| ||||||||||||||||||||
Save now on popular hit TV series such as Justified, Breaking Bad, Jesse Stone, and many more. Offer ends May 31, 2013. |
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Special Features
None.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Historically, heavy-metal bands such as Slayer and Metallica have sold images of hellfire and damnation, torment and oblivion, amplified and exaggerated to mythic proportions for a mostly suburban, adolescent base. Even under Saddam Hussein's violent regime, metal colonized the subconscious of a generation of young Iraqis, who suffered criticism for their scruffy goatees and threw their devil horns the raised fist with index and pinky fingers extended like the furtive signal of a secret society. It wasn't easy to rock. But once American armed forces began dropping bombs on Baghdad in 2003, followed by an occupation now in its sixth year, things really went to hell. All the apocalyptic language and gruesome cover art that gives metal its demonic kick paled amid the harsh reality experienced daily by the young men who wanted nothing more than to emulate the Western rock bands they idolize. How are you going to crank the volume when the power goes out all the time and there's a 7 p.m. curfew? What do you do when a Scud missile blows up your equipment van and a bomb wipes out the guitar store? These are a few of the many cultural questions that underpin "Heavy Metal in Baghdad," which opens the 15th and final edition of the New York Underground Film Festival tomorrow night at the Anthology Film Archives. It's an ideal choice for the festival, which is shutting down in part because the gonzo auteurs it has served so well have taken over the Internet. The film was produced by Vice, the Williamsburg-based media empire that promotes latter-day hipster culture and has expanded online with VBS.tv. There, Web surfers can watch bits of "Heavy Metal" along with documentaries of soft-porn photo sessions and "webisodes" of "Toxic Garbage Island." Shot by Vice honchos Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi on handheld video cameras with a "we must be nuts to come here" first-person approach, "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" quickly transcends its potential flake factor as it chronicles the struggle of Acrassicauda, a quartet that is purported to be the only heavy metal band in Iraq. The group's name is Latin for "black scorpion," an insect common to Iraq, and a usefully descriptive symbol for the band's impressively stinging attack. The cameras follow the band over the course of three years, beginning in 2003 when it was first featured in Vice, then picking up again in 2005 when Acrassicauda successfully staged a concert in a downtown Baghdad hotel though they had to pack up the gear and get lost before nightfall, and the coalition forces guarding the bombed-out site got spooked by all the shaggy Iraqi dudes in their bootleg Iron Maiden T-shirts. Much of the story is told by the group's bassist, Firas Al-Lateef, an amiable and talkative young man whose command of English idioms is admirable, if almost comically profane. Though the musicians say they taught themselves from movies and recordings, their accents make them sound a lot like the good ol' boy American servicemen around whom they've spent much of their time. "Dude" is frequently used as verbal punctuation. Weird cultural transliterations abound, such as when Mr. Al-Lateef complains about the difficulty of "head-banging" in an Islamic nation. It seems the up-and-down motion known to metal fans too closely resembles the Jewish act of davening, and could be punished with extreme measures. It's tough to keep a band together when it's too scary to make a 15-minute walk to your guitar player's house, so the musicians leave home only as a last resort. Gradually, the band drifts into exile before regrouping in Damascus, where the Vice guys arrive to film its first concert in ages. Remarkably, given that there is no metal scene in Damascus, a crowd turns up for the show in a basement café... --The NY Sun
As one quick glance at this year s list of Oscar-nominated documentaries should prove, there are a lot of filmmakers with the conflict in Iraq on their minds right now.
These films have given us a lot of different perspectives from a lot of different sources, such as filmmaker Deborah Scranton s 2006 film The War Tapes, which put cameras in the hands of a group of soliders stationed in Iraq, to fascinating results. Or filmmaker Charles Ferguson, whose recently Oscar-nominated doc, No End in Sight, sought to give viewers an insider s perspective of the American occupation of Iraq.
