Nearly three decades on, is Anvil! The Story Of Anvil finally the film that finally gives This Is Spinal Tap a run for its money? Quite possibly so. The recipient of far-reaching acclaim, and with a real run for being named film of the year, this is a superb documentary, that is all the more staggering for being true. Anvil! The Story Of Anvil follows the band of its title, a heavy metal group who enjoyed moderate success in the late 70s and early 80s, but kept going even when the light of fame and success shone elsewhere. Thus, we meet the bands members--Steve Lips... Kudlow and Robb Reiner--as they hold down day jobs, record an album and head off on a European tour that could have been taken straight out of the Spinal Tap playbook. As Anvil! The Story Of Anvil develops, though, theres a drama at the heart of it that mixes in with the many frequent laughs. And, as it turns out, its a film that out of nowhere manages to move you, pretty much the last thing you expect of it. This is, and theres no two ways about it, a quite brilliant film, and one of the very best documentaries in some time. Its outrageously entertaining, very funny and yet human to the core. Anvil! The Story Of Anvil is going to take some beating, and dont be surprised if its another three decades before anything else comes close to it and This Is Spinal Tap --Jon Foster [show more]
Honesty is always a significant factor in any review. So I must own up and admit I had never heard of the band Anvil ever before, and it appears as though I am not alone in my solitary piece of music ignorance.
Anvil are a hair metal band that thrashes all the way from the cold vast known as Toronto. They have influenced such names as Slash; the guitarist for bands such as Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver. Or as he is known in some circles the man with the top hat and curly hair. Lemmy the lead singer of Motörhead, or the cool moustached one, again as some certain circles like to refer to him as. Now with a few big music names giving the band their backing, you wouldn't be wrong in thinking that the band has some form of musical talent. In fact they are pretty darn great...
This is confirmed in the very beginning of the movie, which is also my favourite scene in the movie. We see shots of old as the band plays their Japan leg of their world tour. Touring with the likes of Whitesnake, the Scorpions and Bon Jovi, Anvil proceed to blow the minds of the Japanese audience with the power of good ol' heavy metal. And that is incredibly difficult thing to do in front of a Japanese audience, often subdued and respectful in their response to artists, they are jumping up and down and sing along to all the tracks, and oh how I love them for it. The charisma glows around lead sing Lips, or his Clark Kentian name of Steve Kudlow. Strutting up and down the stage, it is easy to see that is where Lips thrives and where Lips is at his happiest. Unfortunately, as director Sacha Gervasi catches up with the band some 20 years later, the rock and roll lifestyle has gone. But what remains is the passion and the charisma of the years gone by. And boy are we treated to something special in the remainder of the film. In the Spinal Tap-esque conversations with the band there are brilliant moments of comedy thrown around, but coupled with that are scenes very reminiscent of The Wrestler. Lips trawls through day-by-day in a very mundane job delivering school lunches. His best friend for life Robb Reiner; the drummer of the band is no different. The spark has gone but a light still flickers, and it is an absolute joy to watch that light burn away.
You don't require a passion or a liking for wrestling to enjoy Mickey Rourke performance in The Wrestler. And you don't require a liking for heavy metal music to enjoy Anvil. All you require is a heart. The film is incredibly touching and moving, and if by the end of the film you don't have a smile drawn upon your face then a new career path is in order; professional gargoyle. You would require a heart of granite not to be moved, and you would require a body of granite to stop you from picking this film up....Enjoy.
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