I've been waiting to see this since it's triumphant debut at Sundance, in January of 2009.
It played in Cannes in May, and while I was there, I had a dinner engagement that kept me away from the festivities. There is a little Irish pub called Morrison's on Rue Tessier, where I've made it my unofficial home and I've been there enough that the managers know me, and always treat me well. So that night I had a dinner, and was hanging out at the Grand Hotel, all but a 8 minute walk away from Morrison's....the after party for ANVIL! The Story of ANVIL! was held there, and the band played, and by all accounts blew out every window in the surrounding neighborhood.
The next day, I showed up for my regular after work beer, and the Manager told me what I had missed the night before. I was shocked, bummed, and, suffice it to say, as a good Canadian Kid, I was sickened that I missed it. The Manager though, came back a few minutes later with an ANVIL! pin, and an ANVIL! t-shirt, and gave it to me. It was one of those you had to be there moments - especially in Cannes, because any Frenchman worthy of his reputation wouldn't even piss on a foreigner if they were on fire if he came across one lying in the street. (So that gesture alone really gave me pause to think that there might be some healing power of ANVIL!). But he realized how much I hated to have missed ANVIL!, so I gratefully took the shirt, and gave it to my significant other. And, the last I heard, it was her sleeping shirt (but that's not really important anymore). But I had really wanted to see the film. It played all of 5 days in the theatres in Vancouver, and then it was gone, so I had consigned myself to waiting for the DVD release and the movie slowly devolved from a must-see, into just one more film of any dozen on my list to see, which would be probably relegated to a slow Sunday afternoon when I had the time... but somehow that wasn't right.
Today, while flying from Vancouver to Toronto, I got to see it on the plane., and holy shit! I need to tell all 3 of you who read this; GO buy the DVD, order it on PPV, just see it. Tell your Friends too.
I was sitting in seat 19g, in tears at a few points. This is how great documentaries are made. This is what rock & roll is all about. This is what dreams are made of. I can't say enough about it - but Sacha Gervasi knows how to make a film, and Lips, and Robbo know how to stick it out. I saw myself, Stuart, Cameron, Bernie, Brian, Al, Vlado, Dale. Neil, and all the other guys I gigged with a lifetime ago. I had tears in my eyes.
As an old, retired road warrior - after watching this film, I was reduced to a puddle - much to the chagrin of the polite little Japanese girl sitting beside me. She probably hasn't seen a grown man cry while watching a documentary about an aging Canadian heavy metal band, at least I hope not. These guys are now in their early '50's and they still dream about making it. Their bond is as much, or more important than the music they're making. When all odds are against them, they still did their best.
Seriously. Rent, download (legally), PPV it, or buy it. It's astounding. Tell your friends too.
8 hours later, I'm in Toronto with a glass of wine, staring at the wall at 1:00 AM, and I can't get it out of my mind. That's what good movies are supposed to do. Get a reaction. Make you laugh. Make you cry. Make you think. Love your friends. Follow your dreams. Root for the underdog. Hope for the best, and deal with the worst.
Isn't that the way we are supposed to live our lives?
I'm in the film business, and I never give reviews. It's not my place. I'm not the arbiter of taste on the internets - there are a sufficient number of other assholes that will happily do that. I'm only the poor schmoe who has to sell the films I have, to increasingly more fickle buyers, in an ever shrinking marketplace, which leads to a very difficult, and stressful situation. But, I'm going to break from my long standing (& suffering silence) and tell you that this is the Best documentary / best film of the year, hands down. I'll say again. THE best.
Watch / buy this as soon as you can. You'll be glad you did. Tell your friends too.
*Postscript - Since the success of the documentary and the massive amounts of press they recieved, ANVIL! recently opened up for ACDC on a handful of US shows during their current tour. They played in Boston to 20,000 people about 5 weeks ago - and I think that's all right.
Do yourself, and everyone a favor and watch ANVIL! Tell your friends too. They'll be glad you did.