But of all these films, none have had quite the deeply personal perspective (and dare I say) strangely irreverent tone of filmmakers Suroosh Alvi and Eddy Moretti s debut documentary feature Heavy Metal in Baghdad. And though the film s title could have just as easily been referring to some sort of heavy artillery, it is quite literal as Alvi and Moretti make their focus a group of Iraqi men who comprise the one and only heavy metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda (Latin for Black Scorpion ).
Whether you re a fan of metal music or have even heard of Acrassicauda (and watching the film it s clear that the filmmakers are banking on the fact that you probably haven t) is not important. What is important is that Alvi and Moretti use the much more personal scope and experiences of the four young men in the band to turn their film into a distinctly human experience. And though they don t pull any punches, their unique sense of humor is evident. (It should be noted that both filmmakers are heavily involved with the publication of Vice Magazine, frequent purveyors of scathing political editorials steadfast in their belief that too much political correctness might not be a good thing for anyone).
The film follows the band s journey from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 to the present day as they struggle to stay together and keeping making the music they deeply love as their nation crumbles around them. The film also presents a unique glimpse into the influence that American music and culture has on the young people of Iraq, the members or Acrassicauda even admitting they learned most of the English they know from the contraband Metallica and Slayer albums they were able to smuggle into the country.
Due in no small part to the creation of the film, Acrassicauda were able to flee to Turkey because of a number of generous donations made on their behalf, but we re left with the bittersweet notion that these four lads from Baghdad aren t out of the woods yet.
One part political doc, one part music doc, Heavy Metal in Baghdad manages to be moving and memorable in a way few films that have taken on the heady subject of the war have managed. It s no wonder Academy Award winning filmmaker Spike Jonze (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich) felt the need to lend his name as executive producer.
Heavy Metal in Baghdad has its U.S. premiere schedule dfor March 12t at the SXSW film festival and is sure to open a few minds, break a few hearts and cause even the most mild mannered of viewers to bang their heads in the name of freedom. Heavy Metal in Baghdad has its U.S. premiere schedule dfor March 12t at the SXSW film festival and is sure to open a few minds, break a few hearts and cause even the most mild mannered of viewers to bang their heads in the name of freedom. --Documentary Channel
It was already an unlikely story: Around 2000, a group of Iraqi school friends weaned on bootleg Metallica and Slayer tapes formed their own metal band with an imposing name, Acrassicauda (derived from the name of a species of black scorpion), and an appropriately do-or-die attitude.
They rehearsed in a basement in Baghdad and dreamed of playing Ozzfest and having long hair. Though their kind of music was essentially verboten under Saddam Hussein s regime, they managed to perform a few times for several hundred fellow headbangers and considered themselves a center of the (deeply) underground hardcore scene. When their country was plunged into war a few years later, they lost a lead singer he fled to Canada but gained a new audience in Western journalists eager for some local color. Vice magazine, the downtown bible known mostly for its sneering outlook, profiled the band in its January 2004 issue, drawing attention to its perseverance in the face of increased security risks; no matter what, it seemed, Acrassicauda was committed to rocking out. In 2006, the company s managers, sensing a bigger opportunity, traveled to Baghdad for what was intended to be a punchy short video starring the group, being billed as Iraq s only heavy-metal band. Instead they turned the footage into a feature-length documentary, Heavy Metal in Baghdad, which opens for a weeklong run on Friday in New York and Los Angeles. (A DVD will be released June 10.) A blend of Behind the Music -style back story and amateur guerrilla war reporting, the film follows Acrassicauda from 2003 to 2006 as the four remaining members struggle to stay together even as Iraq falls apart. Their rehearsal space is bombed, their audience dwindles and eventually, they, too, flee to Syria, then to Turkey. Two years later, filmmakers and band have remained committed to one another and to the youthful idealism of the movie (as expressed through a