Customer Reviews

Hysteria - The Def Leppard Story

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a movie focusing on well known facts from the Def Leppard 197901986 period.

It starts with Joe Elliot auditioning for Atomic Mass, the band including Sav and Pete Willis, and goes all the way to their first performance with Rick Allen after his accident.

The casting directors and vocal coaches did a fantastic job. Also, the director was able to pull off the personal background that affected highs (their first EP funded by Joe Elliott's dad) and lows (Steve Clark drinking his father's demons (literally) to death) of the band without overdramatizing them.

Also, the movie shows us the influence that Mutt Lange had on their carreer without forgetting the fact that the Lepps had the skills, the talent and the commitment to make it happen with his producing genius.

If you are a fan of Def Leppard, stop reading and buy this movie immediately. If you were a casual fan of the Pyromania and Hysteria albums, you might as well enjoy a nicely made movie that gives you a glimpse into the history of a hugely popular "pop" metal band.

What do you want??? I WANT ROCK N ROLL!

I absolutely LOVED this movie and highly, highly recommend it to ANYONE who has never seen it. I'm not a huge fan of Def Leppard and knew absolutely nothing about them...in fact I didn't even knew they were a British Band...yeah, yeah I know. But I found the movie to be very entertaining as well as informative. Even if you don't care for there music, still give it a try...you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised. Except for a concert scene at the end, very little of there music is played throughout the movie, with the focus being more on the band members, their private lives, and personal struggles and tragedies.

Since we recieved the DVD my kids watch it about every day. I never thought it would make a lasting impression but it has. It taught them that no matter what obstacle lies before them all they have to do is believe in themselves and they will overcome it.

As a longtime Def Leppard fan, I enjoyed this movie. It was hard to watch Steve Clark's struggle with his demons - I was always a fan of Steve, and to know what a difficult life he had leaves me feeling wistful for what might have been for him.

By the way, to previous reviewers: Rick Allen is not played by Kevin Dillon. The actor's name is Tat Whalley.

....thought it was fantastic. I almost forgot I was watching a movie. Afterwards, I saw a program with the Leps and it seems this movie was dead on (according to the things they talked about that had happened in their career). I recommend it to ANY Leppard fan, the long-time deadicated fan and the casual "like some of their stuff" folk...you may ALL come away being Lep fans.

I've been a huge fan of Def Leppard since the early 80's, and their longevity and mutli-faceted talents continue to amaze me 20+ years later. This movie chronicles a relatively short but crucial period in the band's existence, from their founding to the accident that cost drummer Rick Allen his left arm, and his truly incredible determination to re-train himself to use his feet instead. It ends with what I believe was their first public performance with Rick post-accident, at a Monsters of Rock concert - an amazing performance that made music headlines all over the world.

Def Leppard is one of the only bands whose story and music consistently trigger a multitude of different emotions for me. I personally find the whole band and their story to be incredibly inspirational. Obviously there's Rick Allen's story, which would be pretty hard to top. I also think of Joe Elliott as a quintessential frontman, and he seems much more than that. His passion for music and drive to succeed is palpable, and his and the other guys' determination to keep it together through some tough times is something anyone can take a lesson from. I have all of their albums from On Through the Night to Yeah, and there's not a single one with a bad or even forgettable song. My emotions run the gamut when I listen, from the happy-let's-party feeling I get from songs like Photograph and I Wanna Be Your Hero, to mellow-smooth with songs like Too Late for Love, Breathe a Sigh and Truth, to sad with White Lightning, Scar and Blood Runs Cold, to sexy with All Night (REALLY like that one), Slang, and I Wanna Touch You. Their music captures an entire life, with all its twists and turns.

I'd in fact been resisting the whole mp3 player / iPod mania until I realized that I couldn't get all my Def Leppard CD's into one player, so if I ever meet them I'm going to tell them they owe me $150 bucks..... LOL

Anyway, back to the movie.... it ends just before the Hysteria, erm, hysteria, so it's hardly a complete picture of the band's career, but then again, 20+ years would be hard to take down to 2 hours of screen time. The acting is slightly cheesy, but I thought everyone did an admirable job of portraying the band members as faithfully as possible.

Definitely recommended.

I first saw this movie just last year, due to I was over sea's and wasn't able to see it when VH1 previewed it. Boy did I miss out on a great movie, I knew of most of the story that was told but it really put into perspective of how the band grew together and how they were able to over came Rick's accident to continue to give us awesome songs to remember them by.
Def Leppard is and always will be one of the biggest bands ever.
Hey and while your picking up the movie, check out the latest album "Rock Of Ages" :) it's pretty good to.
Forever an 80's rock Fan.
DJ Adrenaline

This is a very good movie and I definitely recommend that ANY Def Leppard fan buy it. The actors in the movie look pretty similar to the members also....and it's a good way to learn more about the band if you're a new fan.

I need to tell you that this movie is definatly 100% accurate in portraying the history of the rise of Def Leppard to the top of the chart's! The story-line is an in-depth look at the high's and low's of THE greatest band in the history of rock and roll. The way they pull no punches and stay true to facts says alot about not only the writer's but also the band itself!! How many other band's have we seen such a personal look into the things that made them who they are today?? NONE! Most celeb's deny the ugly truth about everything from drinking to botox!!LOL. I highly reccommend this movie to everyone who has ever jammed to a Def Leppard song or those who have never heard the guys play---it will make you an instant fan!!!!

(rick is my brother-in-law, was married to my husband's sister Stacy and prefer's to be called either Richard or "THUNDERGOD"

I am so glas I bought this DVD. I have seen the movie many times on tv but wanted to add it to my collection. Even though you know their history its still nice to see the journey so to speak. Have to admit I chuckled through most of it only because two of my teenage children who do no like DL couldnt seem to take their eyes off the screen and had a million and one questions to ask me about them. I guess being able to see the journey also had an impact on them as well. Great movie I highly reccomend it.