THE Best Doc of the year hands down.
It played in Cannes in May, and while I was there, I had a dinner engagement that kept me away from the festivities. There is a little Irish pub called Morrison's on Rue Tessier, where I've made it my unofficial home and I've been there enough that the managers know me, and always treat me well. So that night I had a dinner, and was hanging out at the Grand Hotel, all but a 8 minute walk away from Morrison's....the after party for ANVIL! The Story of ANVIL! was held there, and the band played, and by all accounts blew out every window in the surrounding neighborhood.
The next day, I showed up for my regular after work beer, and the Manager told me what I had missed the night before. I was shocked, bummed, and, suffice it to say, as a good Canadian Kid, I was sickened that I missed it. The Manager though, came back a few minutes later with an ANVIL! pin, and an ANVIL! t-shirt, and gave it to me. It was one of those you had to be there moments - especially in Cannes, because any Frenchman worthy of his reputation wouldn't even piss on a foreigner if they were on fire if he came across one lying in the street. (So that gesture alone really gave me pause to think that there might be some healing power of ANVIL!). But he realized how much I hated to have missed ANVIL!, so I gratefully took the shirt, and gave it to my significant other. And, the last I heard, it was her sleeping shirt (but that's not really important anymore). But I had really wanted to see the film. It played all of 5 days in the theatres in Vancouver, and then it was gone, so I had consigned myself to waiting for the DVD release and the movie slowly devolved from a must-see, into just one more film of any dozen on my list to see, which would be probably relegated to a slow Sunday afternoon when I had the time... but somehow that wasn't right.
Today, while flying from Vancouver to Toronto, I got to see it on the plane., and holy shit! I need to tell all 3 of you who read this; GO buy the DVD, order it on PPV, just see it. Tell your Friends too.
I was sitting in seat 19g, in tears at a few points. This is how great documentaries are made. This is what rock & roll is all about. This is what dreams are made of. I can't say enough about it - but Sacha Gervasi knows how to make a film, and Lips, and Robbo know how to stick it out. I saw myself, Stuart, Cameron, Bernie, Brian, Al, Vlado, Dale. Neil, and all the other guys I gigged with a lifetime ago. I had tears in my eyes.
As an old, retired road warrior - after watching this film, I was reduced to a puddle - much to the chagrin of the polite little Japanese girl sitting beside me. She probably hasn't seen a grown man cry while watching a documentary about an aging Canadian heavy metal band, at least I hope not. These guys are now in their early '50's and they still dream about making it. Their bond is as much, or more important than the music they're making. When all odds are against them, they still did their best.
Seriously. Rent, download (legally), PPV it, or buy it. It's astounding. Tell your friends too.
8 hours later, I'm in Toronto with a glass of wine, staring at the wall at 1:00 AM, and I can't get it out of my mind. That's what good movies are supposed to do. Get a reaction. Make you laugh. Make you cry. Make you think. Love your friends. Follow your dreams. Root for the underdog. Hope for the best, and deal with the worst.
Isn't that the way we are supposed to live our lives?
I'm in the film business, and I never give reviews. It's not my place. I'm not the arbiter of taste on the internets - there are a sufficient number of other assholes that will happily do that. I'm only the poor schmoe who has to sell the films I have, to increasingly more fickle buyers, in an ever shrinking marketplace, which leads to a very difficult, and stressful situation. But, I'm going to break from my long standing (& suffering silence) and tell you that this is the Best documentary / best film of the year, hands down. I'll say again. THE best.
Watch / buy this as soon as you can. You'll be glad you did. Tell your friends too.
*Postscript - Since the success of the documentary and the massive amounts of press they recieved, ANVIL! recently opened up for ACDC on a handful of US shows during their current tour. They played in Boston to 20,000 people about 5 weeks ago - and I think that's all right.
Do yourself, and everyone a favor and watch ANVIL! Tell your friends too. They'll be glad you did.
THE Best Doc of the year hands down.
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