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. 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.
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Cast
- Steve 'Lips' KudlowHimself - Lead Guitar
- Robb ReinerHimself - Drummer
- Kevin GoocherHimself
- Glenn GyorffyHimself
- William HowellHimself
- Tiziana ArrigoniHerself - Manager
Recommendations
- 100
Empire
The lyrics to AC/DC’s Long Way To The Top were never more appropriate. Anvil! is exactly what's needed to slap the recent rash of doomsayer documentaries in the face -- preferably with a studded, fingerless leather glove. - 100
Entertainment Weekly
It's a hilarious, and unexpectedly moving, documentary about the greatest metal band you've probably never heard of. - 91
The A.V. Club
Yet in his despair, there's something Kudlow misses, and it's what makes Anvil! as moving as it is hilarious. - 88
Rolling Stone
Want to find the heart of rock & roll? You can hear it thundering in Anvil. - 80
Variety
Well-shot and edited, Anvil! is an underdog saga even non-metalheads will root for. It tows that fine line between chuckling at its protags' somewhat absurd situation and celebrating their sheer unwillingness to give up. - 80
Village Voice
Phenomenal rockumentary. - 80
Salon
From the too-good-to-be-true desk comes this loving and hilarious portrait of Spinal Tap-esque Canadian metal band Anvil, who were briefly a hard-rock sensation in the early '80s (mainly for the song "Metal on Metal") and have been struggling along in total obscurity ever since. - 75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Surprisingly touching and funny.
