Anvil: The Story of Anvil
Directed by Sacha Gervasi
2008/Canada
Little Dean’s Yard and AHIMSA Films
#1079 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (Combined List)
First Viewing
Out of 1934 rentals again, I turned to Netflix Instant for another documentary from the 1001 Movies list. While this was interesting enough, I can’t see why I should have made a point to see it before I died.
Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow: Everything on the tour went drastically wrong. But at least there was a tour for it to go wrong on.
This documentary is the story of the comeback efforts of a Canadian heavy metal band called Anvil,which had some success as an opening act in the early 80s. The core members of the band, the lead singer/guitarist and drummer, have been together since they were 14 and are now in their early 50s, holding down blue-collar day jobs but continuing to play. The film follows the band’s comedy-of-errors tour of Europe and attempts to record and get a distributor for their 13th album.
While Anvil has been referred to as a real-life This Is Spinal Tap, I didn’t find it particularly funny. You had to hand it to these guys for their persistence and love of the music, but mostly it was kind of sad. I also had the nagging feeling that the film itself was something of a self-promotional comeback effort.
