Heavy Metal (1981) User Reviews (214)

Animation is not just for kids and male teens.

[lambiepie-2 · 8/10 · 8 October 2002]

I waited a bit before contributing a review for I wanted to read a few reviews to see if what I thought would be true...and it is. So let a lady step in and point out a few things for those who are interested in viewing this film.

This film was actually started in 1978, and finally released in 1981 and I was there to see it. It is based on the adult fantasy sci-fi America version magazine "Heavy Metal". The original origin of the magazine is French, very adult, very graphic, very sci-fi, lotsa nudity BUT excellent and compelling storytelling.

The key phrase is "Adult, Fantasy, Illustrated".

Just because its a 'cartoon', does not mean its for kids.

Looking at the Animation now in 2002, its dated. In the mid-80's Japanese Anime has set and kept raising the bar on this kind of adult anime genre. This early mainstream American attempt was good, for it had a good model, the magazine, Heavy Metal.

If Heavy Metal had waited to be produced until now, with all the advancements on technology, animation, graphics, art we have at our disposal, I only wish that the popular artists and storytellers of the magazine Heavy Metal were involved. It would be a different film indeed, and it would get an NC-17 rating. The only pieces that were trademarks of the Heavy Metal magazine were "Soft Landing"/"Grimaldi" "Den" and "Taarna".

More specifically, "Taarna" WAS exactly what the American Heavy Metal Magazine was all about and uncredited was Jean Giraud who has done a hell of a lot of work in the magazines history....both American and French versions is the cause for that. You may know his work by his other more famous name, "Moebius".

If you ask me, the film could have gone one of two ways: just like the magazine story by story without the silly connector of the green orb, or with just the one story of "Taarna". Back in 1978-1981, I would assume the Studio Executives could not venture into that manner without getting squeamish about box office so what we have is a tip-toe cross blend between the two. On one level it works, on another it does not. Its a viewers decision.

I like this 1981 version of the movie Heavy Metal, although a few stories didn't live up to the level of the magazine content..or were not presented as such. "Neverwhereland" should have NEVER been cut, I would have taken it over "Captain Stern" any day. "Neverwhereland" seemed to be along the lines of the magazines' content, too bad it wasn't included. "Harry Canyon" I could have taken or left, made no difference.

Additionally, I JUST loved "Den" and "B-17". I loved the soundtrack, for Metal is America. But just like the magazine, it was adult, it was fantasy, violent at points and contained nudity. It was early "R" Adult Animation American Style. (I know...Fritz the Cat was an "X" rated Animation that instead of using humans, used felines. Besides, Fritz was Ralph Bakshi's ticket outa Disney Animation and Robert Crumb is the 70's counter culture!)

This film, "Heavy Metal" was also marketed as the male dream: Metal Music, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Nudity.

But wait...why was I...a woman interested?!?!?

It was "Taarna". This was the first animated woman in an American made mainstream animated adult feature film that the world needed, that the world depended upon, that was tough, that was independent, not a size four but voluptous, and was still very sexy. Nowadays, it may not mean much, but in 1981 when I was a teen and saw this, it meant a lot. Snow White, she wasn't and was she the Wicked Witch of the West either and that is how women were portrayed up till the release of Heavy Metal.

When I read a few stories in the adult magazines Heavy Metal from the late 70's to the early 90's, both American and French versions, the women in the majority of the stories, although drawn by European men and set in uncertain futures, wear...and in many cases...don't wear at all... and involved in explicit sexual situations..the women WERE the heroes!!

All in all, keep in mind Heavy Metal was made for an adult audience, just like the magazine. It's not just for the teenaged guys, its not just for the stoned and metal heads, its not just for the trekies or x-filers. It's a good effort for its time but if you're expectting work like in late 80s/90's Japanese Anime like "Katsuhiro Ôtomo's Akira", etc., or 2001's "Taro Rin's Metropolis" remember its 1981, and American, and NOT quite like its name sake Magazines, but its still good.

Comic fantasy ... and nothing more

[aharmon · 8/10 · 2 April 2001]

Trying to con Harry Canyon in futuristic New York City ("big deal"), striking a deal with Den, having sex with a robot (or, as he puts it, using "mechanical assistance"), bribing Hanover Fiste to testify on your behalf in court, praying for Taarna to save you. None of these things have anything in common except for the Loch-nar, a green ball supposedly containing the essence and entirety of evil.

