Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

Entertainment Weekly - 07/16/2004
"[O]ne of the most revelatory rock portraits ever made....What ties each moment together is the fascinating and emotional tale of rock and its heroes growing up yet trying, against the odds, to stay genuine."

Rolling Stone - 08/05/2004
"Here's a rock doc like no other....A headbanger in every sense of the word. Don't let anyone spoil the surprises of this thrashing chunk of cinematic gold. It's one for the time capsule."

Sight and Sound - 10/01/2004
"One need not be a Metallica fan to enjoy the film's tragicomic drama. There are revealing truths here."

Uncut - 11/01/2004
"This is a hugely entertaining film which proves that the line between clever and stupid is often very fine indeed."

Los Angeles Times - 07/16/2004
"[I]t's head-banging entertainment from start to finish..."

USA Today - 01/28/2005
"[S]o straight-faced that you wonder, at times, whether it's THIS IS SPINAL TAP for real. Yet there's real poignancy..."

Entertainment Weekly - 12/30/2005
Ranked #2 in Entertainment Weekly's Top Ten DVDs Of The Year -- "[G]ripping....[It] shows one of the biggest bands on the planet confronting internal strife..."

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 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 Sinofsky'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.

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