devotion to pounding riffs and shrill lyrics, of course). It was life-changing, nothing short of, Eddy Moretti, 36, a director of the film, said of making it. In addition to helping the band, he said, the big ambition is to get people to change the discourse on the war a little bit, to get people started talking about, wanting to know about, the Iraqi refugee situation. His co-director, Suroosh Alvi, 39, said that making the movie was a no-brainer. There were just so many elements that I felt like we were tailor-made to do, especially writing about music for so many years in the magazine, it got really boring after a while, he said. I would say it was one the most creatively satisfying projects I ve ever worked on. They used the project to inaugurate VBS.tv, Vice s Viacom-backed online video network, last year and to reposition the Vice brand as a more serious endeavor appropriate for the posthipster, globally pluralist era. (And it is still macho enough to keep the attention of young men, said Ken Sonenclar, managing director of DeSilva and Phillips, a media investment-banking firm.) But for Acrassicauda s members, now living in exile on Vice s dime in Istanbul, the life change was not uniformly positive. The band s three unmarried members Marwan Hussain, 23, the drummer and designated spokesman; Tony Aziz, 29, the lead guitarist; Faisal Talal, 25, the singer and rhythm guitarist and a cat share an apartment over a kindergarten. Firas Al-Lateef, 27, the bassist, lives with his wife and young son nearby. They have not seen their extended families in nearly two years...For now Acrassicauda is stranded in Istanbul, where Vice helped the members relocate in the aftermath of some threatening e-mail messages they received after the movie s premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. --The New York Times
As one quick glance at this year s list of Oscar-nominated documentaries should prove, there are a lot of filmmakers with the conflict in Iraq on their minds right now.
These films have given us a lot of different perspectives from a lot of different sources, such as filmmaker Deborah Scranton s 2006 film The War Tapes, which put cameras in the hands of a group of soliders stationed in Iraq, to fascinating results. Or filmmaker Charles Ferguson, whose recently Oscar-nominated doc, No End in Sight, sought to give viewers an insider s perspective of the American occupation of Iraq.
But of all these films, none have had quite the deeply personal perspective (and dare I say) strangely irreverent tone of filmmakers Suroosh Alvi and Eddy Moretti s debut documentary feature Heavy Metal in Baghdad. And though the film s title could have just as easily been referring to some sort of heavy artillery, it is quite literal as Alvi and Moretti make their focus a group of Iraqi men who comprise the one and only heavy metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda (Latin for Black Scorpion ).
Whether you re a fan of metal music or have even heard of Acrassicauda (and watching the film it s clear that the filmmakers are banking on the fact that you probably haven t) is not important. What is important is that Alvi and Moretti use the much more personal scope and experiences of the four young men in the band to turn their film into a distinctly human experience. And though they don t pull any punches, their unique sense of humor is evident. (It should be noted that both filmmakers are heavily involved with the publication of Vice Magazine, frequent purveyors of scathing political editorials steadfast in their belief that too much political correctness might not be a good thing for anyone).
The film follows the band s journey from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 to the present day as they struggle to stay together and keeping making the music they deeply love as their nation crumbles around them. The film also presents a unique glimpse into the influence that American music and culture has on the young people of Iraq, the members or Acrassicauda even admitting they learned most of the English they know from the contraband Metallica and Slayer albums they were able to smuggle into the country.
Due in no small part to the creation of the film, Acrassicauda were able to flee to Turkey because of a number of generous donations made on their behalf, but we re left with the bittersweet notion that these four lads from Baghdad aren t out of the woods yet.
One part political doc, one part music doc, Heavy Metal in Baghdad manages to be moving and memorable in a way few films that have taken on the heady subject of the war have managed. It s no wonder Academy Award winning filmmaker Spike Jonze (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich) felt the need to lend his name as executive producer.
