Product Description

Based on the fantastical illustrated magazine Heavy Metal producer Ivan Reitman enlists the world s greatest comic book artists 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. Lavishly drawn vignettes of the orb s dark victories include the character voices of John Candy and Harold Ramis plus 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.System Requirements:Voices By: John Candy and Harold Ramis. Directed By: Gerald Potterton. Running Time: 90 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 1999 Columbia TriStar Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY Rating:  UPC: 043396039292 Manufacturer No: 03929

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2318 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 1999-11-23
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Anamorphic, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, Portuguese
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
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

DVD 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

Customer Reviews

Still a great film!
I thought this film would be way out-dated when I first picked it up, but even in the year 2008 I still consider this to be one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is incredibly imaginative and must have been pretty ground-breaking at the time having combined animation with a level of gore, nudity and an adult-target audience which previously hadn't been seen with animated films. The plot of the movie is hard to explain because it jumps around between seemingly completely different stories, but the underlying theme is a powerful green orb is which is present in each of the stories (sounds stupid I know). Quite simply one of the best movies I have ever seen. Also, this seems like a great movie to see stoned if you're into that.

AWSOME!!!
Classic movie that I absolutely love and have since first saw it when I was younger. The PSP takes nothing from the movie in my opinion. The first time I owned this movie was good ole' VHS Movie Cassette, but I am very pleased to have found a mobile copy that I can now take with me on trips.

Heavy Metal UMD
I saw Heavy Metal when I was in high school way back in the day. It hasn't changed, its still funny and imaginative. I didn't remember all of the cartoon nudity, but I'll be OK. The PSP really does a good job with these movies. When I bought the PSP it was mainly for the games, but as I start to watch movies on it, I realize that I was missing out.