Heavy Metal (1981)

Director:

Gerald Potterton

Writers:

Daniel Goldberg (screenplay) &
Len Blum (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 August 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Fantasy | Horror | Music | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

A Step Beyond Science Fiction

Plot:

A glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with a collection of stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.

Plot Keywords:

Heavy Metal | Anthology | Future | Sphere | Taxi Driver

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Rodger Bumpass	...	Hanover Fiste (segment "Captain Sternn") / Dr. Anrak (segment "So Beautiful and So Dangerous") (voice) (as Roger Bumpass)
John Candy	...	Desk Sergeant (segment "Harry Canyon") / Dan (segment "Den") / Den (segment "Den") / Robot (segment "So Beautiful and So Dangerous") (voice)
Jackie Burroughs	...	Katherine (segment "Den") (voice)
Joe Flaherty	...	Lawyer (segment "Captain Sternn") / General (segment "So Beautiful and So Dangerous") (voice)
Don Francks	...	Grimaldi (segment "Grimaldi") / Co-Pilot (segment "B-17") / Barbarian (segment "Taarna") (voice)
Martin Lavut	...	Ard (segment "Den") (voice)
Marilyn Lightstone	...	Whore (segment "Harry Canyon") / Queen (segment "Den") (voice)
Eugene Levy	...	Sternn (segment "Captain Sternn") / Male Reporter (segment "So Beautiful and So Dangerous") / Edsel (segment "So Beautiful and So Dangerous") (voice)
Alice Playten	...	Gloria (segment "So Beautiful and So Dangerous") (voice)
Harold Ramis	...	Zeke (segment "So Beautiful and So Dangerous") (voice)
Susan Roman	...	Girl (segment "Harry Canyon") / Satellite (segment "Harry Canyon") (voice)
August Schellenberg	...	Nort (segment "Den") / Taarak (segment "Taarna") (voice)
Richard Romanus	...	Harry Canyon (segment "Harry Canyon") (voice)
John Vernon	...	Prosecutor (segment "Captain Sternn") (voice)
Zal Yanovsky	...	Navigator (segment "B-17") / Barbarian (segment "Taarna") (voice)

Runtime:

86 min | USA:90 min (premiere)

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:12 | Italy:VM14 | South Africa:13LS | Brazil:18 | Australia:MA (video rating) | Australia:M (original rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Finland:K-16 | New Zealand:R16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

According to his creator, Richard Corben, Den's name is an acronym for David Ellis Norman.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the "Den" story, after the sexual encounter with the Queen, she gets up while nude but then is suddenly wearing a blue loincloth type garment.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: A shadow shall fall over the universe, and evil will grow in its path, and death will come from the skies.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in John's Arm: Armageddon (2008)

Soundtrack:

Open Arms

Entertainingly juvenile cartoon feature

Despite featuring some really impressive animation and designs, "Heavy Metal" is by and by an adolescent male's fantasy. There's a whole lot of demons to slay, a rocking soundtrack, and yes, boobs. There's a lot of animated boobs in this flick. With all this overloading imagery on display, its difficult to concentrate on the story aspects of the production. That may be as well, because the stories themselves are rather hit and miss. "Harry Canyon" and "B-17" are really cool and entertaining science fiction tales, one which accurately capture the feel of a good comic book (not surprising, because "Heavy Metal" was originally a comic book publication). The rest of the stories aren't nearly as good, but even than the visuals are enjoyable enough.

Another criticism of the film is the soundtrack, for two reasons. The first being more minor in that many of the artists included aren't heavy metal. Stevie Nicks, Journey, Cheap Trick, and Devo (as much as I love the latter two bands) don't even qualify as pop-metal. Even more disappointing is the fact the soundtrack seems muted throughout the film. The dialog isn't remotely important, so the soundtrack should have been a whole lot louder. Despite being flawed, "Heavy Metal" is entertaining enough, especially if you've ingested some substances (legal or otherwise) beforehand. (6/10)