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100Anvil lives somewhere in that thoroughly entertaining gray area between self-parody and the triumph of human spirit.
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100The 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.
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100It's a hilarious, and unexpectedly moving, documentary about the greatest metal band you've probably never heard of.
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91A hilarious, touching, profound and inspiring film about art and dreams and self-belief and the goggle-eyed hope that you can will a miracle into reality through sheer effort and desire.
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91Yet in his despair, there's something Kudlow misses, and it's what makes Anvil! as moving as it is hilarious.
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90The most stirring release of the year thus far is a documentary.
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88Want to find the heart of rock & roll? You can hear it thundering in Anvil.
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88I can't imagine Anvil! not appealing to anyone interested in any aspect of showbiz, and the drug of fame, and the lives people lead in pursuit of the next fix.
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For Kudlow, for whom "music lives forever" - it's never over. And the opportunity to seize the day continues to present itself in this deeply human documentary.
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88Neil Young once said: It's better to burn out than it is to rust. But moviegoers are lucky Anvil didn't take Young's advice. Who knew heavy metal could seem like fine art when it rusts?
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88Anvil! is one of the sweetest, funniest films I've seen this year. Also the loudest and most foulmouthed.
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80Alternately funny, sad and outrageous, Sacha Gervasi's terrific documentary feels like the lost sequel to "This Is Spinal Tap" -- and everyone involved seems to know it, except the leads.
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80Every bit enjoyable as that famed mockumentary.
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80From 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.
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Phenomenal rockumentary.
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80You may never have expected to see the words heavy metal, endearing and warmhearted in the same sentence, but you just did.
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80The director, Sacha Gervasi, is a fan first and a documentarian second. If Anvil! has a flaw, it's that it's too enthusiastic, a reverently uncritical valentine to the director's adolescent heroes.
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80Well-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.
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80Gervasi has tapped into a powerful if much-overlooked truth: humanity rocks.
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75"How many bands stay together for 30 years?" asks Slash of Guns N' Roses, in a backstage interview. "You've got the Stones, the Who, U2 -- and Anvil." Yeah. And Anvil.
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75Not exactly as well known as Megadeth or Metallica, Anvil did indeed have 15 minutes of fame back in the 1980s. Then it went into obscurity. Now it's back, trying like hell to be somebody.
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75You won't be seeing any stretch Hummers, wild late night parties and 75,000 seat arena shows in this documentary, but that's what makes this so good.
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75Surprisingly touching and funny.
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70The documentary is solid as … as … an anvil. And if you can forget Spinal Tap (hard), it's also rather touching the way these 50-year-olds still have the forged-in-fire fortitude.
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70Mr. Reiner and Mr. Kudlow may not quite merit full-metal glory, but they don't deserve oblivion either, and Anvil! The Story of Anvil makes both a case and a place for their band.
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A loopy, endearing documentary.
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 12 out of 14
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Mixed: 2 out of 14
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Negative: 0 out of 14
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LyleS.10This is the best rock movie of all time - it is the essence of love for rock.
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TeresaL.10
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