Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Bros / Wea
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1992
• Run Time: 58 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302530032
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,798 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This chronicle of the heaviest metal band of all time will be an eye-opener to those who only know Ozzy Osbourne as that goofball dad on MTV: 30 years ago, he fronted one of the hardest-hitting and loudest rock groups around. An hour-long compilation of interviews, videos, and performance footage that, while short on length, is long on substance, The Black Sabbath Story, Volume One unearths several vintage clips that show the band at its artistic and commercial zenith: "N.I.B." and "War Pigs," filmed at concerts in Paris; a performance of "Paranoid" from Belgian TV; and a rarely seen video of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath."

Ozzy, happily, doesn't have much to say beyond belting out the tunes in his trademark yelp. When a female reporter sticks a mike in front of him after Sabbath's performance at the legendary California Jam, his incoherence is truly sublime. It's up to guitarist Tony Iommi to more lucidly recount various aspects of the band's history. --Kevin Filipski

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brief, but Great Overview of this Great Band's Early History, May 7, 2004

By 

Robert J. Schneider (Tacoma, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Story I [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I bought this tape and Vol. 2 back in 1997, a few years after they had been first released. (I remember being overjoyed to discover that now I could get Black Sabbath on VHS.) It is absolutely essential for anyone who calls themselves a Black Sabbath fan. I don't mean this as demeaning to those fans who don't have it, it's just that I had thought that I knew the whole Black Sabbath story and still learned new things about the way they were during Ozzy Osbourne's tenure with them.

In this video, we get great performances from Black Sabbath doing some of their best songs, such as "N.I.B.," "War Pigs," "Paranoid," and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath." Actually, my favorite video is the last one: a BBC Top Of The Pops performance of "Never Say Die" from their 1978 album of the same same name, their last one with Ozzy. There are many insightful interviews, especially with Tony Iommi, who gets credit only for being a great guitarist but not enough for being an intelligent, throughtful and well-spoken individual. He is quiet-mannered, yet is forthcoming when talking about the band, and reveals some very interesting information which showed how much I didn't know about them. Drummer Bill Ward and bass guitarist Tony "Geezer" Butler are also very forthcoming, the latter in particular about his drug abuse. And yes, one of the videos shown is the Bill-Ward sung "It's Alright!" THE BLACK SABBATH STORY really is essential for helping you understand the whole story about one of the greatest rock bands of all time.

MOST RECOMMENDED, FOR FANS AND CURIOUS ALIKE

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Love Sabbath but..., October 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 1 (DVD)

I love the footage they showed, however the makers of the dvd cheated the public. The back of the disc say the aprox running time 85 minutes. It's actually 60 minutes. Somone said Vol. 2 of the DVD is 45 minutes. Don't you think they could have released both volumes in one disc? I think so. Talk about milking the fans for cash.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fake Widescreen Ruins This Footage, October 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 1 (DVD)

Black Sabbath fans will be very disappointed. While the VHS versions were great, these DVDs are presented in "fake widescreen," meaning they just stuck black bars on the picture, actually COVERING UP the upper and lower portions of the screen. No joke.

You wind up with headless shots of Tony Iommi, shots of Ozzy singing with only his nose and mouth visible, etc. It's absolutely ridiculous. Stick to the VHS versions.