Anvil! The Story of Anvil Anvil! The Story of Anvil
2008 Directed by Sacha Gervasi
Synopsis
At fourteen, they made a pact to rock together forever. They meant it.
At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal, " influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax,. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams
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Anvil: the Story of Anvil is one of those films I’ve been meaning to watch for a few years now but something always got in the way. Pleasingly, the four year wait was worth it as this was a charming, funny and surprisingly affecting documentary about broken dreams and following your passions even if it brings you little more than sweat, tears and strife.
Fallen into obscurity and forced to work menial jobs to provide for their families, childhood friends, Steve Steve Kudlow and Robb Reiner (a perfect name given who directed This is Spinal Tap), desperately try and cling onto their dream and passion to play heavy metal. The documentary follows them on a European tour from hell where…
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"Family is important shit, man."
Yes it is, Lips. Yes it is.
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A wonderful documentary following a metal band who were 'supposed' to be major success, but never achieved their destiny despite trying for more than 30 years.
Anvil! is both heart wrenching and brilliant, and is a must-watch for every film fan. It's certainly one of my all-time favourite documentaries.
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A touching, heartbreaking, inspiring, thought-provoking, life-affirming doc for anyone who has ever had a dream. And been frustrated to the verge of insanity with said dream.
Dustin Hoffman, who attended the premiere, is quoted as saying “This is the most inspirational, moving, beautiful film I think I’ve ever seen. I hated heavy metal until tonight.”
I still hate heavy metal, but I was certainly touched by this film as well, Mr. Hoffman. -
Dude... Your main schtick was playing your guitar with a vibrator while stripped naked. You were doing this in the early 80s when metal was not particularly open minded and predominantly a homophobic and misogynistic schlong-fest... So... Uh...
THARS YER PROBLEM.
Am I the only one that found this doc more depressing than anything else? I mean, I respect and recognize the whole 'never give up on your dream' message but my dominant reaction was not one of positive inspiration.
My dominant reaction was "Yikes".
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Similar in spirit to 'The Wrestler' and, like Rourke's character, these people will stay with you. Both films are about sticking to lifelong dreams when time has suddenly flown by and this remarkably focused portrayal of a band which, despite decades of complete dedication, has never been blessed with success pulls you in and makes you truly root for them. "Everything changes into something else" Lips says and his optimism, the friendship with Robb and their perseverance are touchingly conveyed.
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A documentary's only as good as its subjects, and whatever feelings of the power and beauty of rock and roll this swelled up in me was negated by how whiny and annoying these two were.
It's shoddily put together, too.
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An inspirational documentary about a Heavy Metal band's fight for relevancy.
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Really interesting view of a band that has been around for decades and keeps on going based on a true desire and passion. At first I thought it was a mockumentary because the premise seemed impossible, a band that is very respected by famous musicians but the lead singer works a shitty job on a catering company. The two main guys Lips and Rob have a very interesting relationship and carry themselves in a peculiar way that has to be seen to be believed. The pursuit of the dream makes for the dream itself, really the 'success' in the end is marginal, but you can see true joy in them along the way.
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Blame Canada.
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Dude... Your main schtick was playing your guitar with a vibrator while stripped naked. You were doing this in the early 80s when metal was not particularly open minded and predominantly a homophobic and misogynistic schlong-fest... So... Uh...
THARS YER PROBLEM.
Am I the only one that found this doc more depressing than anything else? I mean, I respect and recognize the whole 'never give up on your dream' message but my dominant reaction was not one of positive inspiration.
My dominant reaction was "Yikes".
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That one painting was a piece of crap
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It's easy to see why some thought Anvil! The Story of Anvil was a Spinal Tap-esque mockumentary: it's about a failed '80s metal band, you see a guy playing guitar with a dildo, there's an over-the-top song called "Metal on Metal," and the drummer's name is freaking Robb Reiner. But no, Anvil are a real band, one cited as a major influence by members of Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer. Unlike those who came after them, stardom was not in the hand fate dealt them, and nearly 30 years later, they're still struggling to tour and sell CDs. This is a very funny film, due to the band members' charming naivete and their collapsing tour, but it's also surprisingly moving. These…
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It's touching but kinda sad at the same time.
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Let me first say that I really like 80’s rock and no matter how much time passes by this is my kind of music…and the girls I want to fuck Lita Ford so bad….
But this is a story about the ones that did not make it to burning dollar bills in the toilet! Anvil is a Canadian band from the 80’s rock that even toured together with Bon Jovi, but they were forgotten and know work in the food packaging business (no kidding). So this is the story of their comeback try, with a new cd to record in England and a european tour that does not go that well…. More than a documentary about the band this is a biased documentary of how success is not forever and how people can be forgotten in just a bit a second…worth a look.