Heavy Metal (1981)
Heavy Metal (1981)
I suppose a lot of folks fell in love with animated films through the classic Disney films, but for me though I appreciated some of the classics like Aristocats, I found a lot of the Disney films to be patronizing and to talk down to kids like they aren't capable of intelligent thought, and I felt insulted. The films that made me fall in love with animated films were (probably in this order) Heavy Metal, The Hobbit, Lord Of The Rings, and Wizards. I remember when I was, I don't know maybe, 9 or 10 years old I watched Heavy Metal for the first time. It had an amazing soundtrack featuring some bands that I loved at the time, the film was rude and crude, and had this dark grittiness, it didn't shy away from nudity, sex, violence, and graphic images, it had fantasy, science fiction, and great music! How could I not love this film. It's been around 30 years since I first discovered and fell in love with Heavy Metal, and I still love the film, and still get chills when I see this film. Because of this film I was an avid reader of Heavy Metal magazine for a few years, and if I can get the money together for it I would love to get a subscription again.
The film is based on concept of Heavy Metal magazine, which is a graphic novel anthology magazine, and a source of information on the world of graphic novels and graphic art. Through Heavy Metal I discovered some of my favourite artists like Luis Royo, Boris Vallejo, and Julie Bell. Current owner of Heavy Metal magazine, Kevin Eastman, is also one of the creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books. This magazine is also where I found a love for graphic novels, long before I learned about manga or anime, there was Heavy Metal! Like I said the film is based on the concept of the magazine, so it is presented as an animated anthology film, though the stories are linked through the mysterious Loc-Nar, which I have a theory that in the film Heavy Metal 2000, that the "key" that is also shining green might be another incarnation of the Loc-Nar, I haven't read anything to substantiate that, but it would make that film in a way tie into the 1981 classic. So for this review I am going to break it into the segments and look at each individually, and then do a final review of the film as a whole, so this might be a bit of a long review, and if you want to see my thoughts on the film as a whole, feel free to skip to the bottom.
Heavy Metal was directed by Gerald Potterton, and written by Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum. The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures in 1981, and though it received mixed reviews by the critic, it was a box office success grossing $20.1 million on a budget of $9.3 million.
Soft Landing:
This segment doesn't so much tell a story as it acts as the opening credits sequence, and is basically a scene of a Corvette driving out of a space shuttle and taking a drive home to earth, and pulling up to the astronaut's home. This segment is based on the comic of the same name by Dan O'Bannon and Thomas Warkentin, and was directed by Jimmy T. Murakami and John Bruno. John Coates produced this segment, with Thomas Warkentin acting as the art director, and Dan O'Bannon was the writer. There are no voice actors for this segment, and the song that was used was Radar Rider by Riggs.
So many years before Elon Musk was launching a Tesla into space, there was Soft Landing. This segment uses a beautiful rotoscope animation (basically a person was filmed in a classic Corvette and then that was animated over, with an animated background. The final effect is absolutely beautiful, and it is a breathtaking way to start the film, as it showcased what amazing art can be created through animation. Then with Radar Rider by Riggs playing as the soundtrack, it is setting up the film, to give the viewer, that this is gonna kick ass! Great music, breathtaking rotoscoping animation, this segment does exactly what it is designed to do, which is to impress and hook the viewer. Soft Landing then leads into the next segment, entitled Grimaldi.
Grimaldi:
The astronaut Grimaldi returns from space in his classic Corvette, and is greeted by his daughter, who he says that he has brought a gift for, and we are introduced to the Loc-Nar, as it kills her father right before her eyes, and then tells her it is going to tell her a story. How about that for a set up for the framing story of a film!?
Grimaldi is directed by Harold Whitaker and produced by John Halas. This segment is an original story not based on a previous graphic novel work. There is no songs used in this section.
Grimaldi (the framing story) stars Percy Rodriguez as the Loc-Nar, Don Francks as Grimaldi, and Caroline Semple plays his daughter who is only referred to as "Girl" in the credits. Rodriguez is great as the Loc-Nar, he has a great terrifying voice quality that plays well for an orb of ultimate evil. Though "Girl" doesn't actually say anything, Caroline Semple does an amazing job at portraying the fear that the "Girl" feels after seeing her father incinerated by this glowing orb of evil, and then having it back her into a corner and tell he its story time. This segment will introduce the rest of the segments in the film, and the Loc-Nar serves as our not so humble narrator.
