Anvil! The Story of Anvil
| Anvil! The Story of Anvil | |
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Promotional film poster
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| Directed by | Sacha Gervasi |
| Produced by |
Sacha Gervasi Lauren McClard Dana Sano Christopher Soos Rebecca Yeldham |
| Starring | Anvil |
| Music by | David Norland |
| Cinematography | Christopher Soos |
| Edited by | Andrew Dickler Jeff Renfroe |
| Distributed by | Abramorama |
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Release date
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Running time
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81 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $951,380 |
Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a 2008 rockumentary film about the Canadian heavy metal band Anvil. The film is directed by screenwriter Sacha Gervasi, in his directorial debut, and features interviews with other musicians who have been influenced by the band, including Slash, Tom Araya, Lemmy, Scott Ian, and Lars Ulrich.
The film begins by listing the headlining acts of the Super Rock festival held in Japan in 1984: Scorpions, Whitesnake, and Bon Jovi, all of whom have gone on to sell millions of records, except one: Anvil. Despite their ambition, the Canadian band was unable to achieve the same level of success. Instead, singer and guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow drives trucks for Children's Choice Catering, delivering food to schools and institutions. Drummer Robb Reiner works in construction. But both would rather be playing on stage at the local sports bar to their small but dedicated group of fans, as shown during a show for Steve's 50th birthday party.
Kudlow gets an email from a European fan named Tiziana Arrigoni, who offers to set up a European tour for the band, estimating 1500 Euros per show. The tour has a promising start at the Sweden Rock festival, where the group interacts with Michael Schenker and Carmine Appice, but it quickly goes downhill. Trains are full before the band can buy tickets, they miss travel connections altogether, they get lost in Prague due to language barriers and scuffle with the bar owner who refuses to pay since the band was two hours late, they play to mostly empty rooms and complain about the lack of promotion, and eventually run out of money and sleep in a train station. At one point, Reiner refuses to perform and announces he's quitting the band, only to be persuaded by Kudlow to stick it out. The final concert of the tour is the Monsters of Transylvania rock concert, held in a 10,000 seat arena and promising a crowd of 5,000. Only 174 people show up.
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