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Heavy Metal (Special Edition)
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Heavy Metal
Based on the sexy science fiction cult comic, "Heavy Metal" combines extraordinarily stunning visuals, new wave music and a series of mindbending stories in a unique motion picture experience. The anchor of the film is an eerie green ball that magically transports us into a series of adventures in the past, future, and into the world beyond. Included are stories of the space super heroine, Taarna; the hard.boiled exploits of Harry Canyon, cab driver of the future; and the adventures of "Den:' who the green ball changes from an introverted teen into a macho hero. This groundbreaking animation extravaganza also use the voices of John Candy, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy and Joe Flaherty, as well as writers, directors, and artists from around the world.
Product description
Product Description
Based on the fantastical illustrated magazine HEAVY METAL, producer IVAN REITMAN enlists the help of some of Hollywood's animation masters to create the otherworldly tale of a glowing green orb from outer space that spreads destruction throughout the galaxy. Only when encountered by its one true enemy, to whom it is inexplicably drawn, will goodness prevail throughout the universe. Richly and lavishly drawn, the vignettes of the orb's dark victories include the character voices of John Candy, Harold Ramis and a pounding soundtrack by Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Devo, Donald Fagen, Don Felder, Grand Funk Railroad, Sammy Hagar, Journey, Nazareth, Stevie Nicks, Riggs, and Trust. Highly imaginative and full of surprising special effects, HEAVY METAL set the standard for alternative contemporary animation. An intoxicating experience not to be missed!
鶹.ca
As long as there is a need for adolescent male sexual fantasy, there will be an audience for Heavy Metal. Released in 1981 and based on stories from the graphic magazine of the same name (possibly the greatest publication to simultaneously provoke imagination and masturbation), the film has since become the most popular single title in Columbia/TriStar's entire film library. That's an amazing fact considering just how silly and senseless the movie really is--an aimless, juvenile amalgam of disjointed stories and clashing visual styles, employing hundreds of animators from around the world with a near-total absence of creative cohesion. It remains, for better and worse, a midnight-movie favorite for the stoner crowd--a movie best enjoyed by randy adolescents or near-adults in an altered state of consciousness.
With a framing story about a glowing green orb claiming to be the embodiment of all evil, the film shuttles through eight episodic tales of sci-fi adventure, each fueled by some of the most wretched rock music to emerge from the 1980s. The most consistent trademark is an abundance of blood-splattering violence and wet-dream sex, the latter involving a succession of huge-breasted babes who shed their clothes at the drop of a G-string. It's all quite fun in its rampantly brainless desire to fuel the young male libido, and for all its incoherence Heavy Metal remains impressive for the ambitious artistry of its individual segments. Courtesy of producer Ivan Reitman (who'd just scored a hit with Stripes), voice talents include several Canadian veterans of Second City comedy, including John Candy, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy, and Joe Flaherty. --Jeff Shannon
Special Features
As with several of their other popular "tentpole" titles (most notably Ghostbusters), Columbia/TriStar has given the red-carpet treatment to this special-edition DVD, and it stands alone as a superb archive of Heavy Metal-mania. An impressive gallery of production artwork ranges from preliminary pencil sketches to finished cel composites. Deleted scenes (originally removed for length consideration) give overdue recognition to the impressive "Neverwhere" segment--a visual chronicle of the entire history of evil--and there's a generous gallery of Heavy Metal magazine covers that die-hard collectors will surely appreciate. A presentation of the film's feature-length rough cut (along with expert commentary by Carl Macek) offers deeper appreciation for the sheer scale of this international production. Topping it off is a 1999 documentary featuring interviews with many of the artists and technicians who created the film. While even they acknowledge that Heavy Metal makes hardly any sense, they convincingly argue for the film's uniqueness, and the pleasure that comes from having participated in the creation of a groundbreaking and phenomenally successful animated feature. --Jeff Shannon
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.85:1
- Is discontinued by manufacturer : No
- Language : English
- Product Dimensions : 19.05 x 13.67 x 1.52 cm; 68.04 g
- Canadian Home Video Rating : Ages 18 and over
- Item model number : 03929
- Director : Gerald Potterton
- Media Format : Anamorphic, AC-3, Animated, Color, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Dolby, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Run time : 1 hour and 26 minutes
- Release date : Nov. 23 1999
- Dubbed: : English
- Subtitles: : English, Portuguese, Spanish
- Language : English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Unqualified, English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Studio : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Producers : Ivan Reitman
- ASIN : 0767836316
- Country of origin : Canada
- Number of discs : 1
- 鶹 Rank: #864 in Movies & TV Shows (See Top 100 in Movies & TV Shows)
- #17 in Crime
- #17 in Fantasy (Movies & TV Shows)
- #75 in Horror
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
Customers say
Customers find the movie to be a classic and perfect to watch to escape. They appreciate the excellent quality of the DVD, saying the frames are well-composed and the animation is masterpiece. Customers also appreciate the music quality, saying it goes great with the animation. However, some customers have mixed opinions on the storyline.
