Métal hurlant

Sure, it's not the best animation by today's standards. However, for when it was made the animation was top notch. It does have a great voice cast and the music is great. I graduated highschool in 1991 with long hair down my back. I went to my senior prom wearing a Motley Crue t-shirt--so nothing more to be said. I think anyone like me must appreciate Heavy Metal at least on some level. I also appreciate it for the art work and the small details. Watching a beatiful warrior godess slowly don her ridiculously sexy red outfit before wielding a sword to gut a bunch of mutants--it couldn't get any better. The movie as a whole, a conglomerate of strangley unrelated yet joined stories, makes this movie a cult classic--as true as they come. Perhaps that is what is lacking in Heavy Metal 2000--truely a sad attempt as a sequel, with no potential of ever being a worthy classic to sit on a shelf next to the original. The FAKK sword is the coolest thing about the movie, besides the Simon Beasley cover art. At least I think that's Simon's work and not Royo's--perhaps someone could confirm that. Okay, but not to stray from the topic of Heavy Metal (1981)---take it for what it is--don't over analyze it. Sit back, have a few laughs, poke fun at it, and at the end I think it's worth the watch.

I have to admit, I loved this movie from when I first saw it. A true cult classic, and second in Midnight Movie viewing only to Rocky Horror.

I think one reason that this movie was looked forward to for so long is that it was unavailable for so long. I remember around 1984 when a release was planned, and a dispute with the multiple musicians caused it to be pulled. But thankfully this was finally resolved, so we can own it again.

I bought a pirate copy when i was in Japan in 1988 (On Beta no less), and almost played it to death. And having been a fan of the comic when I could find it, I think it told the stories very well. I admit that the "green sphere" link was silly and did not work, and that the original "carousel" concept would have been much better (watch the DVD release for details on this). The simple fact that I have bought 3 copies of this time and still own all 3 of them says something about the movie.

Harry Canyon, Den, and Taarna are the be the most remembered pieces of this movie. Each in itself could even be fleshed out to hour long length, and still be enjoyable. So Beautiful, So Dangerous is enjoyable, and Harold Ramis and John Candy steal the show with their voices ("Hey man, you got any of that plutonium niborg left?"). And I admit, the film version of the story was MUCH more enjoyable then the original one from the comic.

PS: Watch for the cameo of a destroyed USS Enterprise. I love pointing that out to people that miss it.

Heavy Metal, the movie, is great encapsulation of Heavy Metal, the magazine. Heavy Metal was and is an anthology of the best of American and European comic writers and artists. It has carried the work of such masters as Moebius, Druillet, Liberatore, Bernie Wrightson, Howard Chaykin, Walt Simonson, Arthur Sydam, Enki Bilal, Richard Corben and Simon Bisley. The movie adapts some of the great stories from the glory days of the magazine.

The movie is much like the magazine: a mixed bag of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, comedy, and erotica. Some of it is good, some not. My personal favorites are Harry Canyon, Den, Captain Sternn, B-17, and Tarna. Harry Canyon is a sci-fi tale of thugs, femme fatales, and cynics ala Dashell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, transported to the future. It has been cited as an inspiration for The Fifth Element, by some; but it bears some resemblance to the works of French artist, Moebius, who created designs for The Fifth Element. Moebius also factors into Tarna, as the entire look of this sequence is almost xeroxed from Moebius' Arzach stories.

Captain Sternn is the anti-hero/criminal from Bernie Wrightson, co-creator of Swamp Thing and illustrator of a beautiful edition of Frankenstein. This is a fun sequence, full of comedy and chaos, much like the Sternn stories. Sternn has more than a slight resemblance to a certain Kryptonian.

B-17 captures the flavor of the old EC horror comics, like Tales from the Crypt and the Vault of Horror. The sequence features design work from Mike Ploog, a horror comics master and artist of Marvel's Man-Thing. It has a nice creepy, decayed atmosphere and lets the visuals tell the story.

Den is adapted from Richard Corben's tales. The melon-breasted women that Corben is known for are on fine display here. We also get the humor that also permeates Corben's work. John Candy was quite good here, giving Den the perfect adolescent voice.

Tarna is the most lush sequence, with sweeping vistas and the use of rotoscoping for the character. It is also quite violent. Again, it owes a great deal to Moebius' Arzach.

So Beautiful, So Dangerous is pretty forgettable, with juvenile humor and boring animation. Soft Landing is fairly pointless, except to serve as a title sequence. The whole linking device is unnecessary, as the segments bear little relation to one another and are stronger as separate entities. The soundtrack is great, with most pieces capturing the flavor of the animation.

Ultimately, the uneven stories and lower budget animation holds this movie back. The movie is best viewed as an anthology, rather than a complete story, and with a forgiving eye to the budget. With that said, it's still entertaining and an important work of adult animation.

One of my all-time favorite flicks is this animated anthology of stories all bound together by this glowing green "Locnar," an orb of evil unmatched in all of time and space. The animations are terrific: "Harry Canyon" about a futuristic cabbie in NYC, "DEN" about a nerd who is transported to a far off land as a hulking muscleman, "Taarna" about mankinds last stand against the power of the "Locnar," and others. My personal favorite is the short "B-17" about a bomber in WWII and the horrible power of the "Locnar." As I mentioned previously, the animation is spectacular...reminding me of a day when not everything was computer-generated. Features Cheap Trick, Riggs, Nazareth, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Devo and others on the kicking soundtrack. Overall, a classic of the 80's: one that shouldn't be missed at any cost. My Highest Recommendation.

Gerald Potterton's "Heavy Metal" is definitely one of the best animation movies ever made.It has everything:violence,sex,nudity,humor and intelligent story.Great soundtrack by such hard rock/heavy metal groups like Black Sabbath,Nazareth,Devo,Blue Oyster Cult,Journey,Sammy Hagar,Trust,Grand Funk Railroad etc.My favourite segment from "Heavy Metal" is "B-17"-this one is dark,bloody and creepy!My highest recommendation.