Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Anvil! The Story of Anvil | |
---|---|
Directed by | Sacha Gervasi |
Produced by | Sacha Gervasi Lauren McClard Dana Sano Christopher Soos Rebecca Yeldham |
Starring | Steve "Lips" Kudlow Robb Reiner |
Cinematography | Christopher Soos |
Edited by | Andrew Dickler Jeff Renfroe |
Music by | David Norland |
Distributed by | Abramorama |
Release date |
|
Running time | 81 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Box office | $951,380[1] |
Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a 2008 Canadian
Synopsis
The film begins by listing the headlining acts of the Super Rock festival held in Japan in 1984: Scorpions, Whitesnake, and Bon Jovi, all of whom have gone on to sell millions of records, except one: Anvil. Despite their ambition, the Canadian band was unable to achieve the same level of success. Instead, singer and guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow drives trucks for Children's Choice Catering, delivering food to schools and institutions. Drummer Robb Reiner works in construction. But both would rather be playing on stage at the local sports bar to their small but dedicated group of fans, as shown during a show for Steve's 50th birthday party.
Kudlow gets an email from a European fan named Tiziana Arrigoni, who offers to set up a European tour for the band, estimating
The band returns to Canada having taken five weeks off of work and making no money. Kudlow describes the financial difficulties that have befallen the band, including his own second mortgage, and bassist Glenn Five's homelessness. Guitarist Ivan Hurd ends up marrying Tiziana, and Anvil plays at the wedding reception as a handful of family members watch politely. Reiner describes his other passion, painting, focusing on themes of solitude.
Kudlow notes that recent Anvil albums have not been as well written or produced as earlier efforts, such as Metal on Metal, and sends a rough demo tape to the producer of that record, Chris "CT" Tsangarides. Tsangarides replies to Kudlow that he feels the songs have potential, and after a face-to-face meeting they decide to record their 13th album, This Is Thirteen. The band still needs to raise the £13,000 to finance the recording. He returns to Canada and tries to raise the money as a telemarketer selling sunglasses, but does not make a single sale. Eventually, he borrows the money from his sister Rhonda.
The band spends over a month recording in
Kudlow receives a phone call asking Anvil to play a concert in Japan. Excitedly, the group returns to the site that marked the highlight of their career. Their spirits are dampened when they realize they are the very first act at a three-day festival, taking the stage at 11:35 a.m. Fearing disaster, the group however takes the stage to a large, receptive crowd.
Production
Gervasi first met Anvil on September 21, 1982, after a gig at The Marquee Club in London, where he introduced himself to the band as "England's number-one Anvil fan." He subsequently became a
Release
The film premiered at the
Since its first season,
In North America, the film was released on DVD on October 6, 2009. Distribution was handled by Fontana Distribution on behalf of VH1.
The film had its London premiere in February 2009 at the Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes, an events and entertainment venue in Central London, where the band also attended and performed.
Reception
The film has received praise and high acclaim in many reviews, receiving a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] The Times called it "possibly the greatest film yet made about rock and roll".[13]
The film was named Best Documentary of 2009 at the Evening Standard British Film Awards in London. Chris Martin of Coldplay presented the award. The film won Best Documentary at the 2010 Independent Spirit Awards in Los Angeles. It also won an Emmy for Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming in 2010.[14]
Steve Kudlow: "One of my heroes is Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull, and he came up to me in Heathrow Airport and told me the movie had completely inspired him to keep playing music, and he just kept thanking me for all of the inspiration my band gave him. I mean, this is Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull—how cool is that?"[15]
Impact
Since the release of the film, the band has received a second wave of popularity and success. This includes an appearance at Download Festival 2009, headlining the Tuborg Stage, and support slots for both AC/DC and Saxon. The band also performed on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien around this time. Anvil toured the US in 2010.
References
- ^ "Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2009) - Box Office Mojo". Retrieved January 7, 2017.
- ^ SuicideGirls.com. March 30, 2009. Archived from the originalon April 1, 2009. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
- ^ Maxwell, Erin; Jones, Michael (December 2, 2008). "Film trio feel the Spirit". Daily Variety. Retrieved December 2, 2008.
- ^ "Three-way tie at top of Spirit Award noms". The Hollywood Reporter. December 2, 2008. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved December 2, 2008.
- ^ Rodman, Sarah (April 12, 2009). "Metal band Anvil lives!". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on April 15, 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
- Sacramento Bee. May 1, 2009. Archived from the originalon July 6, 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
- ^ Anderson, John (May 18, 2008). "Heavy Metal, Light on the Success". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
- ^ "Rock band Anvil on a roll as docu hits theaters". Reuters. April 2, 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
- ^ "ANVIL In London: Interview, Performance Footage Available". Blabbermouth.net. February 20, 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
- KNAC. March 6, 2008. Archived from the originalon January 15, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
- ^ "'Anvil': For Heavy-Metal Vets, It's A Hard-Rock Life". NPR. April 10, 2009. Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
- ^ "Failure is not an option for headbanging band or inspiring documentary". Weekly Alibi.
- ^ Ide, Wendy (January 3, 2009). "Wendy Ide's films to look out for in 2009". The Times. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
- ^ "Anvil: The Story of Anvil". February 20, 2009. Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via IMDb.
- ^ Cummins, Johnson (May 12, 2011). "Striking while the metal's hot". Montreal Mirror. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2015.