Heavy Metal in Baghdad has its U.S. premiere schedule dfor March 12t at the SXSW film festival and is sure to open a few minds, break a few hearts and cause even the most mild mannered of viewers to bang their heads in the name of freedom. Heavy Metal in Baghdad has its U.S. premiere schedule dfor March 12t at the SXSW film festival and is sure to open a few minds, break a few hearts and cause even the most mild mannered of viewers to bang their heads in the name of freedom. --Documentary Channel
It was already an unlikely story: Around 2000, a group of Iraqi school friends weaned on bootleg Metallica and Slayer tapes formed their own metal band with an imposing name, Acrassicauda (derived from the name of a species of black scorpion), and an appropriately do-or-die attitude.
They rehearsed in a basement in Baghdad and dreamed of playing Ozzfest and having long hair. Though their kind of music was essentially verboten under Saddam Hussein s regime, they managed to perform a few times for several hundred fellow headbangers and considered themselves a center of the (deeply) underground hardcore scene. When their country was plunged into war a few years later, they lost a lead singer he fled to Canada but gained a new audience in Western journalists eager for some local color. Vice magazine, the downtown bible known mostly for its sneering outlook, profiled the band in its January 2004 issue, drawing attention to its perseverance in the face of increased security risks; no matter what, it seemed, Acrassicauda was committed to rocking out. In 2006, the company s managers, sensing a bigger opportunity, traveled to Baghdad for what was intended to be a punchy short video starring the group, being billed as Iraq s only heavy-metal band. Instead they turned the footage into a feature-length documentary, Heavy Metal in Baghdad, which opens for a weeklong run on Friday in New York and Los Angeles. (A DVD will be released June 10.) A blend of Behind the Music -style back story and amateur guerrilla war reporting, the film follows Acrassicauda from 2003 to 2006 as the four remaining members struggle to stay together even as Iraq falls apart. Their rehearsal space is bombed, their audience dwindles and eventually, they, too, flee to Syria, then to Turkey. Two years later, filmmakers and band have remained committed to one another and to the youthful idealism of the movie (as expressed through a devotion to pounding riffs and shrill lyrics, of course). It was life-changing, nothing short of, Eddy Moretti, 36, a director of the film, said of making it. In addition to helping the band, he said, the big ambition is to get people to change the discourse on the war a little bit, to get people started talking about, wanting to know about, the Iraqi refugee situation. His co-director, Suroosh Alvi, 39, said that making the movie was a no-brainer. There were just so many elements that I felt like we were tailor-made to do, especially writing about music for so many years in the magazine, it got really boring after a while, he said. I would say it was one the most creatively satisfying projects I ve ever worked on. They used the project to inaugurate VBS.tv, Vice s Viacom-backed online video network, last year and to reposition the Vice brand as a more serious endeavor appropriate for the posthipster, globally pluralist era. (And it is still macho enough to keep the attention of young men, said Ken Sonenclar, managing director of DeSilva and Phillips, a media investment-banking firm.) But for Acrassicauda s members, now living in exile on Vice s dime in Istanbul, the life change was not uniformly positive. The band s three unmarried members Marwan Hussain, 23, the drummer and designated spokesman; Tony Aziz, 29, the lead guitarist; Faisal Talal, 25, the singer and rhythm guitarist and a cat share an apartment over a kindergarten. Firas Al-Lateef, 27, the bassist, lives with his wife and young son nearby. They have not seen their extended families in nearly two years...For now Acrassicauda is stranded in Istanbul, where Vice helped the members relocate in the aftermath of some threatening e-mail messages they received after the movie s premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. --The New York Times
Product Description
Heavy Metal in Baghdad is a documentary feature film that follows the Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda (Latin for a deadly black scorpion native to Iraq) from the fall of Saddam Hussein to their escape from Iraq. The band members - Firas (bass), Tony (lead guitar), Marwan (drums) and Faisal (lead vocals and rhythm guitar) - were bred on American heavy metal albums, learning to speak English by listening to Slayer, Metallica and Slipknot. Playing heavy metal in a Muslim country has always been a difficult (if not impossible) proposition, but, after Saddam s regime was toppled, there was a brief moment for the band in which real freedom seemed possible. That hope was quickly dashed as their country fell into a bloody insurgency. Bonus Features include: 45 Minute Featurette: HEAVY METAL IN ISTANBUL - the documentary that picks up where Heavy Metal in Baghdad left off 7 Additional & Deleted Scenes: 30 minutes of extra content including extended interviews with the band plus a meeting with the Iraqi Godfather in Syria 3 Live Performances: Acrassicauda Live! - Original Acrassicauda songs Underworld;King Without A Throne; Message From Baghdad performed in 2006 & 2008 8 Page Booklet: including the original Vice magazine article No War For Heavy Metal Theatrical Trailer
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"Heavy Metal in Baghdad" chronicles a mere three years of the existence of Iraq's only heavy metal band, Acrassicauda (latin for Black Scorpion). It's an eventful three years. The band endured a war, a gunshot wound, gigs played with intermittent electricity, and a destroyed practice space before fleeing their country and learning a lot about the world and the true meaning of metal in the process. And you too will learn more about real musicians and Iraq in this 90 minutes then in 100 years of 24-7 coverage on any mainstream news channel. This is documentary filmmaking at it's very best.