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Customers find the movie to be awesome, classic, and perfect to watch to escape for a little bit. They say it's entertaining, trail-blazing, and their favorite story of the film. They also mention it has cool bits of animation and a few funny parts.
"Perfect movie to watch to escape for a little bit." Read more
"...Regardless, it's still a great movie if you're into that genre...." Read more
"...It's nice to finally have it back in my collection. Great nostalgic movie." Read more
"Very entertaining" Read more
Customers are satisfied with the quality of the DVD. They mention it's excellent, first-rate, and the frames are well-composed.
"...The imagining of the bleak New York City was first rate as was the noir style of the story. A close second though was definently the final arc...." Read more
"...Although the frames are well composed, the cartoons are all in the same simplified style that somehow seems to lack style, and on my monitor, the..." Read more
"I mean, it’s a great class. What else can you say?" Read more
"It's a good animation dvd" Read more
Customers find the cartoon unique and enjoyable. They appreciate the great movie comic book style, superb drawings, and composition of the panels. They mention it's a classic 80s satiric cartoon that brought them back to the 80s.
"...This DVD was excellent! Me and my girlfriend really enjoyed watching this unique, metal film...." Read more
"...Then, I was awestruck by the first HEAVY METAL with sophisticated drawing and characterizations that evoked tears not drawn since children cried..." Read more
"Classic. Get this very collectable item before they're gone. This is not for children." Read more
"Certainly a classic but I would like to see the ability to purchase both hard & digital of the product or a special combo option would be my..." Read more
Customers are pleased to finally own this animation masterpiece on DVD. They say it's the best animation for adult.
"...I'm very pleased to finally own this animation masterpiece on DVD and I still plan to pick-up the 32 bit version that is out of print...." Read more
"...Animation is the ultimate cinema with imaging limited only by imagination...." Read more
"...But yeah... not for me. There were a few cool bits of animation, a few funny parts, but overall the story dragged, none of the vignettes were..." Read more
"Action and a great soundtrack,animation gold I enjoy it every time I watch it." Read more
Customers like the sound quality of the DVD. They mention the music goes great with the animation and the video and audio are excellent.
"Can't think of a better soundtrack. Great music. Couple of twists in the movie." Read more
"Action and a great soundtrack,animation gold I enjoy it every time I watch it." Read more
"...It was a great movie to crank up but now the music is way quiet and the dialogue is way too loud. Shoulda left the balance the way it was...." Read more
"...The quality, both video and audio is excellent and I am glad that it is available." Read more
Customers like the music quality of the DVD. They mention it's a unique, metal film.
"...Me and my girlfriend really enjoyed watching this unique, metal film. Lots of Canadian content I didn't know was there, like John Candy doing voices...." Read more
"Heavy Metal..." Read more
"Heavy Metal..." Read more
"Heavy metal..." Read more
Customers find the story unique and a great revelation of the battle of good and evil. They also appreciate the cool view and interesting cartoon techniques.
"A very unique story with a cool view and interesting cartoon techniques. Please don't consume any stimulants before watching this !..." Read more
"I like d stories of good and bad and different life species and how the humain race played a part in it." Read more
"Definitely not an animation for kids, but a great revelation of how the battle of good vs evil goes on in many different way in life. Many thanks!" Read more
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Top reviews from Canada
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- Reviewed in Canada on February 15, 2025Verified PurchaseI had to see this again and was happy with the purchase
- Reviewed in Canada on December 7, 2024Verified PurchasePerfect movie to watch to escape for a little bit.
- Reviewed in Canada on May 14, 2025Verified PurchaseClassic 💎 Dreams of hope and happiness
- Reviewed in Canada on April 2, 2024Verified PurchaseCan't think of a better soundtrack. Great music. Couple of twists in the movie.