Harry Canyon:
The first story that the Loc-Nar tells is a story of human greed, and the desire to possess the Loc-Nar. This story is about a taxi driver named Harry Canyon, who gives a ride to a beautiful young woman, who is being chased by criminals, and he ends up getting involved. The story is one of sex, greed, and double crossing, and is set in New York City in a dystopian future.
Harry Canyon is based on the Long Tomorrow by French artist Moebius. With a screenplay written by Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum. This segment is directed by Pino Van Lamsweerde, and produced by W.H. Stevens Jr and Vic Atkinson. Theis segment uses traditional cell shading animation, and doesn't hold back on the nudity, sex, violence, and language. The animation looks really good, and reminds me of the art that is in the graphic novels in Heavy Metal Magazine.
Harry Canyon stars Richard Romanus as Harry Canyon, Susan Roman as "Girl", John Candy plays the police Desk Sergeant, Al Waxman plays Rudnick, and Harvey Atkin plays the Alien Henchman. It is great hearing John Candy in a non comedic role as the corrupt Desk Sergeant, and Richard Romanus was great at bringing out Harry Canyon's sardonic personality. Susan Roman though I felt played the "girl" as being a bit of a "bimbo", which is unfortunate, I feel like the character has room for a personality. Overall a great voice acting cast.
The sound track for this segment features "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" by Blue Oyster Cult, "True Companion" by Donald Fagen, "Blue Lamp" by Stevie Nicks, "Open Arms" by Journey, and "Heartbeat" by Riggs.
The film is based on concept of Heavy Metal magazine, which is a graphic novel anthology magazine, and a source of information on the world of graphic novels and graphic art. Through Heavy Metal I discovered some of my favourite artists like Luis Royo, Boris Vallejo, and Julie Bell. Current owner of Heavy Metal magazine, Kevin Eastman, is also one of the creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books. This magazine is also where I found a love for graphic novels, long before I learned about manga or anime, there was Heavy Metal! Like I said the film is based on the concept of the magazine, so it is presented as an animated anthology film, though the stories are linked through the mysterious Loc-Nar, which I have a theory that in the film Heavy Metal 2000, that the "key" that is also shining green might be another incarnation of the Loc-Nar, I haven't read anything to substantiate that, but it would make that film in a way tie into the 1981 classic. So for this review I am going to break it into the segments and look at each individually, and then do a final review of the film as a whole, so this might be a bit of a long review, and if you want to see my thoughts on the film as a whole, feel free to skip to the bottom.
Heavy Metal was directed by Gerald Potterton, and written by Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum. The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures in 1981, and though it received mixed reviews by the critic, it was a box office success grossing $20.1 million on a budget of $9.3 million.
This segment doesn't so much tell a story as it acts as the opening credits sequence, and is basically a scene of a Corvette driving out of a space shuttle and taking a drive home to earth, and pulling up to the astronaut's home. This segment is based on the comic of the same name by Dan O'Bannon and Thomas Warkentin, and was directed by Jimmy T. Murakami and John Bruno. John Coates produced this segment, with Thomas Warkentin acting as the art director, and Dan O'Bannon was the writer. There are no voice actors for this segment, and the song that was used was Radar Rider by Riggs.
So many years before Elon Musk was launching a Tesla into space, there was Soft Landing. This segment uses a beautiful rotoscope animation (basically a person was filmed in a classic Corvette and then that was animated over, with an animated background. The final effect is absolutely beautiful, and it is a breathtaking way to start the film, as it showcased what amazing art can be created through animation. Then with Radar Rider by Riggs playing as the soundtrack, it is setting up the film, to give the viewer, that this is gonna kick ass! Great music, breathtaking rotoscoping animation, this segment does exactly what it is designed to do, which is to impress and hook the viewer. Soft Landing then leads into the next segment, entitled Grimaldi.
Grimaldi:
The astronaut Grimaldi returns from space in his classic Corvette, and is greeted by his daughter, who he says that he has brought a gift for, and we are introduced to the Loc-Nar, as it kills her father right before her eyes, and then tells her it is going to tell her a story. How about that for a set up for the framing story of a film!?