It doesn't matter if none of this makes complete sense or if it's even that good in terms of plot construction. This is Heavy Metal!

The concept of this 1981 animated experiment is two-fold: show good and evil in a constant state of flux, and bring to life the richness and erotic energy of the popular animated magazine. Add to that some science fiction, a slight reverence for history (in the beautiful ghoul scene in the WWII B-17) and a juvenile insight into drugs and sex, and you have the definition of my '80s youth culture.

I was one of those kids who'd sneak an issue of Heavy Metal, found on the magazine stands in the local drug store next to the grocery store where my father did his weekly shopping, inside another magazine and stare at the drawings, looking for some violence and humor ... and naked women with bi g breasts. I did the same thing whenever I got my hands on a National Lampoon and, if I was lucky, Hustler.

It's pre-pubescence at its hormonal best! And seeing it again as an adult brings all that excitement back to me. Every story, every piece of music ... God, every shot for that matter -- they all bring me back to being 10 years old and wrestling with my older cousin as she tried to block my eyes when the chick Harry Canyon picks up off the street strips and slides into bed with him to the tune of Journey's "Open Arms."

This movie wasn't meant to be cinematic greatness. It was meant to be a boy's fantasy and his coming of age. Sometimes we take these things too seriously. A good movie is a good movie, and a good memory is a good memory. Let's leave it at that ... and let me get a whiff of that stuff the spaceship pilots have lined along the floor...

My puberty

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 3 June 2021]

I should not have seen this movie at nine or ten years of age, nor should I have read the magazine. I should have been blissfully ignorant of the mindblowing nature of what I was about to see and waited until I was ready, but here we are, literally forty years later and not a day goes by that this movie doesn't cross my mind.

Directed by animator Gerald Potterton and produced by Ivan Reitman and publisher Leonard Mogel, this movie takes on the near-impossible task of taking the stories of an unwieldy adult science fiction magazine and making them into a coherent story about, well, evil? Or something? Honestly, who cares, there's animated Roger Corben and zombie bombers and half-nude warrior women riding dinosaurs and stabbing people.

Based on the comic book tale, "Soft Landing" starts the film. Created by Dan O'Bannon and Thomas Warkentin, it has a man fly a car from space to Earth. He's an astronaut home to see his daughter, but in the next sequence, "Grimaldi," what he has brought back kills him and his daughter soon learns of a galaxy and time-spanning evil called the Loc-Nar. That entity is present in every story throughout the film and actually works really well.

Moebius' "The Long Tomorrow" has become "Harry Canyon," the story of a film noir detective in a 2031 New York City that looks and feels a lot like Blade Runner, because, well, Blade Runner looked a lot like Moebius. In this installment, the Loc-Nar is a Maltese Falcon-ish McGuffin.

In "Den," based on the Richard Corben comic of the same name, that ultimate evil is the magical element that everyone on the world of Den wants. Our hero is a nerdy kid who has been transported to another world and become a superheroic character that everyone wants to either get in their bed or put in the dirt. For me, this is the center of this movie and other than the closing section, it stands hands, shoulders and various nude parts above the other segments. Plus, that's John Candy as Den.

Bernie Wrightson's "Captain Sternn" follows, with Eugene Levy as the Sternn and a court trial that shows just how dirty of a future spaceman its hero can be. A section called "Neverwhere Land" was deleted from the film, which would have connected these segments and would have been a loop set to either Pink Floyd's "Time" or Krzysztof Penderecki 's "Magnificat: Passacaglia."

The zombie segment with the haunted "B-17" is next, followed by an adaption of Angus McKie's "So Beautiful, So Dangerous," a tale of alien pilots, Earthwomen and lines of Plutonian Nyborg.

In the last story, based on "Arzach" by Moebius, "Taarna" and her reptile bird battle mutants and the Loc-Nar itself, sacrificing herself to save the world before she is reborn in the young girl in the framing device that began the story. As she walks outside, the reptile bird returns and the adventure begins all over again.

