonehenge'). When the two principals have a falling out, the cameras just happen to be perfectly placed for the inevitable teary, 'I love you, man' reconciliation. So it's all a bit more contrived than it wants you to believe. Still, it's good natured enough to be worth 90 minutes of your time.

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Rated 4 stars
Quality!

Boundy from , 5th February, 2010

If you are not into Hard-Rock from the 80's you should STILL see this movie. OK, so I am a fan of that era's rock music, but i've never given Anvil a second look/listen (sorry fellas)... this is a story about the love of and belief in music, family and people across 30+ years. A complete antidote to the awful emptiness of X-Factor stardom - Highly recommended.

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Rated 5 stars
rockumentary genius

Aughra from , 5th January, 2010

bless, bless, bless! Could this be true? It's the real Spinal Tap! This rockumentary was tragic and hilarious in equal measure. Rock on! I want a bloody Anvil T-shirt now. Curse the evil, soul-destroying music industry. I only hope this film brings Lips the success he longs for. Passionate, long-haired middle-aged men in spandex. Who could ask for more? I recommend it.

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Rated 5 stars
Not just a rock and roll film

A Customer from Weston-Super-Mare, England, 22nd October, 2009

Fantastic documentary on the rock band Anvil. The music shouldn't put you off at all. It's essentially the tale of two best friends who would follow their passion for something they love right to the bitter end. At times it's often quite hard to watch, but is a very rewarding film. Cannot reccommened enough.

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Most recent reviews

Rated 5 stars
really good

A Customer from RAndy pumpkin, Leicester, 10th September, 2009

Imagine a non-fiction version of 'The Wrestler' and you're half way there. This is a tale of a rock band that should have been more famous. It isn't anything like Spinal Tap. Infact it would be an insult to expect it. I thoroughly recommend it though. Heartfelt and moving, it's a really good film,

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