Grimaldi (the framing story) stars Percy Rodriguez as the Loc-Nar, Don Francks as Grimaldi, and Caroline Semple plays his daughter who is only referred to as "Girl" in the credits. Rodriguez is great as the Loc-Nar, he has a great terrifying voice quality that plays well for an orb of ultimate evil. Though "Girl" doesn't actually say anything, Caroline Semple does an amazing job at portraying the fear that the "Girl" feels after seeing her father incinerated by this glowing orb of evil, and then having it back her into a corner and tell he its story time. This segment will introduce the rest of the segments in the film, and the Loc-Nar serves as our not so humble narrator.
Harry Canyon:
The first story that the Loc-Nar tells is a story of human greed, and the desire to possess the Loc-Nar. This story is about a taxi driver named Harry Canyon, who gives a ride to a beautiful young woman, who is being chased by criminals, and he ends up getting involved. The story is one of sex, greed, and double crossing, and is set in New York City in a dystopian future.
Harry Canyon is based on the Long Tomorrow by French artist Moebius. With a screenplay written by Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum. This segment is directed by Pino Van Lamsweerde, and produced by W.H. Stevens Jr and Vic Atkinson. Theis segment uses traditional cell shading animation, and doesn't hold back on the nudity, sex, violence, and language. The animation looks really good, and reminds me of the art that is in the graphic novels in Heavy Metal Magazine.
Harry Canyon stars Richard Romanus as Harry Canyon, Susan Roman as "Girl", John Candy plays the police Desk Sergeant, Al Waxman plays Rudnick, and Harvey Atkin plays the Alien Henchman. It is great hearing John Candy in a non comedic role as the corrupt Desk Sergeant, and Richard Romanus was great at bringing out Harry Canyon's sardonic personality. Susan Roman though I felt played the "girl" as being a bit of a "bimbo", which is unfortunate, I feel like the character has room for a personality. Overall a great voice acting cast.
The sound track for this segment features "Veteran Of The Psychic Wars" by Blue Oyster Cult, "True Companion" by Donald Fagen, "Blue Lamp" by Stevie Nicks, "Open Arms" by Journey, and "Heartbeat" by Riggs.
- Captain Sternn:Next the Loc-Nar introduces us to Captain Sternn, who is a vile space captain who is on trial for his laundry list of crimes. This story again tells about the corruption of a man by the Loc-Nar, that creates a Jekyll And Hyde type creature in Captain Sterrn's star witness. Who then chases Sternn through the space station.
Captain Sternn has his own comic book series, so if it feels like there is more going on that we are privy to, well there is. Captain Sternn is based on the character of the same name by Bernie Wrightson. This segment again uses traditional animation, and is quite similar to the illustration art of the comic book series. This segment is is written by Bernie Wrightson, and directed by Julian Harris and Paul Sabella. The song used in this segment is "Reach Out" by Cheap Trick.
Captain Sternn stars Eugene Levy as Captain Lincoln F. Sternn, Joe Flaherty plays his lawyer Charlie, Rodger Bumpass plays his star witness Hanover Fiste, John Vernon plays the Prosecutor, and Douglas Kenney plays Regolian. This segment has a great voice cast, and it has always been a segment that really stands out to me. I have always wanted to read the Captain Sternn comics to get more of this story. This segment is well written, well animated, and well acted.
The next section was deleted from the final film, but would be where the segment Neverwhere would fit, which basically tells the creation of the earth, and how the Loc-Nar basically has always been an evil part of the planet. But this version is only available as a special feature, or was at the end of the VHS tape.
B-17:
The next section that the Loc-Nar introduces to is called B-17, which takes place aboard a B-17 bomber plane in World War II. This segment illustrates how the Loc-Nar can even affect people after they die. In this segment the film takes a sharp turn into the horror genre. A B-17 takes heavy fire and most of the crew is killed, but then when the Loc-Nar latches on to the plane the dead crew start coming back as skeletal zombies, seeking to attack and kill the two living crew members that survived.
