Screened as part of NZIFF 2006

Metal: A Headbanger's Journey 2005

Directed by Sam Dunn, Scott McFadyen, Jessica Joy Wise

Exactly what it says on the label: a bighearted tour of Metal, heavy and otherwise, from fans, critics and legendary performers. "The soundtrack, as might be expected, kicks ass." — Variety

Canada In English
96 minutes 35mm

Directors, Screenplay

Photography

Brendan Steacy

Editor

Mike Munn

Sound

Lou Solakofski
,
Fred Brennan

Music

Metallica
,
Iron Maiden
,
Black Sabbath
,
Slayer
,
Slipknot

With

Alice Cooper
,
Dee Snider
,
Lemmy Kilmister
,
Vince Neil
,
Rob Zombie
,
Bruce Dickinson

Festivals

Toronto, Vancouver 2005; Rotterdam, San Francisco 2006

Elsewhere

“Regardless of whether you’ve ever rocked out to Ronnie James Dio’s screeching falsetto, banged your head to Black Sabbath’s sinister riffs, or made devil horns out of your pinky and forefinger, A Headbanger’s Journey may catch you up in its bighearted tour of Metal, heavy and otherwise, through the ages. With co-directors Scot McFadyen and Jessica Joy Wise, [narrator Sam] Dunn traveled the world, from Birmingham, UK (birthplace of Black Sabbath), to the wilds of Oslo (epicenter of the extreme subgenre known as Black Metal, aptly summarized by Gunn as ‘punk rock meets Wagner dressed as Alice Cooper’), interviewing fans, legendary performers, and even a raft of critics, musicologists and sociologists who – doubtless to the horror of all who were parents of teenagers during the 1980s – attest to Metal’s legitimacy and importance as both a cultural and musical phenomenon. At once playful and thorough, the documentary is also stacked teased-hair high with wicked performance footage.” — Scott Foundas, LA Weekly.
“The soundtrack, as might be expected, kicks ass.” — Ken Eisner, Variety