As long as there is a need for adolescent male sexual fantasy, there will be an audience for Heavy Metal. Released in 1981 and based on stories from the graphic magazine of the same name (possibly the greatest publication to simultaneously provoke imagination and masturbation), the film has since become the most popular single title in Columbia/TriStar's entire film library. That's an amazing fact considering just how silly and senseless the movie really is--an aimless, juvenile amalgam of disjointed stories and clashing visual styles, employing hundreds of animators from around the world with a near-total absence of creative cohesion. It remains, for better and worse, a midnight-movie favorite for the stoner crowd--a movie best enjoyed by randy adolescents or near-adults in an altered state of consciousness.

A one off

Heavy Metal remains one of my all time favourite animated films. It blows a loud raspberry at political correctness and takes the viewer on a completely uninhibited, devil may care ride. Sure it surfs adolescent fantasies but has a truly great sense of humour which is at its best in three particular episodes - Harry Canyon, Captain Stern and So Beautiful, So Dangerous.
Due to wrangles over the rights to the soundtrack, the film did not make an official appearance on dvd and video for many years. The only copies available were crass quality illegal ones. Its arrival on dvd is therefore, belated but the wait has been worthwhile.
The 5.1 soundtrack is good on the dvd and is actually at a lower level than that of the vhs which was very loud but tended to obscure the dialogue. The dvd restores the dialogue to its correct place with the soundtrack playing second fiddle. The soundtrack is still great in 5.1 though and gives the viewer a great experience when played on a full home cinema set up.

The plot revolves around a mysterious green jewel called the Loc Nar which corners a terrified young girl at the film's beginning. We learn that this Loc Nar is the sum of all evil as it recounts six tales to this girl.
The first tale is 'Harry Canyon' which is set in a futuristic but run down New York. A Chandleresque taxi driver by the name of Harry Canyon plies his trade amidst this decrepit city. There he encounters a girl and the Loc Nar. Sassy and full of humour, this is one of the best episodes.
The next tale is 'Den' which sees a geeky young lad transported by the Loc Nar to an alternate universe. There he is given a super hero's body and sets out to save the world (and the girl, naturally).
Following this is the 'Captain Stern' tale which is full of humour and wry morality. All about the trial and subsequent escape of an intergalactic rascal - Captain Stern.
After this tale we see the 4th segmment which is titled 'B17.' This is a grim tale of horror from Dan O'Bannon who was one of the writers of 'Alien.' Here the crew of a B17 on a bombing mission in WW2 have survive when the Loc Nar pays them a visit in mid air....
Leaving behind the grim horror of 'B17' we then move on to the fast moving and fast humoured segment called 'So Beautiful, So Dangerous.' Featuring drug snorting aliens, a randy robot and bags of humour which tends to hit the viewer thick and fast. This is one of the funniest segments in the film.
Lastly we come to 'Taarna' which sees an attack on a peaceful city by a mutated army of warriors and the Loc Nar reveals its true purpose to the young girl that it has been recounting these tales to.

The extras on the dvd include some documentaries re the making of the film. There is also a deleted sequence called Neverland which originally would have been between the 'Captain Stern' and 'B17' segments.
You also get to know that the makers ran out of money and time in completing the film and this explains the variations in the quality of the animation. These tend to be most noticeable in 'Taarna.' If you compare the flying sequences to the rich and detailed animation on scenes like the dinosaur skeleton then you will see what I mean. However, this is negligible and does not detract from the enjoyment factor in any real way.

The music really makes the film tick though and the soundtrack is simply stunning, with contributions from the likes of Don Fender, Donald Fagen, Blue oyster Cult, Black Sabbath, Stevie Nicks, Devo, Nazareth and others. I bought the LP in 1981 after seeing the film and soon added the cd to that.
It has been a long wait for the official dvd release of this film but oh so worth it. Get a group of friends around, bung it on the home cinema, put your feet up and enjoy. Simple.

Incredibly Original, Impossible to Comprehend

Let me begin by quoting the tagline from "Heavy Metal": "Columbia Pictures takes you beyond the future to a universe you've never seen before." Rarely has a phrase been able to perfectly capture the essence of what it's describing. This movie does exactly that: through art, music, and sex, it takes you somewhere you've never been before. However, I can't say whether or not that's a good thing. To be completely honest, I have absolutely no idea what to make of this movie. But I suppose I have to make an attempt, and as I go about it, I find that the word "overwhelming" comes to mind. The various styles, themes, and characters of this traditional cel-animated fantasy clash to an incredible degree, almost to the point of maddening fascination. This is the type of movie that can easily be praised for it's incredible animation; the drawings ranging in appearance from realistic to stylized to overtly comical.