The soundtrack to this movie - that kept it from legally being released for years - is amazing. There's everything from Black Sabbath's "Mob Rules" and "Prefabricated" by Trust to the theme song by Don Felder and Blue Öyster Cult's "Veterans of Psychic Wars." The band originally wrote the song "Vengeance (The Pact)," but the makers of the film thought it too closely told the story of the segment. Both songs appeared on BÖC's Fire of Unknown Origin.

For years, there had been talk of a reboot. Whatever that ended up being aired on Netflix as the series Love, Death & Robots.

Incorrect.

[philanselmogirl · 6 August 2004]

A lot of reviews of this film are negative, and I spotted one that said this film is merely for the older generation. Well, I just have to say that this comment is incorrect. I myself was not produced until after the film had been around for some years (*raises hand* 1986), and I highly enjoy this wonderful flick.

I got the chance to sit down and watch the movie with my mother when I was 13, and I instantly fell in love with it. I love the way the green orb links the stories together, the humor, the music, and yes - even the animation.

True, the animation is nothing compared to the stuff that's out there these days, but this film is a classic. If you don't understand the film's stories, then you clearly weren't paying attention.

Heavy Metal magazine is fantastic, and this movie is nothing short of the magazine's beautiful creativity.

Also? Comparing Heavy Metal to its sequel, Heavy Metal 2000, is simply wrong. Heavy Metal 2000 pales in comparison to the original. Sure, the soundtrack is amazing, but in my opinion, that's about it.

More peaks and valleys than the women in the movie

[David N. · 6/10 · 14 May 2000]

The women in this collection of animated short stories are very fond of taking off their clothes and/or hopping into bed with men they just met. Not a criticism, just an observation. When you add graphic violence, elements of sci-fi and fantasy, and relatively crude animation to the busty nymphos, you have a slapdash, strangely affecting film that is both irritating and fascinating.

As has been mentioned in several comments, the quality of the stories vary from dull to captivating. The taxi driver tale and the story about the young geek who becomes a muscular hulk are weird and fun to watch; others, like the final story about an avenging beauty clad in a skimpy system of straps, are tedious and revel too much in their unique brand of kinkiness. However, the story about the fighter plane which becomes infested with the living dead is an underappreciated gem.

The writing is average and the animation is pedestrian when compared with some of today's animated classics ("The Iron Giant," "Tarzan"), but "Heavy Metal" is an amusing enough exercise in rock and roll cartooning. (The selection of music is hit-and-miss as well, and the exclusion of Ted Nugent is inexcusable.) If you rent this not expecting much, you might be pleasantly surprised.

A true Cult Classic, and well worth seeing.

[mushrom · 10/10 · 1 February 2001]

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.

"I am the sound of all evil."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 9 May 2014]

Animated anthology about a glowing green orb called the Loc-Nar, which is apparently pretty bad stuff. All of the stories tie back into the orb somehow. The best stories were: "Harry Canyon" about a cabbie in futuristic New York who becomes involved with a sexy woman on the run from bad guys, "Den" about a nerdy teenager who is transformed into a muscular hero, and "Taarna" about a silver-haired big-breasted beautiful savior out to save her planet from an army of zombies. The rest of the stories are all okay, although I liked "Captain Sternn" the least. That's about a guy named Captain Sternn put on trial for his crimes where one of the witnesses turns into a monster. Anyway, they're all watchable. Some of them were adapted from stories from Heavy Metal magazine. The animation is crude at times but there's certainly a lot of imagination put into it. The story doesn't always make a lot of sense either but it's still very interesting and fun. The music is great. It's obviously for adults, not kids. It's good if you enjoy fantasy stuff and can manage to not take it all so seriously.

Cult classic.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 10/10 · 30 August 2001]

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.

Heavy Metal Brings Great Soundtrack, Good Stories and Ideas For Adults

[charlieoso · 7/10 · 25 September 2019]

Based on the science fiction/fantasy comics magazine that is still being published to this day. Personally I do own a few of these from over the years and would state that they are heavily violent and/or heavily erotic, but always beautiful artwork that is based in science fiction or fantasy. If that sounds like it is up your alley then perhaps you should go out and look for one in your local corner store. They might have one.