The band began under the rule of Saddam Hussein, whose thugs told them that they could only perform if they wrote and played a tribute song for Hussein in person. Yes, that man really was that full of himself. The band derisively recounts that the tune itself wasn't bad but the lyrics praising the dictator by name were "just a bunch of [...] lies and sh!+". Note that the members of the band "perfected" their English by listening to Slayer albums. But even in this hardcore Islamist climate where wearing a Slipknot shirt is reason enough to be shot on sight, people hunger for the raw energy and catharsis that only heavy metal can provide. The drummer has to fill his instrument with clothing to keep the noise down, and any expression of an art form viewed as evil and American risks their lives, but these people do it anyways. The crowds bang their heads even though they are chastised for it's resemblance to Jewish prayer, they mosh politely on their knees so that they don't obscure the view to the tiny stage, they don Sepultera and Megadeth shirts; like you and me they live for this. The difference between there and here is, they sometimes die for it. Western metal bands sing about death. These guys live it.
One member of Acrassicauda recalls being shot as he drove down the street following America's "Mission Accomplished". With 300 civilian deaths daily, the young man asks if this is our democracy and freedom. "[...] this democracy", he states matter of factly. Looking at his bombed-out neighborhood, it's hard to argue. When the band's practice space is hit by a rocket and destroyed along with their instruments after the extreme pains they took to put together a mere 6 shows in 5 years as the only metal band in Iraq, it's even harder. In a city where the only music store was driven out of business because of death threats, vigilante Islamist militias disguise themselves as the police, and neighbors and friends don't see each other for months because going out in the street is not a risk they are willing to take, it's DAMN hard to feel good about Bush's brand of democracy. Particularly when the media continues to report how pleased the Iraqi citizens are with their new overlords. Acrassicauda's bassist delivers a firey lecture on just how far the news coverage has been from reality. Lots of f-bombs are dropped. He also points out that the whole jihad thing is a myth propagated by the media. The truth: almost all Muslims are indistinguishable from anybody else walking down the street in any city in the world. Seeing real footage of real people in Baghdad, you'd never think it was the same place portrayed in our media.
"Heavy Metal in Baghdad" is a true reality check for both music fans and people who think they can know a damn thing about the world from watching the news. When a bandmember holds up an Iron Maiden album cover and declares "this is what life looks like here", he laughs but he's not joking. Armored humvees fill the streets, Apache helicopters fly by, they can tell which explosions are missiles and which are car bombs. This is real life to these people. When Acrassicauda's formerly non-political singer directs his anger at the audience and accuses that this is the stuff we turn off when it comes on our television, I saw a man who'd grown up a lot. He had previously declared that the band was not political and that he would change the channel when that stuff came on. But three years of watching your country die and being forced to flee to Syria where he was not allowed to travel freely simply because of his nationality taught him a lesson. Life is not fair, and we have no right to treat people as second-class world citizens simply because they were born in the wrong geographical area. The previously non-political band records the first heavy metal album ever in the world's oldest city, Damascus. Among the songs is a bitter, heartfelt view of the war that took his country from him. Now he truly gets what metal is all about.
