Anvil! The Story of Anvil - Movie Review and Synopsis

At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the “demi-gods of Canadian metal, ” influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, despite never hitting the big time. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams.

If you were an 80s metal head, chances are you either worshiped Anvil or saw them support one of your favorite bands during that pre-Nirvana era. (Jovi!) The word-of-mouth is strong here: it all started at Sundance in 2008, then started to fade until VH1 got behind Sacha Gervasi’s documentary and helped crank up the publicity amps by putting Anvil on a mini tour as the platform release unfurls this month. While the trailer reveals the band’s current fate, I am wondering whether the doc’s hopeful success will help Gervasi get his Hervé Villechaize project made.

Director: Sacha Gervasi
Stars: Robb Reiner, Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow, Tiziana Arrigoni
Studio: Abramorama
Release Date: 20 February 2009 (UK)
Genre: Documentary