The one thing I would say first off about this film is that it does not really capture the amazing artwork that is within the magazine. While not terrible animation, it never really amazes you or is exactly memorable like the artwork is. The film as well is not for everyone and may be aimed at the fantasies of young straight teenage boys. Mind you I think the strongest character is the main female in the last story. One thing that does work in the film though is the voice work of the characters. Most of them are actually really well done and you may recognize the names of a few of the actors.

I will try and make this review as short as I can, but it like the magazine is a film about a group of short stories and it tries to have a narrative that connects them all. Sometimes it works well other times it is sort of thin, but they all do connect.

After a car descends to earth after leaving a space shuttle in space, it lands and drives home. An astronaut Grimaldi (voiced by Don Francks) steps out with this interesting encased green orb. Once he shows it to his daughter he is killed and the extremely deadly green orb (voiced by Percy Rodriguez) has stories to share with the girl and about his evil. He goes under the name Loc-Nar for the stories. Perhaps that sounds like a really weird opening, but in fact it really works and sort of brings you to not expect anything and sort of accept anything that may be weird that happens during the film.

The stories that the orb spins are a story about a cab driver named Harry Canyon (Richard Romanus) who picks up a sexy young lady (Susan Roman) whose being chased for the Loc-Nar that her father found. Al Waxman, John Candy and Harvey Atkin also lend their voices for this segment. The second story is quite funny and memorable. Pretty much due to the narration that John Candy provides. He plays a dorky nerd named Dan who finds the green orb. He then conducts a science experiment during a thunderstorm and bam he is transported to a new world called Neverwhere now much bigger and stronger. The third story is one of the weaker installments as we see the court case of Lincoln F. Sternn (Eugene Levy). Joe Flaherty, John Vernon, Douglas Kenney and once again John Candy provide their voices. It is kind of silly until a nice little twist at the end. The fourth story is one of my favourites. It is very serious and does not play the comedy card like the previous stories had done. Written by Dan O'Bannon it is about a WWII B-17 bomber that is being followed by the Loc-Nar. It in turn brings the dead back to life within the bomber. Nice twist at the end that makes we wish that story would continue. Certainly more in the horror vein than any of the other stories. The fifth story is about aliens who visit the Pentagon and accidentally abduct a woman named Gloria (Alice Playton). John Candy voices the robot and Eugene Levy and Harold Ramis voice the two pilots of the ship. Some good laughs in this entry although I am not exactly sure what the point of this segment is as the story doesn't seem to lead anywhere. The sixth and final entry is much more serious and is the longest story. It is about a Taarakian warrior named Taarna. To me she is the strongest character in the film and she seeks out vengeance for a city that has been destroyed.

Also has a great soundtrack including Blue Oyster Cult, Journey, Black Sabbath, Stevie Nicks, Sammy Hagar and many others. Would love to get my hands on the LP. The underrated Elmer Bernstein does the music when the "metal" bands aren't playing. It does add a wonderful warmth to the film as well. In the sixth story I found the music was in fact reminiscent of GHOSTBUSTERS. But, it should be, since he did that score as well.

The film comes around full circle and although using the plot device of the green orb or Loc-Nar to connect all the stories at times is thin it does seem to work out in the end. Produced by Ivan Reitman. Followed by a name only sequel HEAVY METAL 2000 that does not connect with this film.

THUD!!!!!

[hokeybutt · 1/10 · 31 July 2004]

HEAVY METAL (1 outta 5 stars)

I was very much into the "Heavy Metal/Metal Hurlant" magazines back in my late teens... and I think it was this movie that got me disinterested in the books for good. Yes, there was some good material in the early issues but there was a lot of crap, too. Too bad the crappy elements of HM are all that seemed to make it into this movie... a series of short sci-fi/fantasy cartoons linked by the lame device of some evil, sentient green jewel that sets out to kill the one person that can destroy it... but first, it's going to tell its victim several irrelevant stories. Most of the stories are based on some of the best cartoons from the early years of HM... but the transition to animation doesn't do them any justice. The best cartoon of the bunch, "Captain Stern" is but a pale, pale echo of Bernie Wrightson's original 7 page strip. Every other sequence is just an endless parade of juvenile sex/drug jokes and senseless bloody violence. I guess you could argue that that's all the magazine ever was anyway... but at least there was an artistic vision behind it all. There is no art in this movie whatsoever... just clumsy animation, bad writing, crummy voice work and lousy inappropriate heavy metal music (hey, the movie is called "Heavy Metal"... better cram some heavy metal music in it!) I just recently saw the movie again to see if it was as bad as I remembered. Guess what? It is!

