Customer Reviews

Metallica: Metallimania

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

 

 

I don't know what made me search for any Metallica dvds (since I own all of them), but I did the other day. To my suprise I saw this new dvd, which sounded very interesting to say the least. I ordered my copy and just recieved it today. The whole dvd is a documentry done by some random guy. He interviews and talks with fans. Only for a few minutes, if that, does Metallica appear in the video. I couldn't even bare to watch the whole thing so I kept going back to the menu to go to the next chapter, but I encountered the same bordem over and over. If I would not recommend this dvd to anyone.

This DVD is nothing more than drunken, overly aggressive, ignorant fans at concerts. These people are the reason that concerts aren't as enjoyable any more. As for the "Host" of this disaster, this guy needs a razor and a shower. The shots of James drunk outside of a club were just unneccesary in light of his new sobriety. You can tell that this was an "unauthorized" biography, if it could be called that. The scenes with the host "interviewing" a couple of fans looks so staged it is pathetic. I have been a fan of the band since '86 and own every DVD Metallica has put out. The only reason I give this 2 stars is because it IS about Metallica, and that is the ONLY reason. True fans should skip this and stick to the authorized DVD's the band puts out.

I got this from a discount store, very cheap (less than what it costs with shipping and handling online here), and I really wish I had the money back. It is a underground documentary that that is supposed to be focused on the fans of metallica, trying to be heavy metal parking lot. However, this is a far cry from it. The folks this movie shows are either tweeking on meth or too drunk to carry on a meaningful conversation. After the first two interviews with drunk people, the novelty wears off, and there is no funny left. Sure there are a few appearences by big stars such as Rob Halford, but not really worth puchasing this disc for. There is no insight, nor redeaming quality this movie. It is almost insulting to Metallica and their fans, and me being a fan, I wish they would have had a bigger cross section interviewed to show how broad the fanbase is, and how productive and insightful we can be. Let this movie sit on the shelf.

This DVD is the natural successor to the cult classic "Heavy Metal Parking Lot". If you've seen and enjoyed "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" (which depicts a bunch of drunken, idiotic Judas Priest fans in a parking lot in 1986), you'll like this DVD, as much of it involves the filmmaker interviewing drunk, idiotic Metallica fans in 1994. Most of the interviews are in the parking lot, but some are in a studio. The people are pretty hammered for the most part, and mostly dumb as rocks. It's pretty funny if you like laughing at lowest-common denominator morons.

There's more to it than that. There's also a bunch of backstage interviews with folks like Rob Halford of Judas Priest, Tom Araya of Slayer, Scott Ian of Anthrax, Jim Martin of Faith No More, Josh Homme of Kyuss (while the DVD box advertises it as having interviews with "Queens of the Stone Age", Josh's current band, it should be pointed out that in '94, when this was filmed, Josh was in the mighty Kyuss--bassist Scott Reeder of Kyuss also appears) and, er, Madonna, who happened to be backstage at this metal show for some reason. There's also interviews with Lars, James, Jason and Kirk at various points in the DVD. It's all pretty honest and unsanitized, and much more interesting than the usual slick, ultra-professional product you get from Metallica these days. But if you're looking for that kind of thing, don't bother.

Finally, there is some music, although that is clearly not the focus of this DVD. Metallica's music and some live footage from the '94 shows appears at points, meaning the filmmaker got the band's permission for this. The highlight, music-wise, is in the closing credits, which shows Rob Halford of Judas Priest performing Priest's classic "Rapid Fire" live with Metallica.

A bit rough around the edges, but a very good DVD.

I couldn't believe it when I saw this on the shelf. For those fans of Metallica waiting desparately for a new slab of metal this DVD is something to whet the appetite. Whilst some of the footage is not of the best quality it is still something to lick your lips over. My advice is for all those diehard fans of Metallica who don't already have a bootleg copy of this to fork out you money coz this is a killer!