Metal nerd bragging: I liked Anvil before they had a hit documentary about how washed up they are.
I saw this at the Angelica theater last night. It has gotten rave reviews, and I can totally see why. I usually don’t like rock band documentaries (I saw this boring-as-shit asslicking one about the Sex Pistols once and that put me off the whole genre) but this one was fantastic from beginning to end.
The jist: we meet the members of Anvil, and hear the story of their sudden rise to fame and immense respect from the likes of Lars Ulrich and Slash, and then how they completely disappeared for a couple decades, despite releasing a dozen largely unsuccessful albums. The doc follows the band as they hook up with a somewhat inept tour manager/fan who books a European tour for them, and follows the creation of their 13th album and a possible comeback in Japan.
There is, in the midst of it all, a fantastic shot of an amp being turned up to 11.
I assume you’ve read **Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klostermann **or Hell Bent for Leather by Seb Hunter. Both are long explorations of establishing metal cred as teenagers and both are well written and pretty funny. CK waxes enthusiastically about teh Vinnie Vincent Invasion and a few other reasonably obscure bands - doesn’t mention Anvil. Seb is a Brit and so he goes through the whole NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) and Thrash Big 4…
I have been tracking this Anvil doc - I look forward to seeing it some way…
Wait . . . wha? Anvil is a real band? I’ve seen the commercial for this about a jillion times and I thought it was a mockumentary, a la This is Spinal Tap. Or are you giving me a whooshy? I are confused:confused:
Same thing happened to me. VH1 shows the commercial for this all the time and for the longest time I just thought “Man, that seems like a pretty blatant Spinal Tap ripoff…”
I’m dying to see this as well, having first heard of Anvil by reading Kerrang! back in '85. I’m afraid that it’s going to make me cry, as my fiance plays drums in a Metal band that’s in a very similar situation (several albums on indie labels, big in Germany and nowhere else, inept management and label deals and so forth). Even watching the trailer made me choke up a bit as I can relate quite strongly to what Anvil have been putting themselves through. I hope this brings them some much-deserved recognition.
Finally saw this in Chicago at the last showing at Piper’s Alley. I have zero interest in metal, but the 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes told me I had to see it. I mean, Goodfellas, The Seven Samurai and Rear Window only got 97%.
It was great. Like American Movie some of the stuff was so perfect you might think it had to be fake, but I’ve been in enough ridiculous situations in entertainment that it was believable to me. I wish this got more attention.
I saw it a few weeks ago, and it really was great. My wife loved it, too. It’s just a very human story, and yes it did make me tear up a bit at times. It just illustrates that life really isn’t fair–here’s these guys giving it their best shot, they get respect from plenty of heavy-hitters, but for some reason it just doesn’t click for them.
I was really dreading the crowd reveal at the final concert in the movie. Come all that way, and you’re on at 10:00 a.m.? They knew there would be like 100 people there. I knew there would be 100 people there, and then at the end you actually feel relieved for them that something wasn’t a disaster, and they finally got to see a decent crowd. Perfect. Just a perfect ending.
Oh, and I found out when I was talking to a theatre worker that the previous week, the band actually played a show in the theatre after the movie. First, I was pissed I hadn’t heard about it and missed it, but then after the movie I wasn’t sure if I would think it was great, or if I would just feel sort of sad, that they’re running around playing gigs in relatively small art-house theatres in St. Louis.
Weird, I thought I hit “edit” and not “Quote.” Oops.
I hate heavy metal music. I mean, REALLY hate it. I loved this movie! Luckily the music (I’m resisting putting quotes around the word out of respect for the band) isn’t really the focus of the movie, but the friendship between Lips and Robb, their passion, perseverance, heart, the support of their friends and family and fans, and the joy (and heartbreak) of having a dream in your life that you love and believe in *so much * that it rules your life.
I had such a grin on my face throughout the movie, except for the parts that made me misty-eyed. This is a wonderful, wonderful film. I’m sure it’ll end up on my favorite films of the year list.
Like The Real Regency Elf, I can so relate to this movie, and the band’s fans, it isn’t even funny. Believe me, I know all about loving talented artists who’ve slogged in the music business for nearly three decades, releasing close to a dozen albums, having a tiny but dedicated worldwide following, but still so obscure and unknown that they have to work a menial day job to pay the bills. I must say I wish the filmmakers had spent just a tad more time on the “original Anvil fans” but at least they got some face time. If I were to meet those guys (the fans, not the band) I’d have nothing in common to discuss music-wise, but we could talk for days about what it’s like to be fans of painfully and unfairly unappreciated and obscure artists.
I hope this movie does very well on DVD. It deserves a wider audience. It was almost surreal how life imitated art (Spinal Tap ----> Anvil) and even if a lot of that has to do with editing (and indeed there were a lot of Spinal Tap references in the film), it was still surreal. And funny, and moving. What a great double-feature they’ll make, both watched to love and cherish, not to sneer at.
Okay, I absolutely do not mean to thread shit or insult anyone who is a fan, but the commercial, which I’ve seen at least once EVERY SINGLE DAY for the last month gives me the impression that these guys are borderline retarded / too stupid to live. Is there an element of self parody or is this a case of unfortunate editing? To be more accurate, I haven’t seen it but *heard *it as I have VH-1 on as I get ready for work in the morning, so maybe these guys just *sound *stupid out of context ? Every time I hear the one dude say " I started out with Rob when we were fourteen and he said we were gonna do it until we’re old men. . . he meant that!" I just cringe. What am I missing?
They’re not retarded, they’re just regular guys. Maybe not too bright, but that’s not held against them. When you’re watching the movie, within a few minutes of meeting these guys, you’ve come to really like them. By the end, you want them to be part of your family. It’s all in the getting to know them within the context and length of the film.
Within the movie, by the time you hear that line ("…we’re gonna do it until we’re old men…") it’s very meaningful and moving. Out of context I can see how it might sound cringy.
What you’re missing is the whole rest of the movie.
I am curious, where do you live that you’re seeing (or hearing) the trailer at least once a day every single day for the last month?