A real funky blast from the 80's past

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 2 August 2007]

Made right before the buzz-crushing ultra-conservative religious right backlash against the gloriously loose'n'libertine permissiveness of the 70's took hold, this wonderfully wild'n'raucous animated sci-fi/horror/fantasy anthology film gleefully wallows in excessive graphic violence, crass leering objectification of the amply proportioned female form (buxom ladies only, please), and a wickedly funny line in cheery low-brow humor. This movie sure ain't politically correct -- and that's exactly why it's such a hugely enjoyable blast from the funky early 80's past.

An evil glowing orb called the Loknar (the supremely sinister and velvet smooth voice of Percy Rodriguez) spreads its malign influence throughout the decades and galaxies. First tale, "Harry Canyon" - Cynical cabbie Harry (marvelously voiced to weary perfection by veteran character actor Richard Romanus of "Mean Streets") gets involved with a sexy young lass in a bleak and rundown futuristic New York. Second yarn, "Den" - A nerdy teenager (affably voiced by the late, great John Candy) winds up on another planet where he's transformed into a bald and brawny behemoth. Third romp, "Captain Sternn" - Sleazy scoundrel Captain Sternn stands on trail for his many heinous indiscretions. John Vernon scores strongly as the angry voice of the prosecuting attorney. Fourth opus, "B-17" - A very creepy and gruesome World War II zombie outing. Fifth vignette, "So Beautiful and So Dangerous" - A couple of wacky aliens and their goofy robot buddy abduct a sassy hot Jewish chick. Harold Ramis and Eugene Levy are hilarious as the Cheech and Chong-style stoner pilots of a giant smiley face spaceship. Candy once again is a delight as the voice of the charming and amorous robot. Sixth outing, "Taarna" - A lethal and lovely mute warrior woman mixes it up with a vicious horde of nasty marauders.

Boy, does this picture rate highly as the ideal guy flick: we've got a fantastic roaring rock soundtrack (Cheap Trick, Black Sabbath, Devo, Grand Funk Railroad, Nazareth, Blue Oyster Cult, Journey, Stevie Nicks and much more), plenty of sidesplitting sophomoric humor, stunningly voluptuous and often naked women, a handy helping of gore, a nice smattering of soft-core sex, a blithely breezy'n'carefree tone, and no pretense whatsoever to get in the way of the infectiously trashy fun. The strikingly stylized and varied animation is suitably vivid and garish throughout. Elmer Bernstein's lush majestic orchestral score likewise hits the spot. A real cool treat that's wholly deserving of its cult status.

Louder And Nastier Than Ever

[Lady_Targaryen · 6/10 · 23 January 2006]

'Heavy Metal' is a very strange movie, full of sex scenes and surreal things. A glowing green alien orb(The Loc-Nar) was bring from an astronaut to his young daughter, but he kills the astronaut and terrorizes the little girl with a collection of stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror. Basically, he tells about the battles between good and evil with difference examples each time ,saying that the evil always win. (The Loc Nar is the sum of all evil).The segments are: "Soft Landing"; "Grimandi"; "Harry Canyan"; "Den"; "Capain Sternn"; "B-17"; "So Beautiful, So Dangerous"; "Taarna".

This movie is based on a Comic Book of the same name.

A film that hasn't stood the test of time.

[JoeB131 · 5/10 · 4 November 2012]

I thought this was a fun movie when it came out in 1981, but it really doesn't hold up that well.

The first problem is that you have such an extreme mix in tone between the stories they don't fit well together. You have drama, comedy, horror, and swords and sorcery, and going from a story with humor (Captain Stern) to horror (B-17) back to humor again (So beautiful and so dangerous) just doesn't work.

A bigger problem is the animation itself. It's mostly of poor quality, and to be fair, by 1981, even Disney had lost it's touch in this artform.

A couple of the stories do work. The B-17 story is quite good, as is the final one. (which probably could and should have been expanded into a full length feature, which is what they tried to do in Heavy Metal 2000.) Should point out this movie with its excessive sex and gore, could never be made today with the current batch of prudes at the MPAA.

