Anvil! : The Story of Anvil
Review
by Anthony Morris
Exclusive Interview : Robb Reiner and Sacha Gervasi
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Anvil! The Story Of Anvil
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For those going into Anvil! : The Story of Anvil expecting a real-life Spinal Tap...
Well,
okay, there is a fair bit of that in this documentary about the
Canadian band that pretty much invented the current heavy metal sound
only to fail to capitalise on their massively influential sound.
After
twenty years of refusing to give up the rock dream (despite never
really getting anywhere with it), the lead singer works in a school
lunch industrial kitchen, and he is not running it either.
It's hard not to crack a smile at Anvil's
steadfast refusal to accept the screamingly obvious fact that it's
over, especially early on when a European tour turns out to involve
playing to crowds that can be counted on one hand.
But
as the story develops the Anvil guys somehow put together a new album's
worth of songs, discover that the producer of their greatest hits is
still interested in working with them, and slowly start to look like
maybe they'll finally get back on top.
You could nitpick
about various points - it would be nice to have a little more on why
they never really succeeded back in the 1980s (though the finger is
pointed at bad production on their later albums).
That said, there's no denying that Anvil! : The Story of Anvil
gets the balance of humour, drama (tensions within the band surface as
you might expect) and heart-warming moments pretty much spot-on.
The music of Anvil might not be to everyone's taste, but this film certainly should be.
4
out
of 5
Anvil!: The Story of Anvil
Australian release: 10th
September,
2009
Official
Site: Anvil!: The Story of Anvil
Cast: Steve 'Lips' Kudlow, Robb Reiner, Tiziana Arrigoni, Kevin Goocher, Glenn Gyorffy, William Howell
Director: Sacha Gervasi
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