Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6323 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-01-31
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Formats: Box set, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 140 minutes

Synopsis
Directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, SOME KIND OF MONSTER takes a shockingly in-depth look at Metallica, one of the world's most popular heavy metal bands. The documentary begins in 2001, just after longtime bassist Jason Newsted leaves the hugely popular group. Surprised by this sudden departure, the remaining band members, particularly singer/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, struggle to record an album without a permanent bass player, a situation that reopens many old wounds, including the loss of Newsted's predecessor, Cliff Burton, who died in a 1986 bus accident. The group even decides to hire a therapist, leading to a series of incredibly emotional confrontations and revelations. Berlinger and Sinosky's movie is unquestionably one of the most revealing rock documentaries ever made. Given almost unlimited access to tape the band during a crisis period of nearly three years, the filmmakers capture the members of Metallica both together and individually in remarkably intimate detail. Although the film features Metallica's music and includes vintage footage of the band's early days, it primarily focuses on the difficulties involved with recording the 2003 album ST. ANGER. The end result is not so much a film about Metallica, but a dramatic (and occasionally funny) portrait of a long-running band attempting to understand itself.

Customer Reviews

Extremely impressed!
I did think that this would be some sort of lame look at Metallica but it was enthralling seeing what Metallica were like, what they went through and how close it came to disbanding. Even if you don't like or have never heard of Metallica, this DVD will still appeal (my wife thought it was very moving). The indepth look at how different personalities can clash and how it gets resolved.

The emotion that James acquires since rehab is amazing, it's like he is a completely different character. Kirk also starts to stick up for himself which I never thought he would.

The Dave Mustaine interview was also very interesting and I do feel more sympathy for Dave and think highly of him for agreeing for the interview to be included.

The movie is over 2 hours long, the bonus features are also quite extensive, they really know how to stick stuff together.

Overall, definitely far better than what I ever imagined.

What really happens when bands reach middle age
I've never bought a Metallica disc but I found this documentary fascinating. It nicely illustrates what happens when bands stay together too long and have the money to try to keep things going. (For example, after recording the new album with the bass played by the album's producer, a new awe-struck bassist is recruited and almost casually offered $1 million up front to commit to the band. Another example: the ageing live-in psychotherapist that the band decides to get rid of is revealed at around Day 600 to be charging his services at nearly half a million a year.)

Not knowing much about Metallica, I can't decide how bright the guys are. In discussion in the movie, they often spoke eloquently about themselves and the problems of working together. (Maybe this was just the result of being surrounded by Californian psycho-babble all their lives.) But then when they're trying to come up with lyrics to their tunes, they all seem to write entirely in uppercase, which is normally used to hide poor punctuation.

The lyric-writing scenes were revealing, making it abundantly clear that the band records the riff and the music first. They then sit around on sofas listening to the music track, and sketch out their ideas on notepads. One or two of them just doodle, much to the frustration of the others. (That was a wonderfully funny scene, introduing an angle that neither Spinal Tap nor Bad News had thought of.)

My favourite scenes are the ones involving Lars's Dad, a Gandalf figure with a long white beard and a walking stick but a penchant for yoga and a good knowledge of 1970s rock music. The psychotherapist gets Lars to talk about his Dad in a field -- while his Dad is hunched over his stick and doing knee-stretching exercises. Everyone wants their Dad to be impressed by their achievements, but maybe you shouldn't ask your Dad's opinion on the heavy metal tracks you've been laying down. Lars really has to bite his lip as his Dad struggles not to tell him that he really thought the track was rubbish.

Although Metallica might be Lars's band, it is nothing without James. When he goes off for six months' rehab, all the other two members can do is sit around and dredge up old mates. when he then returns and demands that the band only work for four hours a day -- without even being able to listen to tracks outside those hours -- Lars flips, and expresses his dislike for the arrangement in the best speech of the film.

Though you see much, there's a lot you don't see. Despite the Napster lawsuit going on at the time, you don't see any discussions with Metallica's attorneys, for example.

I have to say that, despite all the hilarity, the band-rebuilding process actually seems to work. The track excerpts we hear sound decent. Maybe some of the other middle-aged bands I follow should take note.

The dynamics of a strangely dysfunctional band...
“Metallica: Some kind of monster” is a peculiar documentary on a famous metal rock band intent on recording a new album, something that ends up taking years, and a lot of pain and fights among band members.

Despite the fact that I am not a fan of Metallica, I must say that I enjoyed watching this film. It has plenty of things to interest spectators, as it gives them the opportunity to witness the making of “St Anger” (Metallica´s new album) and the dynamics of a strangely dysfunctional band. Of course, I must also mention Metallica´s sessions with Phil Towle, a "performance enhancement coach", as one of the highlights of this dvd :)

In my opinion, fans will love this dvd, and people who have barely heard about Metallica will like it too. “Metallica: Some kind of monster” is a very good documentary worth watching, even if it is not the kind of dvd you generally rent.

Belen Alcat