Review of Heavy Metal (1981) by Art S — 21 Jul 2015
Not focused on heavy metal music (although there is some Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult on the soundtrack) and instead tan animated version of fantasy stories from Heavy Metal magazine which we would probably call manga these days.
There are 4 or 5 segments, each animated by a different team. The best of them is "Harry Canyon" which seems like a cross between Philip K. Dick/Blade Runner (before that film was made) and Taxi Driver.
Much of this is adolescent male fantasy with girls who are "drawn bad" being helped by loser heroes or saving civilization themselves. There's a bit of green blood, some stoned aliens, and the floating voices of the SCTV cast (primarily John Candy) thrown in.
Nothing really holds together but the film is more of a visual feast with a rock soundtrack (that could have been higher in the mix) than a narrative feature. If you revert to being a 14 year old boy, this would be wondrous.
This review of Heavy Metal (1981) was written by Art S on 21 Jul 2015.
Heavy Metal has generally received positive reviews.
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