Heavy Metal: The Movie

Heavy Metal: The Movie

August 7, 1981

The film Heavy Metal, featuring animated shorts based on comics originally published in the magazine, was released on August 7, 1981. 

Back then I didn't go to see it, mainly because a couple months previously I had bought my very first car, a 1974 Ford Gran Torino Brougham, and it was a Piece of Shit Car that was sucking up every dollar I had to my name.

I recently paid $4 to rent Heavy Metal on amazon and settled down to watch it. And I watched it with the attitude of someone seeing it for the first time in 1981, 40 (!) years ago, to be fair to the animation technology, and the pre-Woke era sensibility, of the film. 

Below are my remarks on Heavy Metal: The Movie.

[Because Amazon Prime won't let you take screenshots from any video being viewed on your PC screen, I took photos of the film as I watched it on my TV.]

The opening sequence, 'Soft Landing', is a Heavy Metal classic and will be familiar to all readers of the early years of the magazine. 

The next sequence, 'Grimaldi', introduces the film's framing motif, centered on a glowing green orb called the 'Loc Nar' that serves as a transition device linking each episode.

We then segue to 'Harry Canyon', which certainly resonated with 1981 audiences in its depiction of a future New York City as a hellhole of crime and decay.........I was surprised to hear a mellow little tune by Donald Fagen, titled 'True Companion', as part of the soundtrack for this segment. Fagen is a science fiction fan, which is reflected in the song's lyrics. 'True Companion' was his initial effort at a post Steely-Dan solo career.

What can I say, you learn something new every time you sit down with Heavy Metal......!

Next up we have 'Den', which stays true to the visual stylings of Richard Corben.....before you laugh at the mental picture of early 80s stoners rapt with the on-screen depictions of nude, D-Cupped women, remember............. this was before the internet, which made porn ubiquitous.

Then we have Wrightson's 'Captain Sternn', one of the best strips to appear in the early years of the magazine. The onscreen version brings out the quirky humor of the comic.

This is followed by 'B-17', about a bomber crew threatened by supernatural phenomena. This part of the film features Don Felder's song 'Heavy Metal (Takin' A Ride)' in the soundtrack.

Next up is 'So Beautiful and So Dangerous', based on Angus McKie's sci-fi comic. The emphasis is on more R-rated content, this time between a well-endowed secretary with a uniquely 80s hairstyle, and an amorous robot..........

The film's last and longest segment (at 30 minutes) is 'Taarna', the heroine who appears on the movie poster. 

The initial minutes of this segment feature plenty of blood and gore before moving to an extended sequence designed to unveil our heroine in all her nubile glory.

Even as a non-Woke person, I have to agree that the film goes overboard with the T & A objectification during 'Taarna', but it's also true that anyone who went to see Heavy Metal knew ahead of time that they were going to be treated to T & A. So there. 

At the completion of my viewing of Heavy Metal I decided that the film has its merits. In some circles, it has become a touchstone of Pop culture. 

I do recommend that it be viewed while stoned, as it is tailor-made to appeal to those with an altered perception of reality.

Will those who are not Baby Boomers find Heavy Metal worthwhile ? It's difficult to say. 

In this modern era of computer generated imagery, the animation used in a 1981 film is going to seem crude and underwhelming, and the film's themes to be trite and decidedly un-Woke. Be that as it may, the more adventurous sci-fi and fantasy fans under 40 may want to see the film, if only to get a sense of where things were 40 years ago, and where they might be going.