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Metallica - Some Kind of Monster Actors: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett Directors: Bruce Sinofsky, Joe Berlinger Number of Items: 2 Format: Color Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Studio: Paramount Home Video Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2005-01-25 Buy from Amazon |
 "The Ultimate Behind The Music"Judging by the above title I have given this review you might think that I actually did not like Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster. Actually I can think of no higher complement to what this film accomplishes. There is after all a reason why documentary shows focusing on successful musicians get played so much on music television stations. That is because every music fan at some point wants to look behind the curtain of the rock n roll lifestyle to see if it is all what it says. On Some Kind Of Monster, the band with the perfect hard rocking, wild partying reputation (Alcoholica)is defanged, destroyed and then put back together again within the span of two plus hours. We witness Metallica front-man James Hetfield emerge from AA, Lars Ulrich battle with the possibility of losing his soapbox and Kirk Hammett maintain a detached sense of what is going on around him, and yet somehow the band members are still likeable. As a result, you are able to step knee deep into the turmoil of a band in crisis and bare witness to just how many layers of both self-inflicted and industry baloney Metallica had to overcome to release St.Anger. The end result is an almost uncomfortable amount of exposure to the band as at times the entertainment value of the concept seems almost lost. Almost. Watching Lars Ulrich admit to Hetfield in therapy that he really doubts the future of the band is just one of those points where you are completely amazed at what the band has allowed to be shown. As instead of using rock star cliche's (sex, drugs, rock n roll) to invoke sympathy, the struggle of Metallica's three members to simply be able to rediscover their joy of playing music together is the saddest time portrayed. Which is something you never get to see on Behind The Music.  "Good But To Long"Overall this was a pretty good documentary about Metallica. Though they came off as whiney b****. I was a serious metallica fan before viewing this film. I respected their music. Now I got to know the real guys behind the band and see how they act when not on stage and their true selves. These guys fight, alot. They act immature, fight with eachother, act like a**es. Definetly have less respect for them now then before. There were some very funny parts in the film, interesting look at the band. It was excruciatingly long. Its a mixed bag. Some good , some bad , some funny parts. I was hoping to see more of Mustaine though. It shocked me that Mustaine was there spilling his guts about feeling inferior or not as good as Metallica. I admire Mustaines lyrics and musical talent and think he writes Lyrics 20 times more intelligent than Metallica. As far as music goes Metallica is better or equal to Megadeth. But I find them both great bands with diffrent things to love about them. Mustaine is very successful and I dont know why hes still pissed or upset about being kicked out of Metallica. He dosent even need them to be great. He can do that all on his own. The film covers alot- Taped during the making of st anger, Shows Lars and his napster issues. During that I was thinking what the hell does lars care about napster for they already have millions and millions of dollars and they cant let some of their fans get a song for free. Greedy. But I can understand them wanting to get paid for their work but come on. He might have taken it a little to far. Overall good documentary but very long. 3.5 stars.  "A Must For Metallica and Non-Metallica Fans"SOME KIND OF MONSTER's main appeal will be mostly to people who've known the band for the last 10 years or so, but it might also be an interesting documentary about how the music industry works. SKOM is a brutally honest portrayal of METALLICA's grueling recording of "ST.ANGER" and all the hell they went through to achieve this album. Only after seeing this movie will some of us understand WHY "ST.ANGER" sounded the way it did. It's utterly fascinating, yet baffling to see METALLICA at a creative all time low. These seasoned rock veterans started to write "ST.ANGER" in the studio, without having any solid song ideas to start with. As a result, the birth of the songs came out of pure chaos, improvisation and uncertainty. This lead up to some very tense creative moments mainly between Lars and James. At times, it seemed that they doing this album out of pure contractual obligation, rather than out of creative fertility. For a band to agree to showcase themselves in this rather "demystifying" manner is enough for applause and it shows that METALLICA still has the guts, albeit, in a very different way. The band go through a (as Jason Newsted would comment inthis film)"lame" therapy period. The band were scared out of their pants to confront themselves with unresolved issues, so they hire Phil Towle, a renowned therapist for rich people. But, as lame as Jason Newsted suggests this is, the therapist actually helps the band to sort their problems out, even if he's "kicked out" in the end. For METALLICA fans, this is probably their most personal and intimate documentary ever, to the point of where it could have backfired. Ex-METALLICA fans might want to take a look at what has thier ex-favorite band become: James picking up her daughter at dance school, Lars selling mega-expensive art at a New York auction, Kirk Hammett surfing and admitting that he CAN'T play one of James' guitar riffs!!! We also get to know Bob Rock a lot better. I had the impression that, as a producer, Bob Rock influenced in a wrong way METALLICA's sound on "ST.ANGER", but after watching SKOM, it's apparent that what you hear on that album is METALLICA's show ALL the way, and Bob just merely contributed to some ideas here and there. Other very revelatory scenes involve managerial decisions, money issues and percentages, something that, as far as I'm concerned, has never been talked about in such a public way. This is classified stuff people, and we're getting the inside scoop! The DVD includes tons of extra scenes, some of them would have been great if included, others are just more informational. The Extra scene that stands out is the infamous "Dave Mustaine" talk. The scene, to me anyway, was in no way disrepectful to Dave and actually shows him as a very sensitive and hurt man; someone who wasn't given the chance to go the "re-hab" as James did. It's understandable that such a private moment was captured AND released in a major film, but Dave himself could've asked for the cameras to be turned off in the first place. Dave is, and always will be to me, an integral part of the original METALLICA sound. SOME KIND OF MONSTER ends on a highlight, of course; after choosing Robert Trujillo as, not only their new bass player, but as their new family member as well, METALLICA's future seems brighter than it was back in 2001 when Jason abruptly left. You just CAN'T miss SOME KIND OF MONSTER, METALLICA or non METALLICA fan alike!  "Just Another "Reality" Show"This one drags on far too long. Heavy metal stars engaging in endless melodrama and psycho-babble isn't my idea of entertainment or enlightenment. "Fantastic!!"Ok, so I'm not the greatest Metallica fan out there - the only album (cd) I had before watching this dvd was Metallica (or what they call The Black Album). I was very curiuous when this dvd came out and efter a while I decided to rent it. Wow, was I surprised! Superb documentary. I absolutely loved the therapy sessions. This showed the guys in Metallica in a whole different light. I enjoyed watching James Hetfield with his kid. No matter how tough they look on stage, I think they are real soft at heart. I admire that. But I must agree with one other reviewer, that Lars Ulrich is quite immature. Hey, Lars, it's time to separate the men from the boys! One thing that had me a bit unsettled was the visit to the prison. I do understand that having James talking (and them making their video) there made a "cool" impression on the prisoners, and I liked what James said ("we are all born good"), but by looking at what happens afterwards - them walking off the stage and hugging each other - says to me that it must have been quite difficult to be there. I was very impressed with it all though. Wow, if you haven't seen this, you have to!! Someone compared this one with This is Spinal Tap. I can see a bit of resemblance in it. I became even more of a fan after watching this movie. They rock! |
