DVD Review: ‘Anvil! The Story of Anvil’ Still Best Documentary of 2009 to Date

CHICAGO – The great “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” played to sold-out crowds earlier this year and completely rejuvenated the careers of the rock Gods that never were - Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner aka Anvil. Now this great movie is available on DVD and you shouldn’t let it go by unseen.

DVD Rating: 4.5/5.0

Displaying the same quirky charms as breakthrough documentary hits like “Spellbound,” “American Movie,” and “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters” (but sharing subject in common more with “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster”), “Anvil” is simply a joy. The momentum that carried the documentary about Anvil lifted the band themselves. This was one of the few times where the phrase “jump on the bandwagon” seemed more than a little appropriate.

Anvil co-founders Robb Reiner (L) and Steve “Lips” Ludlow contemplate their band’s future in a scene from Sacha Gervasi’s feature documentary, Anvil! The Story Of Anvil.
Photo credit: Brent J. Craig

Those who jumped on in theaters and the many more who will on DVD, learned about the greatest rock band that never broke into the mainstream. The film opens with a series of Anvil’s peers, including Slash of Guns ‘n’ Roses, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Lemmy of Motorhead, and more, discussing in nearly awed tones the power of Anvil. They played their hit, “Metal on Metal,” in front of thousands of fans and watched as every other band was picked up by the heavy metal wave that dominated radio and MTV in the early and mid-’80s.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil was released on DVD on October 6th, 2009. Photo credit: VH1 Films

Most of the band members who once shared a bill with Anvil are either now on VH1 reality shows or counting their royalty checks from the ’80s, but the two lead members of Anvil can barely make ends meet. The film documents their massively depressing European tour, where they play to literally a dozen or so people at a time and often don’t even get paid. They’ve made twelve albums and have yet to break through, despite the clear adoration of their peers. They fight regularly and think about giving in, but they’re determined to catch that dream, even if it’s twenty years later than they thought they would.

The film follows the production of Anvil’s 13th album, one that Robb and Lips are determined will be their absolute best. It’s a testament to the power of Sacha Gervasi’s film that his document of the band has made them the stars that their music and relentless touring never could. They could always see the light at the end of the tunnel. It took a movie to push them there.

“Anvil! The Story of Anvil” will appeal to more than just music fans. It’s very, very funny but it also brilliantly illustrates the human ability to chase our dreams long after we “should have” stopped. Lips and Robb have been going through the same heartbreaking grind for decades, long after many people would have given up. Some will shake their head and say that they wasted their lives. Some will wish they had found the nerve to chase their dreams just as long and just as hard. When do you give up on a dream? How do you keep going when it always seems one step ahead of you?

Of course, Robb and Lips are a documentarian’s dream come true, but Gervasi deserves a lot of credit for why the film about them works as well as it does. So many directors would have turned this real-life “Spinal Tap” into a joke. Gervasi has actually been a fan of the band of the years and his love for them shows. At the same time, he has not deified them. He is clearly a fan but also recognizes the humorous and heartbreaking tones. He neither ridicules nor idolizes them. He merely presents them as the potential rock Gods who ended up so relatably human.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com