Heavy Metal (Collector's Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Heavy Metal (Collector's Edition)
Movie Review: Incredibly Original, Impossible to Comprehend
Summary: 4 Stars
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 a 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.
Movie Review: retro greatness!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the film for those who love artsy animation like I do. This is a "no holds barred" movie that almost has an early Don Bluth feel to it. (Think Dragon's Lair, only where you get to see the princess' boobies). This movie is really held together by the classic rock soundtrack. The mini stories that are held together by the mysterious orb are kind of weak with cheesey dialogue... but that's regular sci fi Heavy Metal Magazine in a nut shell. Cheese is good. There's just something funny knowing john candy's voice and hearing it 3 times on different characters... and poorly at that. It's a definite buy for this movie, It's classic and just visually stunning for the time it was made. (keep that in mind) And a million times better than the piece of crap 2000 movie. they dropped the ball there... but I digres... if you've liked movies like Rock and Rule or the lil animation sequences in Pink Floyd's The Wall... you'll love this. Movie Review: Pathetic attempt to bring this classic to UMD Video.
Summary: 3 Stars
Today was the second time ever that I saw this movie, and it was on the PSP that I saw it this second time. My main complaints about this edition of the movie are:
A.There's NO scene select option at the main menu
and B.WHY did they feel it necessary to put a warning in like 50 different languages (okay, that's exaggerated, not really 50 languages, but alot) at the beginning and end of the film??????????????? I would've given this 5 stars if it wasn't for those two problems!
Movie Review: Heavy Metal (Special Edition)
Summary: 1 Stars
Great movie in the thaeter! Sound quality on the DVD I ordered was "TERRIBLE" I would not reccomend buying this if you want a good sound through your surround system or even your T.V.Movie Review: Great Movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this movie when it originally came out. They did a great job with the digital enhancement, and I thought some of the 'deleted' scenes should have been left in!