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Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Play trailer Poster for Anvil! The Story of Anvil Released Apr 10, 2009 1h 25m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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98% Tomatometer 135 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Canadian heavy-metal band Anvil delivered a highly influential 1982 album that would inspire the likes of Anthrax and Metallica, and then dropped off the map to begin what would become decades of toiling in obscurity. Director and former roadie Sacha Gervasi follows guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner as they stumble through a harrowing European tour and reflect on failure, friendship, resilience and the will to follow even the most impossible of dreams.
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Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

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Critics Consensus

A touching, uplifting and inspirational rockumentary about an aging metal band, both hilarious and heart-warming in equal measure.

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Critics Reviews

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Nell Minow Movie Mom Rated: B+ Feb 14, 2012 Full Review Hank Sartin Time Out Rated: 5/5 Nov 18, 2011 Full Review St. Louis Post-Dispatch Rated: 3.5/4 Jan 21, 2010 Full Review Joel Fisher Battle Royale With Cheese Anvil is a documentary that not only speaks to music aficionados, but to people who have ever followed a dream and failed or given up Sep 25, 2022 Full Review Jason Best Movie Talk Indeed, the movie turns out to be as much about teenage dreams and middle-aged male friendship as it is about music, which means, fortunately, that you don't have to be a metalhead to enjoy it. Nov 20, 2020 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Anvil! The Story of Anvil is funny, poignant, tender and remarkably affirming of spending one's life chasing a dream. Rated: 3.5/4.0 Sep 2, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Armin A It's impossible not to feel affection for Anvil, blood on the ice. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/16/25 Full Review Andrei D It's weird how much emotion a band from Canada can create Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/28/24 Full Review Ken C I really wanted to like this movie, especially as it came so highly recommended to me. I was aware of Anvil around the time when the movie was released and read some of the press reviews, although I'd not heard of them up till that point. Fast forward 14 year, and I've finally gotten a chance to watch it. Afterwards, mu initial thoughts were mostly to do with questioning just how genuine everything was. Some of the scenes (the fight with the owner of the bar in Prague, when he told them they weren't getting paid and the bust-up between Steve and Robb at the recording studio) came across as a bit too contrived. Even the decision by Chris Tsangarides to produce a new album, after being out of contact for how long? I'm not suggesting that the two guys weren't struggling to get the show back on the road, but towards the end, everything seemed to fall into place a little too quickly for my liking, especially walking on stage to find themselves being greeted by thousands of screaming fans at the show in Tokyo. I dunno, maybe it's just the cynic in me but I definitely came away disappointed. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 10/27/24 Full Review Kyle M Hard rock fanatics would enjoy, as well intentionally discover, this ordinary rockumentary for a lesser-known band that wittily rocks relatability and independence. (B) Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/11/24 Full Review Leaburn O Felt painful to watch at times which really detracted from the enjoyment. Tough viewing. Watched on DVD. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 07/19/24 Full Review Steve C A tedious pastiche of cameos and a "This Is Spinal Tap" easter eggs. The first ten minutes was moderately funny, but after that there was nothing redeeming about this film. Crosses that fine line between clever and stupid. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Anvil! The Story of Anvil

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Cast & Crew

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Sacha Gervasi

Director

Steve "Lips" Kudlow

Steve Kudlow

Robb Reiner

Robb Reiner

Slash

Slash

Lars Ulrich

Lars Ulrich

Lemmy

Lemmy

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Anvil! The Story of Anvil

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Movie Info

Synopsis Canadian heavy-metal band Anvil delivered a highly influential 1982 album that would inspire the likes of Anthrax and Metallica, and then dropped off the map to begin what would become decades of toiling in obscurity. Director and former roadie Sacha Gervasi follows guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner as they stumble through a harrowing European tour and reflect on failure, friendship, resilience and the will to follow even the most impossible of dreams.
Director
Sacha Gervasi
Producer
Rebecca Yeldham
Distributor
Abramorama
Production Co
Sacha Gervasi
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 10, 2009, Limited
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Sep 27, 2022
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 26, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$666.7K
Runtime
1h 25m
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