Forming the band Anvil in 1982, the duo released one of the heaviest albums of all time — Metal on Metal — influencing some of the biggest names in rock including Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. But while those bands went on to sell millions of albums and achieve international fame, Anvil’s career took a different path – straight to obscurity.

Until now…

Director Sacha Gervasi (Hitchcock) brings us Anvil! The Story of Anvil – a brilliant, achingly hilarious, and surprisingly touching documentary about Anvil’s last-ditch quest for fame and fortune. He joins the band members, now in the 50’s, as they perform all over the world, record a new album and struggle to make ends meet. Providing an intimate, insightful look into the band members’ ever-supportive, yet long-suffering families, Anvil! The Story of Anvil is also a tale of survival – and the passion and drive it takes to follow your dream, year after year after year.

For thoughts on Anvil! The Story Of Anvil, please check out our discussions on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/ImgGgdw3z7M?t=2337]

Video Quality

Anvil! The Story Of Anvil comes to Blu-Ray from Utopia and MVD Entertainment with a newly remastered high definition master that suits the film as well as you could hope considering the source material. The film features a variety of different materials in varying degrees of quality. The archival tape footage used seems to be the most stable possible given the relative scarcity of big opportunities for the band during this period in time. Much of this footage has baked-in deficits, but the insights gleaned from these moments outweigh any fleeting visual deficiencies. Newer interview segments for the time look much more solid and clear with natural skin tones and some detailed facial features. The colors featured in the film have been enhanced to showcase their natural vibrancy. The transfer has been handled with care with compression artifacts and digital nuisances completely off the menu. The film has never looked and felt so alive.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray disc comes with both a newly remixed DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track and an LPCM 2.0 track that perfectly encapsulates the source material. The heart of this feature is the music, and it is very rewarding to hear these epic songs fill the room with such pristine quality. Dialogue from the interviews is the focus right up front in the center channel, and it always comes through clearly even with some environmental competition. The archival clips do not feature much in the way of age-related wear, but you can tell there were some limitations to certain pieces. The two-channel presentation is grand in its own way, but the full surround sound experience really brings this film to life in a notable way. This track delivers the goods in all respects. There are optional English and French subtitles provided on this release.

Special Features

Disc One

Audio Commentary #1: Director Sacha Gervasi and band members Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner provide a commentary track recorded in 2008 before the release of the film in which Gervasi leads the conversation and gets some interesting anecdotes out of the guys. You get some worthwhile background on various figures who pop up in the film, reactions to hearing praise from some of their peers, additional context for certain shots in the film, thoughts on where they are at the time of recording and more.

Audio Commentary #2: Director Sacha Gervasi, producer Rebecca Yeldham and editor Andrew Dickler provide another commentary track from 2008 which takes a more behind-the-scenes technical approach to discussing the movie including the legal hurdles to getting vintage footage cleared, lining up different interviews, the premiere at Sundance, and much more that is such a great listen.

Audio Commentary #3: Finally, we get a newly recorded 2022 commentary track from director Sacha Gervasi who reflects back on the film from a modern perspective. There are several repeated insights from the previous commentary tracks, but there is a lot of rewarding insight once things get rolling.

Deleted Scenes: This disc provides 16 minutes of unused material including the band moving some heavy furniture, additional car interviews with Lips, conversations with Lips’ coworkers and more.

Interviews

- Interview with Lars Ulrich: The full 30-minute interview with Metallica’s Lars Ulrich is provided here.

- Where Are They Now?: A three-minute look at Anvil band members who did not stick with the band.

- This Feels Good: A 13-minute piece from 2008 in which the band discusses the reasons for making the documentary, their personal history with one another, their following in the UK, changes in the music business and more.

- Interview with Maor Applebaum: A 16-minute interview with the Mastering Engineer who discusses the following of Anvil in Israel, the appeal of the band, the place of Judaism within the band member’s lives and more.

- Interview with Steve “Lips” Kudlow: An eight-minute interview with the band member who discusses opening for Motorhead once again, his relationships within the rock community, having a family with the rock-and-roll lifestyle and more.

- Backstage Interview with Rob & Steve: A five-minute discussion with both of the main members who talk about a potential tour with Motorhead, their past history and more.

Sacha Gervasi Rocks With Anvil: A four-minute piece which shows the director playing a song with the band.

Anvil Q&A at Saban Theater with Moderator Steve-O: A new 17-minute Q&A with the band members, director Sacha Gervasi, producer Rebecca Yeldham, Lips’ sister and more moderated by the Jackass star. In this piece we get an update on the band, conversations about the band dynamics and transition in the lineup, statements on how their family feels about the band’s trajectory, the renewal of interest in and re-release of the movie and more.

Q&A with Director Sacha Gervasi, The Band and Peter Dinklage: A nearly 33-minute conversation moderated by the Game of Thrones star who asks great questions about the dynamics between Gervasi and the band, how certain events came about in the film and more before turning to the audience for more questions.

Trailers: This disc provides the Theatrical Teaser (0:39), the Original Theatrical Trailer (2:38) and the UK Theatrical Trailer (2:04) for Anvil. There are also trailers provided for Randy Rhoads: Reflections Of A Guitar Icon and Murder In The Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story.

Disc Two

Interview with Steve “Lips” Kudlow, Robb Reiner and Director Sacha Gervasi Moderated by Matt Pinfield: A terrifically expansive 94-minute interview which offers the ultimate exploration of the band, their dynamic with Gervasi, the impact of the documentary and more.

Rich Roll Video Podcast Interview with Director Sacha Gervasi and The Band: Not to be outdone, this 132-minute interview somehow digs even deeper into these subjects.

Picture-In-Picture Video Commentary by Director Sacha Gervasi and Anvil Members Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner: An option to watch the audio commentary from 2008 that can be found on Disc 1 in audio form. Watching their facial reactions to certain moments fleshes out some of the dead air a bit in interesting ways.

Video Commentary with Director Sacha Gervasi and The Band: A new Zoom-based video commentary in which the trio once again discuss the film at length including the current state of their leather outfits and more.

Video Commentary with Director Sacha Gervasi and Producer Rebecca Yeldham: One final new Zoom-based commentary is provided here. While the insights into the movie are welcome, I’m personally here for the pre-show banter before the movie officially gets underway.

Final Thoughts

Anvil! The Story Of Anvil is one of the great music documentaries to come out in the past few decades. This is not a puff piece looking to solidify the legacy of a famous musician, but rather it is the lens into a band’s struggle to decide if they need to finally give up on their dreams. You do not need to be a fan of the band to get something out of this film. It delivers the requisite background to give you a foundation, but the experience is more so a universal one of struggle and interpersonal relationships which really connects the audience emotionally. Utopia and MVD Entertainment have released a Blu-Ray featuring a terrific A/V presentation and a staggering number of special features. This is a prime example of how to make a compelling music documentary. Highly Recommended

Anvil! The Story Of Anvil is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Utopia and MVD Entertainment have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.