The band's reunion performance in Damascus is fantastic to watch unfold. At first, a very few people show up and the band declares to the cameras that this will be Acrassicauda's final show. Risking your life to play this music just is not worth it if nobody even shows up to your gigs. The band timidly opens with an 80's hair band cheese classic, having decided that they would stick to covers and try not to frighten away the small crowd they did have. More people show up. The band breaks in something a little heavier: a little Guns n' Roses. The crowd continues growing in both size and excitement. Acrassicauda breaks into Metallica's "Fade to Black". The audience explodes. Soon, the group's ultra-heavy original material is whipping the crowd into a frenzy; guess they won't be breaking up after all. The simple fact is that music is a universal language. Contrary to whatever regime is in power or what the social norms of a region are, there will always be an audience for true, passionate music that speaks to our deepest feelings. It is a global phenomenon and it cannot be suppressed.
"Heavy Metal in Baghdad" speaks to the viewer on many levels and does an amazing job of educating without ever talking down to the audience. It shows us reality when all we get on television is propaganda and lies. It shows us what it really means to have a passion for music; even if it invites your own death. When asked why he would even take the risk of wearing a metal t-shirt, the musician simply states that he believes in his fate whatever it may be and he's ready to die if necessary. How many top-40 fans would say such a thing? Every emo kid who spends more time on his hair then practicing his instrument, every hardcore wannabe who screams venom at the parents who paid for his instruments, every trendchaser looking to make it big because you want to be rich and famous: take a good hard look. Acrassicauda is everything a true band or artist should strive to be. The worst thing that will ever happen in your life is better then these guys' best day and they still carry on doing what they love ONLY because they love doing it. If only we could all have that kind of integrity of character.
The band began under the rule of Saddam Hussein, whose thugs told them that they could only perform if they wrote and played a tribute song for Hussein in person. Yes, that man really was that full of himself. The band derisively recounts that the tune itself wasn't bad but the lyrics praising the dictator by name were "just a bunch of [...] lies and sh!+". Note that the members of the band "perfected" their English by listening to Slayer albums. But even in this hardcore Islamist climate where wearing a Slipknot shirt is reason enough to be shot on sight, people hunger for the raw energy and catharsis that only heavy metal can provide. The drummer has to fill his instrument with clothing to keep the noise down, and any expression of an art form viewed as evil and American risks their lives, but these people do it anyways. The crowds bang their heads even though they are chastised for it's resemblance to Jewish prayer, they mosh politely on their knees so that they don't obscure the view to the tiny stage, they don Sepultera and Megadeth shirts; like you and me they live for this. The difference between there and here is, they sometimes die for it. Western metal bands sing about death. These guys live it.
One member of Acrassicauda recalls being shot as he drove down the street following America's "Mission Accomplished". With 300 civilian deaths daily, the young man asks if this is our democracy and freedom. "[...] this democracy", he states matter of factly. Looking at his bombed-out neighborhood, it's hard to argue. When the band's practice space is hit by a rocket and destroyed along with their instruments after the extreme pains they took to put together a mere 6 shows in 5 years as the only metal band in Iraq, it's even harder. In a city where the only music store was driven out of business because of death threats, vigilante Islamist militias disguise themselves as the police, and neighbors and friends don't see each other for months because going out in the street is not a risk they are willing to take, it's DAMN hard to feel good about Bush's brand of democracy. Particularly when the media continues to report how pleased the Iraqi citizens are with their new overlords. Acrassicauda's bassist delivers a firey lecture on just how far the news coverage has been from reality. Lots of f-bombs are dropped. He also points out that the whole jihad thing is a myth propagated by the media. The truth: almost all Muslims are indistinguishable from anybody else walking down the street in any city in the world. Seeing real footage of real people in Baghdad, you'd never think it was the same place portrayed in our media.