But there were so many aspects to this story that made my head spin, and frankly, it's not good to feel mentally exhausted at the end of a movie. What we have is a conglomeration of everything that comic book fans, science fiction buffs, and fantasy gurus have come to love, from distant planets to futuristic technologies to naked warrior women, all of which have unrealistic size D breasts. We also have the classic good vs. evil fable, which, as we all know, is an absolute must for anything related to comic books, science fiction, and fantasy. Yes, it all looked and sounded good, and yes, it was unique. But to what end? If anything, this has more in common with an overly energetic music video than with the magazine it was based on. I guess that's why it's loaded with pop songs from groups like Blue Oyster Cult, Devo, and Cheap Trick. This was released in 1981, after all, and back then music and music videos were incredibly popular. That certainly shows that the filmmakers were serious about attracting the right audience (even though it conflicted with Elmer Bernstein's orchestral score).

But it had to have been a limited audience; this is a film that emphasizes visual splendor instead of story, and only a select few can appreciate that (although it does help that this takes place in the future, specifically 2035). And what of the story? Structurally speaking, it bears a striking resemblance to horror anthologies like "Tales from the Crypt" and "Tales from the Darkside" in that it's a collection of stories that center on one key element. In this case, the wraparound story involves a glowing green orb called the Loc-Nar (voiced by Percy Rodriguez), supposedly the malevolent force of all malevolent forces: the very epitome of all that is evil. We don't really get to see that side of it: at least, not as much of it as we expect. Unless I'm mistaken, the only evil acts performed by this orb are melting those who dare to touch it. Still, it is a greatly feared object, and no one is more fearful of it than a young girl, one who was supposed to receive the orb as a gift from her father (who arrived back home by flying a vintage car through the atmosphere).

The girl is the one that the Loc-Nar tells the separate stories to, some of which are at best distantly related to the journey it has made. I won't mention them all, but I will say this much: we have the story (mildly reminiscent of "The Fifth Element") of a New York City cab driver (Richard Romanus) that gets involved with frightened yet willful young woman (Jackie Burroughs). Apparently, she is in possession of the Loc-Nar, and because of that, she is being pursued by a group of alien mobsters. We also have the story of a teenager (John Candy) who is transported across the galaxy to a distant planet. His arrival brings on a complete physical transformation from thin and lanky to superhero-muscular. It also increases his strength and awakens his senses, all of which he'll need in order to save a young girl from being sacrificed at the hands of a tyrannical queen.

The most important story is probably the last one, in which a group of monk-like chanters pray for the return of a warrior who can protect them from the Loc-Nar. What makes the situation difficult is that this warrior is of a race of beings thought to be extinct. However, help is on the way; she's a mute, tough-as-nails beauty who files around on her trusty alien bird as a mode of transportation. She arrives at a temple, strips naked, and redresses in strips of leather and armor so revealing, it would give Xena a run for her money. She then arms herself with an Excalibur-esque sword and sets about her predetermined task. Whether or not she's successful is something you're just going to have to see for yourselves.

Actually, there's a lot about this movie you'll have to see for yourselves, such as regular jet planes flying through outer space or a pair of alien pilots that snort a ridiculous amount of interstellar cocaine and talk like stoned high schoolers (voiced by Harold Ramis and Martin Lavut). It was that scene in particular that showed the greatest amount of humor, something I was resisting throughout the movie. It just didn't seem appropriate for some reason. Maybe it's because I don't usually associate the science fiction/fantasy genre with comedy; that seems better suited for a silly parody. But I may be out of my league here: I know this has Cult Classic written all over it, and when that happens, any critical response will meet with intense resistance.

I seem to be dancing around how I feel about "Heavy Metal," but can you really blame me? I've never seen anything like it before; even Richard Elfman's "Forbidden Zone" wasn't this difficult to grasp (although it's a pretty close second on my list). I know I have to give it credit for being an incredibly original film, even if a lot of the ideas behind it were over the top, sometimes vague, and always intense. It was sort of like wandering aimlessly through a dream. I wonder what someone like Sigmund Freud would say about this film; according to him, dreams are a way of gaining access to the unconscious. I'll bet the writers were trying to gain access to the collective unconscious of the comic book/science fiction/fantasy fans. That would explain why such a melding of ideas was packed into something just ninety minutes long. It would also explain its limited appeal. I guess that's not a bad thing; when a small gathering enthusiastically responds to something, it makes it all the more special for them. In the end, no one can ask for more than that.

Heavy Metal, the greatest piece of American animation.

If you think any of that s**t Walt Disney made was the pinnacle of American animation, think again!! Heavy Metal crushes everything Adolf Disney made (he was anti-Semetic, hence "Adolf"). I don't know why this only gets a 4 star average while there's virtually no criticism for that overrated pile of dogs**t The Nightmare Before Christmas (Tim Burton sucks). I recommend this for fans of alternative animation.

In this movie, this guy lands from space to give his daughter a green orb, which absorbs him and tells the girl its stories of how it wreaked havoc throughout the galaxy. There's many different worlds ranging from a futuristic city with hover cars to a world reminiscent to a Mayan civilization. However, in all of them, there's lots of violence, profanity, and bare female flesh, a tour de force for a guy in his late-teens.

The soundtrack is great, it has songs from groups like Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Devo, and Grand Funk Railroad. If you want something different in terms of animation, this is for you. If you're a die-hard Disney fanatic, stear clear of this!!