TAKE A RIDE...ON HEAVY METAL

[sick_boy420xxx · 26 April 2001]

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.

Spirit of adventure and imagination = good, execution = meh

[Pozdnyshev · 6/10 · 2 May 2014]

This is an animated movie that's awesome and sucks at the same time.

It's awesome because of its spirit of adventure and experimentation. I'd rather see ten weird, experimental, and personal movies like "Heavy Metal" than one boring pander-fest like "500 Days of Summer" which, like a smooth politician, is guaranteed a wide audience because it's engineered to appeal to as many people as possible. What it loses in the process is a human touch, the sense that I'm getting to know a real person's dreams and aspirations, not being manipulated into thinking that it's hip for young women to have borderline personality disorder (as in most popular RomComs like "Juno"), or that grand special effects are more exciting than a good story (as in the Avengers or the Phantom Menace).

This is just a guess, but I think these animated stories are very close to the hearts of the people who wrote and designed them, and this movie was made out of love for the stories instead of expecting to get rich off of it. I love it for that alone because even if it's a bad story, someone believed in it enough to not let it get (too) watered down by someone who didn't think it had enough mass appeal. So for better or for worse, it's a window into another person's heart, which makes me feel connected to humanity. You can't buy that with all the special effects and cinematography in the world.

So I love this movie for the spirit behind it. But the movie itself - eh. It's a mess. Stunningly detailed background plates vie with very hit-and-miss animation. In fact it's shockingly bad in many places, the battle scene in "Den" is almost as choppy and wooden as in "GI Joe."

And it's juvenile -- there's not much going on underneath the boobs, violence, and cool drawings. I want some kind of cohesive message to justify all this eye candy, like making the green orb only destroy people who are evil anyway (the B-52 pilot wasn't necessarily evil).

And why is it some busty chick, of all people, who defeats evil? Since this plot device is just plopped in there, it makes me think that the answer to this question is that the filmmakers thought chicks with swords and big boobs just look cool, that's why. I want more reason why it's HER who defeats evil, because I don't think hot Amazonian chicks who dress like pole-dancers defeat evil in real life; they'd create it by frustrating men with their hot and exposed bodies. A more plain- looking woman in a monk's robe would be more believable, but (I know) a lot less cool-looking.

That's not to say there aren't some gems here and there that shine on their own. There's a scene towards the beginning of the "Taarna" part where townspeople are turned evil by being immersed in green slime. That part on its own has a strange, resonant power like a story from the Bible, and is worth the entire movie. I think it resonates because of its chilling similarity to Marxist and feminist brainwashing, but that's just my opinion. :P

A must-see if you're into the art of animation or just have a taste for strange movies, its heart is in the right place but watching it is like looking through a talented fourteen-year-old boy's sketchpad.

Sex, Drugs & Heavy Metal (Early-1960s Style)

[strong-122-478885 · 6/10 · 18 January 2017]

Even though Heavy Metal (from 1981) may be somewhat silly and incredibly disjointed at times, it is an impressively animated anthology of 8 sexy, Sci-Fi/Fantasy stories set to (what else? - but) heavy metal music.

These fantastic stories of graphic violence, female nudity and perverse sexuality were adapted for this film from the original Heavy Metal comic book, which was all produced by the magazine's publisher, himself, Leonard Mogel.

Heavy Metal's stories follow the path of a glowing green orb called Loc-Nar that contains the sum total of all the evil in the entire Universe. Loc-Nar travels continually through time and space, spreading violence and discordance everywhere in its wicked wake.

Heavy Metal's artists and animators were recruited from 17 different countries. The animation process used in Heavy Metal was the old, roto-scope technique, which consisted of filming models and actors, then tracing the shot onto film for animation purposes.

To be sure - Heavy Metal is an adult, animated, feature film that is certainly not gonna appeal to everyone.

Great animated cult classic

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 10 June 2014]

Grimaldi returns home from a Space Shuttle trip landing his Corvette through the atmosphere. He bring home a present for his daughter, a glowing green orb called the Loc-Nar. It turns out to be a sum of all evil. It disintegrates Grimaldi and shows the little girl how he destroys the lives of people it touches in a series of short stories.