"Heavy Metal in Baghdad" is a true reality check for both music fans and people who think they can know a damn thing about the world from watching the news. When a bandmember holds up an Iron Maiden album cover and declares "this is what life looks like here", he laughs but he's not joking. Armored humvees fill the streets, Apache helicopters fly by, they can tell which explosions are missiles and which are car bombs. This is real life to these people. When Acrassicauda's formerly non-political singer directs his anger at the audience and accuses that this is the stuff we turn off when it comes on our television, I saw a man who'd grown up a lot. He had previously declared that the band was not political and that he would change the channel when that stuff came on. But three years of watching your country die and being forced to flee to Syria where he was not allowed to travel freely simply because of his nationality taught him a lesson. Life is not fair, and we have no right to treat people as second-class world citizens simply because they were born in the wrong geographical area. The previously non-political band records the first heavy metal album ever in the world's oldest city, Damascus. Among the songs is a bitter, heartfelt view of the war that took his country from him. Now he truly gets what metal is all about.
The band's reunion performance in Damascus is fantastic to watch unfold. At first, a very few people show up and the band declares to the cameras that this will be Acrassicauda's final show. Risking your life to play this music just is not worth it if nobody even shows up to your gigs. The band timidly opens with an 80's hair band cheese classic, having decided that they would stick to covers and try not to frighten away the small crowd they did have. More people show up. The band breaks in something a little heavier: a little Guns n' Roses. The crowd continues growing in both size and excitement. Acrassicauda breaks into Metallica's "Fade to Black". The audience explodes. Soon, the group's ultra-heavy original material is whipping the crowd into a frenzy; guess they won't be breaking up after all. The simple fact is that music is a universal language. Contrary to whatever regime is in power or what the social norms of a region are, there will always be an audience for true, passionate music that speaks to our deepest feelings. It is a global phenomenon and it cannot be suppressed.
"Heavy Metal in Baghdad" speaks to the viewer on many levels and does an amazing job of educating without ever talking down to the audience. It shows us reality when all we get on television is propaganda and lies. It shows us what it really means to have a passion for music; even if it invites your own death. When asked why he would even take the risk of wearing a metal t-shirt, the musician simply states that he believes in his fate whatever it may be and he's ready to die if necessary. How many top-40 fans would say such a thing? Every emo kid who spends more time on his hair then practicing his instrument, every hardcore wannabe who screams venom at the parents who paid for his instruments, every trendchaser looking to make it big because you want to be rich and famous: take a good hard look. Acrassicauda is everything a true band or artist should strive to be. The worst thing that will ever happen in your life is better then these guys' best day and they still carry on doing what they love ONLY because they love doing it. If only we could all have that kind of integrity of character.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"Heavy Metal in Baghad" is the story of Acrassicauda (Black Scorpion), the only heavy metal band in Iraq. In Baghdad, the band struggles to practice and perform despite obstacles set up by both the Americans and terrorists. Eventually, the situation at home gets bad enough to force an exodus to Syria. There, the band reunites, plays a live show and records a demo. (The three demo songs can be heard on the band's myspace page.) The film is a personalized and unique look at life in post-invasion Iraq. While the heavy metal scene is counter culture in the West, it can be a literal death wish in the Middle East. Where the band members live, they are unable to play their music or grow long hair. At the same time they are denied visas to emigrate to the West. While about a heavy metal band, an interest in metal is not a prerequisite for an appreciation of this film. (For the curious, they sound similar to Iron Maiden.) "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" is a well done piece of film that will appeal to anyone with an interest in Iraq, rock music or the exercise of civil liberties. In this respect, the movie is like a cross between Michael Franti's "I Know I'm Not Alone" and the "Refugee All Stars." Director Eddy Moretti crafted an unusual and powerful film. While showing the far reaches of rock 'n' roll, "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" teaches us all about the nature of war and freedom.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I found myself surprised to like a film about heavy metal this much.
