Product Details

• Format: Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Eagle Rock Ent
• DVD Release Date: June 29, 2010
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003JMJ5T8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,044 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The latest addition to the acclaimed & award winning Classic Albums series tells the story behind the making of one of Heavy Metal's greatest achievements: "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath. Released in the autumn of 1970, the band's second album is regarded by many as the finest Heavy Metal album of all time, is hugely influential and has come to define the Heavy Metal genre. The four original members of Black Sabbath: Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward talk us through the making of the album, together with the original engineer via interviews, demonstrations, archive videos and use of the original multi-track tapes.

Bonus Features:
Over 40 minutes of additional interviews, archive footage and new demonstrations not included in the broadcast version.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The best bits are in the bonus material July 15, 2010

By PJsc

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a HUGE fan of Sabbath AND the Classic Album series - I would be lying if I said this wasn't somewhat of a disappointment. Overall, it seemed more like a "VH-1 Behind the Music" segment, than an in-depth look at a "Classic Album".

The first 10 - 20 minutes ran through everything true Sabbath fans already know, such as Tony's finger tips and Geezer's vision. There was entirely too much focus on the political climate of the time, with tons of footage from Vietnam and civil unrest of the late 60's - early 70's. While the era certainly had a bearing on the band's inspiration, the amount of time devoted to it simply robbed viewers of a comprehensive look into the production of an incredible album.
Segments where the producer isolated the recordings to showcase instruments and parts seemed rushed and very short, almost as filler to break up each main segment. For instance, Rodger Bain commented on a particular track and said something to the effect of (I'm paraphrasing here) "This is my all time favorite vocal track from Ozzy. He sang this to perfection, so menacing and soulful". I just knew he would play the isolated vocal track. I mean - it seemed too obvious - but, nope - bam - right back to the VH-1 style presentation. When I found myself yelling at the TV - "Play the track!! let's hear it!!!!" I knew this was NOT what I was hoping for.

REDEMPTION (of sorts)
For those longing for more in-depth coverage of Geezer, Tony and Bill's incredible talents - rest assured - you will get your fix in the bonus segments. It's a shame the producers choose not to include this footage in the main feature. There's plenty of track isolation, demonstrations and live performances to satisfy. In fact, if it weren't for the bonus material - I would have given this review 1 star.

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Documentary About The Black Sabbath Album "Paranoid" May 29, 2010

By Danny Grier

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Classic Album series is one of the best in the business. From artists to producers to sound engineers to famous journalists, Classic Albums dissects the music that matters most. This time around they take on one of Metal's all time great releases, Black Sabbath's Paranoid.

The documentary features new and candid interviews with all four of Sabbath's original members including vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bass player Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. Behind the board, showing off the original master tapes is none other than the future famous producer Tom Allom (Def Leppard, Judas Priest). It is fascinating to hear all of the parts separately and then put together as the classic Paranoid was being built.

Everyone involved tells the story of what it was like to be a member of Black Sabbath touring America and become both famous and infamous at the same time. This is a legendary album by a legendary band. Hearing the sounds and the stories behind "Iron Man," "War Pigs," Paranoid," "Fairies Wear Boots" and "Electric Funeral" will keep you on the edge of your seat.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best album of all!!! December 30, 2010

By eddie baggett

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Black Sabbath & Family Footage Archives : June 29, 2010 Eagle Rock Entertainment Presents Classic Albums: Black Sabbath's Paranoid. The documentary features new and candid interviews with all four of Sabbath's original members vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bass player Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. To me the best part of this release is getting to see Iommi play Planet Caravan on the acoustic guitar. They really give this song some much needed attention. Its great to see Iommi at home playing the main riffs from the album. Geezer also plays some riffs on bass at his home. This starts with Paranoid live at the Caljam in great quality. It goes on to include footage from the Paris 70 concert and German TVs Beat Club. They also show parts of the Never Say Die dvd. The persons closes to Sabbath that are interviewed is former manager Jim Simpson & Studio worker Thom Allen. He plays isolated parts of the songs as well as some of the demos. (Demos can be heard on the deluxe editions 2009) Then he pulls out the orginial 4 track master studio tapes with his hand writing on the front. Also Henry Rollings gives some good fan perspective on the album. Stories include Iommi and his finger accident, name change of War Pigs, how Ironman, Paranoid, Faires Wear Boots came to be. Joe Smith from Warner Bros Records comes in to talk about the record company decision on various things about the album.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars quality DVD of the best band ever August 3, 2010