This segment is an original story by Dan O'Bannon. Barrie Nelson directed, and W.H. Stevens Jr produced it. This segment used a mix of traditional cell-shading, and rotoscoping. The plane itself was rotoscoped from a large model of a B-17 bomber plane. I love the dark horror aspect of this scene, it is definitely the darkest, most horror scene in the film, and was beautifully done. The song used in this segment is "Heavy Metal (Takin' A Ride)" by Don Felder.
B-17 stars the voices of Don Francks as Holden the Co-Pilot, George Touliatos as Skip the Pilot, and Zal Yanovsky as the Navigator. The voice acting is minimal in this segment, but what there is is effective. This segment relies more on the horror of the dead returning to life.
So Beautiful & So Dangerous:
The next segment that the Loc-Nar introduces us to is called So Beautiful & So Dangerous. In this segment there is a meeting at the Pentagon regarding the mysterious mutations that are plaguing the country, where a reporter named Gloria is wearing a necklace with the Loc-Nar as a pendant, which causes a scientist who sees it to start behaving erratically, and then tries to sexually assault her. This is interrupted by an Alien Spacecraft that inserts a tube into the pentagon and sucks up the scientist and the reporter, and we find out that the scientist is actually a robot. The robot captain of the ship tells the woman that they can't return her, and then somehow they have sex and I guess are gonna get married by the end of the segment. The real highlight of this segment are the two stoner crew members of the ship.
So Beautiful & So Dangerous is based on the comic of the same name by Angus McKie, who also wrote the story for the segment. The segment is directed by John Halas. This segment has some great clean animation that is reminiscent of the illustrations used in the comic. The music used for this segment includes "Queen Bee" by Grand Funk Railroad, "I Must Be Dreaming" by Cheap Trick, "Crazy (A Suitable Case For Treatment)" by Nazareth, :All Of You" by Don Felder, "Prefabricated" by Trust, and "Heavy Metal" by Sammy Hagar.
This segment features the voices of John Candy as Robot, Alice Playten as Gloria, Harold Ramis as Zeke, Eugene Levy as Edsel (he also plays the voice of the Male Reporter), Rodger Bumpass as Dr. Anrak, Joe Flaherty as General, Warren Munson as Senator, and Patty Dworkin as Female Reporter. The voice cast for this segment is great, definitely the highlight though is Harold Ramis and Eugene Levy as Zeke and Edsel. This segment though doesn't really fit with the rest though, because it doesn't really show evil, or how the evil power of the Loc-nar really affects any of the characters beyond the malfunctioning robot of the doctor in the beginning.Taarna:
The final segment that the Loc-Nar introduces us to is called Taarna, which is based on the comic Arzach by Moebius. This story gives hope that there might be a way to defeat the Loc-Nar. The segment tells the story of the Loc-Nar hitting the planet as a meteor, and it poisons some of the people of the planet led by a cult of barbarians. The rage war on "all who oppose them", which includes a peaceful tribe of scientists and scholars, who call on Taarna the Taarakian to protect them, but it is too late, so she must avenge them. Taarna is the last of the Taarakians, and she alone stands against the evil barbarians.
This is probably the most iconic segment of the film, the character of Taarna was used inas the cover of the film, as well as on most of the promotional materials, and she has become a recognizable figure in pop culture. The segment features an original story by Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum based on Moebius' Arzach. This section features a mix of rotoscoping and cell shading animation. The music for this section features "E5150" and "Mob Rules" By Black Sabbath, and "Through Being Cool" By Devo (Who appear as the bar band in the segment).
This segment features the most voice actors, though the only one really of any importance is Vlasta Vrana as the Barbarian Leader. Taarna herself never actually speaks, though she was rotoscoped from footage of Carole Desbiens, a model from Toronto.
Then that finally brings us to our final segment.
Epilogue:
This is the segment that wraps up the story of the Loc-Nar and the "girl".