While I respect it, it's not music that usually speaks personally to me.
But this tragic, darkly comic, oddly triumphant and endearing look at a
group of young Iraqis trying to keep their band together and play - in
the middle of the insanity of war, and then later in exile in Syria -
and also the crazy bravery of the two young film-makers trying to make
a movie about them - has stuck in my head with very fond feelings.
By making the war and it's effects this personal I came away with a
much deeper, more personal understanding than from a film trying to cover
the whole wide landscape.
I wasn't quite as moved on a second viewing, but it's
still a film I think of with tremendous wamrth, and recommend it
whether you like heavy metal or not.
While I respect it, it's not music that usually speaks personally to me.
But this tragic, darkly comic, oddly triumphant and endearing look at a
group of young Iraqis trying to keep their band together and play - in
the middle of the insanity of war, and then later in exile in Syria -
and also the crazy bravery of the two young film-makers trying to make
a movie about them - has stuck in my head with very fond feelings.
By making the war and it's effects this personal I came away with a
much deeper, more personal understanding than from a film trying to cover
the whole wide landscape.
I wasn't quite as moved on a second viewing, but it's
still a film I think of with tremendous wamrth, and recommend it
whether you like heavy metal or not.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
better than cnn!!
i have a totally diferent perspective on iraq and the wars that plague these people. for guys to risk prison or death to play metal makes me realize how lucky us spoiled americans... Read more
Published 6 months ago by the anti mormon, el demonio
5.0 out of 5 stars
Metal Up Your Assumptions
This is a terrific documentary about Acrassicauda, a heavy metal band struggling in Baghdad. Even in more peaceful times during Saddam's reign, these guys had their work cut out... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Kevin McGlinchey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Only movie that gets to the streets.
Seeking freedom or democracy or rock-n-roll - it doesn't matter. What matters is that this portrait of people trying to live in a wartorn world is about as good as that story... Read more
Published on October 19, 2010 by John Frisbie
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Obvious Message Between the Lines
First, before I begin my review, I need to provide something of a disclaimer, which is the so called "harsh parts" of my review. Read more
Published on May 15, 2010 by Izan Montenegro
4.0 out of 5 stars
Puts some things in perspective
For all their savagery, the Scandinavian black metal bands live in comfortable/wealthy Western countries with cradle to the grave benefits. Read more
Published on January 2, 2010 by Paul Lawrence
5.0 out of 5 stars
Can you handle the truth?
Let me start by disclosing that I know one of the directors. In fact, that's how I found out about this documentary, and I watched it because I was curious to see what he came up... Read more
Published on November 22, 2009 by Irfan A. Alvi
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not great but interesting
OK, this isn't the best-done "documentary" I've ever seen but it was kind of interesting. There was surprisingly little music in a video about a band (and, from what I can tell,... Read more
Published on August 11, 2009 by N. Perz
3.0 out of 5 stars
Heavy-handed in Brooklyn.
Heavy Metal in Baghdad (Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi, 2007)
For the last five years or thereabouts, Acrassicauda has been the name on the lips of many who keep their... Read more
For the last five years or thereabouts, Acrassicauda has been the name on the lips of many who keep their... Read more
Published on July 28, 2009 by Robert P. Beveridge
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Eye-Opening Account Of What It Means To Be Free
Synopsis: Vice Magazine Co-founder Suroosh Alvi goes to Baghdad, Iraq to check out Acrassicauda, which holds the distinction of being the first heavy metal band in Iraq; playing... Read more
Published on June 12, 2009 by Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must own for metal fans and a civilian's-eye-view of the Iraq war.
This was a brilliant documentary depicting the life of Iraq's only metal band in one of the deadliest parts of the world today. I enjoyed this film on 2 different levels. Read more
Published on February 27, 2009 by Brandon Green
Look for Similar Items by Category
|