The animation is dated with the 70s style. The material is violent and full of scantily clad women. It is sexist and juvenile. It just does it with such abandon that it fully develops what it promises. It revels in the big boobs women in tiny outfits and muscle bound men. It's grotesque. It's got good music. It's a cult classic and fully deserves to be.

"No hair. Hmm... BIG."

[DarthBill · 6/10 · 1 September 2006]

A collection of short stories, most based on stories from the cult follower magazine item "Heavy Metal", are connected by the Loc-Nah: the glowing green ball of doom, which an astronaut presents to his daughter as a gift, only to be killed by the thing. After killing the astronaut guy, the glowing green ball of doom starts harassing/torturing/tormenting the poor girl with stories of its evil antics across the universe - stories that yo-yo wildly back and forth between absurdist humor to dark fantasy to horror, most if not all with an element of science fiction in it, and almost all of them very heavy on the eroticism.

1) Harry Canyon: the story of a crass, cynical New York cab driver in the post Apocalyptic future. One day he gets caught up in a conspiracy that involves the Loc-Nah.

2) Den: A nerdy teenager nerd boy picks up the Loc-Nah after it crash lands in his backyard. When he tries to experiment on it, he gets flung into an alternate dimension planet called Neverwhere Land, where he is transformed in a giant bald beef-cake with superhuman strength, pursued by beautiful, busty women (one of them a Native of Earth who was also transformed from a frail, unhealthy girl into a beautiful, more "womanly" individual). He too is caught up in a plot involving the Loc-Nah, which is also in this world, and is the pinpoint in a big huge sacrifice.

3) Captain Stern: A ruggedly handsome but irredeemably evil scoundrel is on trial for his various misdeeds, but he bribes a weakling named Hanover Fist to speak on his behalf at the trial, but Hanover gets a hold of the Loc-Nah, and it may or may not influence his Hulk like rampage at the trial. But will the righteously brutish version of Hanover win out over the evil Captain Lincoln F. Stern? 4) Zombies on a plane: a sequence involving zombies tearing up an old WW II fighter plane and its ill-fated passengers.

5) Stoner Aliens & the randy robot: A beautiful, buxom red head secretary is abducted by two stoner aliens and their over-sexed robot, who then take us on a space odyssey like no other.

6) The last story concerns the last Tarakian Taarna, a beautiful yet silent warrior woman with white hair who rides a flying pterodactyl is given the task of thwarting a race of green skilled mutants, who owe their very existence to the Loc-Nah after the thing crashed into a volcano. Though the beautiful Taarna is captured, stripped naked, tortured (possibly raped) and left for dead, she ultimately prevails in thwarting the mutants and destroying the Loc-Nah. The last story comes back to the present where the Loc-Nah is destroyed once again, revealing that the girl is in fact the next Tarakian.

Uneven but atmospheric, very hit and miss, as tends to be the case with a lot of these adult animated epics. The Den sequence is probably the most entertaining, thanks in no small part to the voice performance of the late John Candy as the nerd & his brawny alter ego. Also worth a look for the Elmer Bernstein score as well as the look at old school animation.

Took me 25 years to see it...

[panquin · 9/10 · 19 December 2006]

...and I'm damned glad I did.

I slapped on headphones and put the DVD in the Macbook and set sail for a better time's stony realms...I read comments saying "If only this movie were made now, it would be so much better, blah blah blah," and that's the biggest crock of horsesh*t I've ever heard. If it were made now, it would be slicker than slick, void of soul, with the wretched music of our age providing the soundtrack. Heavy Metal circa 1981 has the texture and imperfect beauty that sustaining, lasting art must possess; think Miles Davis' Bi*ches Brew or Sketches of Spain, or the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street - that's where Heavy Metal lives. It's not perfect, parts of it are quite flawed, but as a whole, even the flaws are beautiful gems to behold, and I tell you, for every voice barking on about Heavy Metal's flaws being too much to take, I say this: you take your Saw and remakes of Texas Chainsaw and The Omen and whatever else your fetid college brains latch onto as broken things that need fixing, and we'll take Heavy Metal and the original versions of the horror movies mentioned and be artistically far richer. But you're not after richness in art, are you? You're after eye-candy and digitally rendered starscapes, aren't you? Yes, you are. And you're beggars with moldy bread because of it.