By Nick Holtzman

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

worth every penny- nice to see all 4 members talking about it- Sabbath is the best band ever

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Definitive Portrait of a Timeless Heavy Metal Album December 29, 2012

By Scott E. Browning

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Black Sabbath, like all other bands of their genre were not well received by critics when they first emerged. One sociologist in this film said that critics during the late 1960's and early 1970's wanted musical artists who gave them hope. Obviously, Black Sabbath was not one of those bands. On their album, "Paranoid", they basically talk about certain problems through their songs, and leaves you, the listener, to draw your own conclusions. For example, 'War Pigs' as almost all of us know, discusses the effects of war on different countries. "Electric Funeral" talks about the dangers of nuclear weapons. "Hands of Doom" explains in detail, how individual soldiers have been affected by war as well as drug abuse. "Fairies Wear Boots" tells about a gang of skinheads physically and mentally abusing the band members as well as other hippies. "Iron Man" according to the band members is a science fiction tale of a man who time travels into the future and then trvels back to the present to discuss futuristic disasters which are likely to take place if we humans are not careful enough. Finally, there's "Paranoid", which talks about an individual experiencing mental problems, such as paranoia, schizophrenia, and depression.

These songs as well as others are discussed thoroughly in this outstanding documentary. We hear the band members: Tony Iommi, Terence "Geezer" Butler, Bill Ward, and John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne as well as engineer Tom Allom, talk about how they play their instuments for each specific song as well as how they mix each of them in the control room. You also hear commentaries from artists like Henry Rollins, who discusses songs like "Paranoid" and "Iron Man" (in which he talks about ascending and descending bridges in the middle of it....) He as well as Ozzy Osbourne discusse the importance of a good and strong rhythem section is essential for a groudbreaking rock 'n' roll band; in this case, it's the drum playing of Bill Ward and the bass playing of Terence Butler.

You hear about when the band first formed, they were a band called "Earth", and how they eventually named themselves "Black Sabbath" after investigating with aspects of the occult, not because they became devil worshippers. The band members discuss how their environment in their hometown, Birmingham, England, which was for the most part a slum) helped them develop their distinguished sound. They also talk about they took a trip to "The Star Club" in Hamburg, Germany, which previously, many famous groups and musicicans performed there such as "The Beatles", "Chuck Berry", "Jerry Lee Lewis", and "Ray Charles". However, when Black Sabbath performed there, only three people were in the audience. Then when they released their self-titled debut album, "Black Sabbath", more people started to take notice, even though as stated before, the critics were not satisfied with it. Then, when they release "Paranoid", they gain a bigger following and eventually take a tour in the United States. As we all see, this album sells well in both England and in America and establishes "Black Sabbath" as a landmark band.

You hear interviews from a sociologist, journalists, and critics as to how the album "Paranoid" as well as the band itself changed the heavy metal genre forever as well as pave the way for many future bands to come.

Finally, there's the bonus footage, where you hear about subjects like who the bands influences were, their first tour in the United States, how Tony Iommi developed cutting-edge guitar riffs in spite of getting two of his right-hand fingertips cut of by a machine in an accident at an industry, Bill Ward's phenomenal drum playing and more of his influences, and extended takes on some of the songs.

"Classic Albums" as we all know picks out certain albums in the rock 'n' roll genre who they feel have stood the test of time. "Paranoid" is absolutely one of them. The songs mentioned above still make sense in terms of discussing the dark side of reality. Ironically, these subjects can be turned into entertainment with the tool of music. Read more ›