- Reviewed in Canada on December 11, 2021Verified PurchaseApparently it took over 30 years to get Heavy Metal to dvd ... it was well worth it. A loose collection of animated vignettes of the sci-fi genre with a rather flimsy story about a green ball to hold it all together. Regardless, it's still a great movie if you're into that genre. Voices of John Candy and John Vernon and Don Francks ... all Canadians ... plus other ex SCTV voices make for a nostalgic listen for those of us who remember it. BE WARNED: this is an adult movie not recommended for kids, what with the nudity and violence etc...
- Reviewed in Canada on August 11, 2024Verified PurchaseI had a copy of this movie years ago and made the mistake of lending it out. It's nice to finally have it back in my collection. Great nostalgic movie.
- Reviewed in Canada on March 11, 2022Verified PurchaseI had this on VHS a long time ago and loved this film. This DVD was excellent! Me and my girlfriend really enjoyed watching this unique, metal film. Lots of Canadian content I didn't know was there, like John Candy doing voices. Great price, too!
If I were you I would buy this film. You will enjoy it, even if it is over-the-top ridiculous.
- Reviewed in Canada on January 7, 2010Verified PurchaseI saw this movie for the first time in August of 1997 on television late at night. I had no idea it even existed, but I was very impressed to say the least. A bold title with a take no prisoners attitude. My favorite episode of the compilation was the first which featured the futurisic cab driver. The imagining of the bleak New York City was first rate as was the noir style of the story. A close second though was definently the final arc. The warrior woman who was the last of her race who came to set things right on a chaotic planet. I still get a bit choked up at that moment where her mount manages to save her life at the last second by biting the leg of the leader of the barbarions.
It was also great fun whenever John Candy lent his voice to any of the characters including the science nerd and the robot on the ship. I'm very pleased to finally own this animation masterpiece on DVD and I still plan to pick-up the 32 bit version that is out of print. If you want my opinion don't miss this!
Top reviews from other countries
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BambaReviewed in Mexico on May 30, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Heavy metal
Verified PurchaseEn mi opinión, está mucho mejor la de heavy metal 2000, por eso compré este steelbook. Que bueno que sacaron en formato bluray ya que se nota la diferencia con el dvd. Ambas películas vienen con subtítulos en español. El producto llegó en buenas condiciones y en tiempo estimado.
- 鶹 CustomerReviewed in the United States on May 24, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars "A Psychedelic Double Shot of Sex, Steel, and Soundtrack"
Verified PurchaseThe Heavy Metal / Heavy Metal 2000 double pack is less a movie collection and more a hallucinatory plunge into the fever dreams of adolescent imagination—where swords glow, spaceships roar, and the laws of gravity are subject to mood.
The original Heavy Metal (1981) is a glorious, unruly anthology—each segment a splash of ink from a different comic book artist’s subconscious. The animation is uneven, sometimes even crude, but that’s part of its charm. It doesn’t aim for polish; it aims for impact. The soundtrack—featuring Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, and Devo—feels like the soul of a teenage stereo system given cinematic form. It’s both juvenile and strangely poetic, like sci-fi pulp filtered through a lava lamp.
Heavy Metal 2000, released nearly two decades later, lacks the anthology structure and wild diversity of the original. But it compensates with a sleek, darker narrative and a fiercer heroine. Julie Strain’s voice performance, coupled with a more modern metal soundtrack, gives the film a singular, relentless energy. It doesn't quite soar to the mythic weirdness of its predecessor, but it’s no cheap sequel—it’s a bruising, neon-hued war cry of its own.
Together, they form a fascinating double feature—one anarchic and anarchistic, the other focused and ferocious. These aren’t films for everyone. But for those who grew up reading Heavy Metal magazine under the covers with a flashlight, this two-pack feels like coming home.
Four stars. One for the soundtrack, one for the style, one for the guts, and one for the fact that something this bizarre exists at all.
- Julie CLReviewed in the United States on June 3, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Adult animated classic; product of its time
Verified PurchaseA loosely held together string of animated vignettes, set to hard rock and metal classics of the time, Heavy Metal is intended to be a fun showcase for different animation styles. This isn't high cinema, but it is a heck of a lot of fun to watch and reminisce with. Turn on, tune out, enjoy the insanity, and be transported to a different time - literally and stylistically.
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IvanReviewed in Mexico on October 19, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Crazy
Verified PurchaseLa película es un clásico...