Overall Heavy Metal is one of the greatest animated films of all-time. The film takes chances and pushes boundaries of what can be done on film, much like the magazine itself does for the world of graphic novels. The film also does a great job at capturing the feel and the look of Heavy Metal Magazine. The art is beautifully done, and wonderfully animated, the voices are done a star studded cast, who have gone on to be huge actors in their careers. This is the film that got me into animation, because it showed me that animation doesn't have to be this dumbed down children's genre, that animation can be for adults and can have a boldness to it, talking animals trying to preach life lessons to us like we are too fucking stupid to understand actual human situations. I think the reason I hate Disney so much and gravitate to more adult styles of animation is because, I think that Disney treats kids like they are less than human, where as an animator like Ralph Bakshi or the creators of Heavy Metal are taking chances, and pushing the boundaries of what can be done in the art of animation, and they are not making stories that are being dumbed down to children, but stories that can be enjoyed by adults. Animation doesn't have to be children's cartoons, and even if it is an animated film geared towards children they can do it without insulting the intelligence of children, which is what Disney specifically does in their animated films. I love Heavy Metal because it is rude and crude, I love it because it isn't afraid to be ugly and disgusting, I appreciate that it doesn't try to appease the stuffy critics, it is true to the fans of Heavy Metal magazine, and doesn't compromise. If you don't like it then it probably wasn't made for you anyway. I do think that this is a must see adult animated film, but at the same time I know that there are many viewers out there that, to be blunt can't handle it, and that is fine, because it isn't for them anyway. This is a film made for the fans. As a fan of Heavy Metal magazine, I absolutely love this film, and how it captures the spirit, and the boldness of the publication that it is based on. So if you have not yet seen it, aI highly recommend checking it out.
The next segment that the Loc-Nar introduces us to is Den, which is a story about how in some cultures the power of the Loc-Nar is worshipped like a god. The story tells about a nerdy kid from earth named Den who finds a tiny green meteorite, which teleports him to another world changing him into a big muscular man. There he saves the life of a beautiful woman who is being used as a human sacrifice. Then they have sex (because why not I guess), and she is captured, and to get her back he must perform a service for the men who took her captive, which is to steal the Loc-Nar from the group he freed the girl from. He then has sex with the leader of that group (because why not I guess), and that leads to this battle for the Loc-Nar between the two groups, and Den just wants to save the beautiful girl he originally saved.
Den is based on the character of the same name created by RIchard Corben. This segment is directed by Jack Stokes, with a story by Richard Corben, and produced by Jerry Hibbert. This section also uses traditional cell-shading animation, and has a great clean fantasy art look to it. The illustration style of this segment is quite reminiscent of Heavy Metal magazine, and I feel it does a great job at capturing the feel of reading Heavy Metal. This segment is also the one that seems to get the most praise from the critics as well, and I agree it is a really well written segment, and has a fun fantasy setting to it, with Den and Katherine being actually good characters, and Den becomes the hero that he could never dream of being in his "real life" on earth. I think that that is kind of the point, for a nerdy kid who might be watching to be able to see their fantasy of being big a strong hero who gets the girl lived out for them.
Den stars John Candy as Den, Jackie Burroughs as Katherine Wells, Martin Lavut as Ard, Marilyn Lightstone as Queen, and August Schellenberg as Norl. John Candy and Jackie Burroughs are great as the earthlings who are transported to this fantasy world, and I feel like their acting is the best in the segment. Mart Lavut as Ard, just has this boring quality to him, which I suppose works for his character who is immortal, so why shouldn't he be bored. Overall a great segment.
Den is based on the character of the same name created by RIchard Corben. This segment is directed by Jack Stokes, with a story by Richard Corben, and produced by Jerry Hibbert. This section also uses traditional cell-shading animation, and has a great clean fantasy art look to it. The illustration style of this segment is quite reminiscent of Heavy Metal magazine, and I feel it does a great job at capturing the feel of reading Heavy Metal. This segment is also the one that seems to get the most praise from the critics as well, and I agree it is a really well written segment, and has a fun fantasy setting to it, with Den and Katherine being actually good characters, and Den becomes the hero that he could never dream of being in his "real life" on earth. I think that that is kind of the point, for a nerdy kid who might be watching to be able to see their fantasy of being big a strong hero who gets the girl lived out for them.
Den stars John Candy as Den, Jackie Burroughs as Katherine Wells, Martin Lavut as Ard, Marilyn Lightstone as Queen, and August Schellenberg as Norl. John Candy and Jackie Burroughs are great as the earthlings who are transported to this fantasy world, and I feel like their acting is the best in the segment. Mart Lavut as Ard, just has this boring quality to him, which I suppose works for his character who is immortal, so why shouldn't he be bored. Overall a great segment.
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