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Movies / On DVD / Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey

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Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005)

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Reviews Counted:29

Fresh:26

Rotten:3

Average Rating:6.9/10

Consensus: Made by a metalhead, this documentary of the musical genre both informs and entertains with its range of interviewees.

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Synopsis: Professional anthropologist and rabid heavy-metal fan Sam Dunn devoted himself to making the most complete portrait of the heavy metal scene every created; the result, METAL, A HEADBANGER'S... Professional anthropologist and rabid heavy-metal fan Sam Dunn devoted himself to making the most complete portrait of the heavy metal scene every created; the result, METAL, A HEADBANGER'S JOURNEY, is a resounding success. Mixing his academic eye with his personal love for the genre, Dunn travels from the clubs of Sunset Boulevard to the dark forests of Norway in an attempt to understand the ongoing phenomenon of metal music. He tackles subjects of sexuality, religion, violence, and death, and talks to some of the superstars of the metal world, including Tony Iomii of Black Sabbath, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, Lemmy of Motorhead, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, and the members of Slipknot and Cannibal Corpse (whose albums have been banned in Australia). The highly engaging film provides fascinating history and insight for viewers unfamiliar with metal music while simultaneously offering up essential viewing for metalhead fanatics. [More]

Starring: Tony Iommi, Bruce Dickinson, Dee Snider, Alice Cooper

Starring: Tony Iommi, Bruce Dickinson, Dee Snider, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Vince Neil, Lemmy

Director: Sam Dunn, Scott McFayden, Jessica Joy Wise

Director: Sam Dunn, Scott McFayden, Jessica Joy Wise

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Metal: A Headbanger's Journey

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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Enjoyable whether you're a fan of the music or not.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
05/06/06
Matt McNally
Matt McNally
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A documentary that preaches to the converted if ever there was one, but Dunn's enthusiasm for the subject and the range of pretension and humour of his interviewees makes for fun viewing.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/06/06
Will Lawrence
Will Lawrence
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
05/06/06
Andrew Pulver
Andrew Pulver
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
04/08/06
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's so much information and so many finely honed arguments in this ultimately joyous film that it’s liable to send audiences scurrying home to their computers to download the bands they've just heard.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
04/01/06
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

The metal scene emerges throughout the documentary as the recruitment center of an army of misfits, where the outcasts of the world can seek each other out based on their love of the angsty, eardrum-destroying tunes their parents warned them about.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
05/12/06
Erin Meister
Erin Meister
Boston Globe
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Carly Carioli
Carly Carioli
Boston Phoenix

The film is packed with hilarious, often poignant interviews with metal luminaries.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
04/13/06
Allison Benedikt
Allison Benedikt
Chicago Tribune

Unlikely to win many new converts, but its core audience should have a rockin' good time.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
04/07/06
Chris Vognar
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News

A film that manages to be intelligent without being boring, making it one of the better music documentaries in recent memory.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
04/21/06
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Brings on a variety of eloquent voices from both the fanbase and the gods of metal themselves.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/20/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Dunn effortlessly smashes the cliché of metal-bands-as-Neanderthal-lunkheads.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
03/13/06
KJ Doughton
KJ Doughton
Film Threat

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
06/20/07
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Acts not as the window for the outsider into the spectacle of heavy metal music, as the filmmakers proclaim it to be, but an unprovoked fan's defense for liking what he likes

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
04/14/06
Edward Havens
Edward Havens
FilmJerk.com

The idea of looking at the music from the perspective of a fan, and plugging it full of interviews with rock idols, is clearly a winner.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
02/24/06
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail

A lightweight fanboy valentine for ostensibly heavyweight music.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
04/14/06
Bruce Westbrook
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle

Much-maligned heavy metal gets a much-needed boost in Canadian filmmaker/longtime headbanger Sam Dunn's entertaining and informative documentary.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
02/24/06
Jane Stevenson
Jane Stevenson
Jam! Movies

At once playful and thorough, the documentary is also stacked teased-hair high with wicked performance footage.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
04/13/06
Scott Foundas
Scott Foundas
L.A. Weekly

It's a measure of Dunn's success that even a total nonfan like myself could find his journey interesting.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
04/20/06
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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