Best of the Decade #19: Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2009)
Metal On Metal
It’s the Only Way
To Hell With Tomorrow
Let’s Live For Today
That in a nutshell describes Anvil. The 35 years that Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner have been living that mantra is what gives Anvil! The Story of Anvil an unmistakable charm and a spot on our Best of the Decade list.
Sacha Gervasi’s inspired and impressive direction re-introduces the world to two 50-year-old Canadian rock almost-legends. It’s a documentary that is full of surprising heart. You can’t help but root for these two. They’re just that nice.
One can’t imagine seeing all of their peers move forward and make huge successes of themselves, while they still struggle to fill a local sports bar. Why did the Scorpions, Bon Jovi and Whitesnake become worldwide successes? Why didn’t Anvil? No one seems to know. Not Anvil. Not Slash from Guns N’ Roses. Not Lars Ulrich from Metallica. Not Lemmy from Motorhead. All of them say Anvil was an influence and deserved much better than they got. Yet, Lips and Robb push on and continue to rock and live the dream no matter how bad the tour is, how undersold the venue is, how their style of music just gets passed by.
Early on in Anvil! The Story of Anvil, the band plays a show in a venue that can hold thousands for just under 200 people. The movie closes with Anvil playing a similar show as part of a rock festival at 11:30 in the morning. Is it a different outcome? Watch the movie. What you get out of it from Gervasi and the band is that it doesn’t really matter, as long as they live life to the mantra of “Metal on Metal”.
Check out previous entries from our Top 20 Films of the ’00s.
Comments (10)
it was good buuuuut, I don’t know. I don’t see myself ever watching it again. I would have liked it a lot more if the documentary crew asked more in-depth questions of those guys. they want to be BIG but we never get what “being big” means to them or why that is the goal. they just seem to be some old dogs chasing their own tails.
Posted by rus in chicago on December 3rd, 2009Maybe that is why Metallica: Some Kind of Monster is a better rock doc. from the decade. Even tough it is a bunch of whiny rich boys it gets more in-depth than Anvil. And maybe that is why Anvil didn’t make it as a band is the lack of depth in their music. I probably just stated the obvious!
Posted by rus in chicago on December 3rd, 2009Just watched the trailer… looks awesome. Putting it on my netflix queue!
Posted by bryan on December 3rd, 2009Wouldn’t make my list, but an excellent choice
Posted by Jim the Movie Freak on December 3rd, 2009Yes this movie was alright but would not make my top 20 of the decade list.
Posted by Matt on December 3rd, 2009Anvil Photo by Brent J. Craig
Posted by BJC on December 3rd, 2009Excellent film. It would make my top 10 of the year easily, but probably not decade.
I remember while I was watching this wondering to myself if it was real or a mockumentary. I hope this comes out on Blu up here (don’t see it anywhere yet).
Posted by KeithTalent on December 3rd, 2009I think this would have to be on my top 20 too; loved it !
Posted by Paul Andrews on December 5th, 2009I saw this on the front page of Netflix…cool I will see it. I am glad for my Canadian cousins who are so excited for this one…
Posted by xego on December 13th, 2009The story was interesting and touching, but I don’t see why this movie would be rated so highly.
If these guys wanted to be commercially successful, they should have changed or evolved their music to be more in line w/ what sells. Instead, they seem to just churn out album after album in a niche that the masses don’t appreciate. It only took me the length of this film to figure that out, yet these guys haven’t learned that in the over 40 years that they’ve been in a band together.
Posted by Jeff on December 19th, 2009Leave a Reply