Heavy Metal (1981)

Directed by

Jack Stokes, Barrie Nelson, Paul Sabella, Pino van Lamsweerde

Genre

fantasy film, action film, adventure film, science fiction film, adult animated film

Country

Canada

Runtime

1h 30m

Rated

R

Rating

6.5 of 10 from 799 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

An anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories are connected by a glowing green orb that embodies all evil. The segments feature violence, nudity, and dark humor.

anthologicalpulpyvisually eclecticunsettlingracydarkly fantasticalfast-pacedcaustic

What happens

Heavy Metal is a 1981 Canadian adult animated science fantasy anthology film directed by Gerald Potterton (in his directorial debut) and produced by Ivan Reitman and Leonard Mogel, who also was the publisher of Heavy Metal magazine, which was the basis for the film. It starred the voices of Rodger Bumpass, Jackie Burroughs, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Don Francks, Martin Lavut, Marilyn Lightstone, Eugene Levy, Alice Playten, Harold Ramis, Percy Rodriguez, Susan Roman, Richard Romanus, August Schellenberg, John Vernon, and Zal Yanovsky. The screenplay was written by Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum. The film is an anthology of various science-fiction and fantasy stories tied together by a single theme of an evil force that is "the sum of all evils". It was adapted from Heavy Metal magazine and original stories in the same spirit. Like the magazine, the film features a great deal of graphic violence, sexuality, and nudity. Its production was expedited by having several animation houses working simultaneously on different segments. Heavy Metal was released by Columbia Pictures on August 7, 1981. Upon release, the film received mixed reviews from critics, but was a moderate commercial success and has since achieved a cult following. Its soundtrack was packaged by music manager Irving Azoff and included several popular rock bands and artists, including Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Sammy Hagar, Don Felder, Cheap Trick, DEVO, Journey, and Nazareth, among others. A sequel, Heavy Metal 2000, was released in 2000. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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