Heavy Metal is a classic, and I'll be first to admit that it's got problems, but believe it or not, problems sometimes add to a classic's being considered a classic in the first place. Exhibit A: Heavy Metal. Watch, listen and learn, youngsters.

Earth women who experience sexual ecstasy with mechanical assistance always tend to feel guilty!

[lastliberal · 7/10 · 19 January 2010]

I didn't know what to expect when I sat down to watch this.

Keeping in mind that it is over 30 years old, the animation is fantastic.

The heroine, a voluptuous woman, is also way ahead of it's time. Four stars to full figures.

I really thought I would be in for some loud head banging music, but I was thrilled by the score. It was really fitting to the film and enjoyable.

This is film history, a "camp" classic, and would look totally different if made today. I should be seen as an excellent example of early animation.

Older animation with a stretched-out story = meh

[nathanschubach · 5/10 · 29 December 2010]

I remember seeing shots of this film and thinking, "My god, they were liberal on nudity and violence back in the 80's." It turns out that they were, in fact, as well as depicting drug use amongst aliens. But this is an adult animation. Sure there's goofy aliens in some scenes and dumb-as-bricks warriors in others, but the overall story is about this green Orb who has caused some downright horrific in its past. It chooses to settle down and talk with a chosen girl about its exploits and how she is a part of its story. If you haven't seen the film, picture it like a long episode of He-Man back in the days of Dungeons & Dragons marathons and way too many pot-fueled stories of alternate universes. There's an over-abundance in breasts throughout the film, much like most of the D&D fantasy artwork of the time, and there was pressure, I'm sure, to play it up as something they could do in this adult animation. Some of the animation was overdone but it looked better than some of Bakshi's animations. The rotoscoping effects look great as well, and the skies in some of the sequences were very dreamlike. I personally was not attached to the various pop artists they got for the film, and to see that the VHS release was delayed on account of them makes me cringe. I hardly noticed the music at all. I found that it was called Heavy Metal because the idea for the film came from the Heavy Metal magazine where a handful of these stories came from, but I don't understand the tie-in of the title to anything in the movie itself. Overall, I recommend this film to animation fans and fantasy/sci-fi fans. It doesn't really have anything to do with heavy metal music so for you music fans, you might feel ripped off (although Sammy Hagar singing about heavy metal is included).

Adult animation ftw

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 10 February 2021]

For those who like stuff like that of course. Because I have friends who despise animation overall. So obviously you can't be that or someone who thinks animation in general is just for kids. This definitely isn't for kids! Maybe Teenagers depending on your rating system where you live.

But back to this: Heavy Metal Comics. I never read them to be truthful so not sure how this translates onto screen, but I can say that this is "far out" (as some would call it). Lots of nudity, lots of violence and quite the insane story to boost too. Kind of like a b-movie but drawn. And the animation may not be todays standard (especially because it is hand made rather than on a computer), but it still can be at least considered very good. As you can see, you should not be the already mentioned things to enjoy this, but also you shouldn't be easily offended ... don't take this seriously on any level

A Very Adult Animation

[Rainey-Dawn · 6/10 · 25 October 2014]

This animation is rated R for a reason - it is catered to adults that were (and maybe still are) fans of Heavy Metal Magazine. A fair warning for parents: this movie really is not for kids.

I was 9 years old when this film came but I did not get to see it until I was 13 or 14 years old (maybe I was 15) anyway, the movie's story is not all that bad - but it's not that grand either. I am not a fan of the soundtrack either although some of the songs are OK. It's worth watching for the artwork (animation) and pure nostalgia factor.

This movie is OK. And it most definitely is a cult classic film - it's not a film for everyone.

6/10

Worst animated film ever.

[JDarkley · 1/10 · 8 November 2006]

This movie is bad in every way conceivable. It's a adult-oriented yet approached in a very immature manner. The animation is anywhere from sketchy to stiff and dead. The plots in each of the stories only serve the singular purpose of indulging in whatever immoral and ridiculous themes that the writers thought of. The film as a whole is just shallow and mindless, like living out some immature adolescent comic book geek's dream. You don't sit through this film, you trudge painfully through it. For a film that requires no thought whatsoever, this movie causes your head to hurt too much. Why waste your time with it? There are better adult-oriented animated films from the era, see those.