Soundtrack English
In the early 1980s, the Canadian metal band Anvil wrote the thrash blueprint for followers like Anthrax, Metallica, and Slayer. While those bands went on to become metal titans, Anvil faded into obscurity--so much that decades later, the band’s core members--guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner--work menial day-jobs even as they continue to churn out little-heard records and dream of rock-star success. Director Sacha Gervasi (who was once a roadie for the band) chronicles the duo’s efforts to regain their '80s glory in the funny and touching documentary ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL.
As the camera follows Anvil on a European tour organized by an inept manager and beset by comical, this-can’t-be-real moments--flubbed itineraries, audiences that can be counted on one hand, club owners who refuse to pay for gigs--it might be easy to mistake ANVIL! for a THIS IS SPINAL TAP mockumentary. But despite the snicker-inducing heavy-metal trappings, this is also a warmly human portrait of two men pursuing their creative passions despite Sisyphean odds. The film is at its best when it explores the codependent friendship between the optimistic Lips and the more pragmatic Reiner (friends since they were 14, the two bicker like an old married couple); their relationships with their families (some of whom are still supportive and others who wish the fiftysomething pair would just grow up); and the difficulties of pursing a career in music (while Lips’s siblings are solidly middle-class, the guys in Anvil just wanna rock--and they have made financial sacrifices to do so). Their struggles will ring true to anyone who has felt the pull of the artist’s life and wondered whether it would ever pay off. In Anvil's case, audiences will be rooting for them to finally make it to the big time.
Only the most knowledgeable of metal heads may be familiar with early '80s Canadian band Anvil, but director Sacha Gervasi--and the members of Anvil--hope that changes with this documentary. After releasing the headbangers' dream album, METAL ON METAL, in 1982 and influencing the likes of Metallica and Anthrax, the rockers watched as their career failed to match those who gave them credit. But with ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL, Gervasi turns roadie and chronicles the band's new millennium efforts to charge to the top.
Anvil! The Story Of Anvil! Reviews:
4 stars out of 5 -- "Gervasi's account isn't simply comic: it's an affecting study of young dreams buffeted by middle age..."-- Kevin Harley, Total Film
5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] amazing story about optimism, limits and the underside of the rock 'n' roll dream. Much more ...
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