Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Directors:

Joe Berlinger
Bruce Sinofsky

Release Date:

30 July 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Tagline:

The film that redefines group therapy.

Plot:

A documentary crew followed Metallica for the better part of 2001-2003, a time of tension and release for the rock band, as they recorded their album St. Anger, fought bitterly, and sought the counsel of their on-call shrink.

Plot Keywords:

Rock Band | Recording Studio | Therapy | Art Auction | Record Label

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

James Hetfield	...	Himself
Lars Ulrich	...	Himself
Kirk Hammett	...	Himself
Robert Trujillo	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eric Avery Weiss	...	Himself (as Eric Avery)
Cliff Burnstein	...	Himself
Cliff Burton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Crazy Cabbie	...	Himself
Stefan Chirazi	...	Himself
Dylan Donkin	...	Himself
Erica Forstadt	...	Herself
Gio Gasparetti	...	Himself
Mike Gillies	...	Himself
Lani Hammett	...	Herself
Zach Harmon	...	Himself
Eric Helmkamp	...	Himself
Cali Tee Hetfield	...	Herself
Castor Virgil Hetfield	...	Himself
Francesca Hetfield	...	Herself
Pepper Keenan	...	Himself
Danny Lohner	...	Himself
Peter Mensch	...	Himself
Dave Mustaine	...	Himself
Jason Newsted	...	Himself
Peter Paterno	...	Himself
Scott Reeder	...	Himself
Marc Reiter	...	Himself
Bob Rock	...	Himself
Brian Sagrafena	...	Himself
Skylar Satenstein	...	Herself
Niclas Swanlund	...	Himself
Phil Towle	...	Himself
Myles Ulrich	...	Himself
Torben Ulrich	...	Himself
Jeordie White	...	Himself (as Twiggy Ramirez)
Steven Wiig	...	Himself
Chris Wyse	...	Himself

Runtime:

141 min | USA:135 min (Nashville Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Finland:K-3 | Australia:M | Czech Republic:12 | Ireland:12 | Norway:A | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Christie's Auction House, Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Radical Media

Trivia:

According to 'James Hetfield' Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004) was originally to be a 6 part mini-series for VH1 inspired by the success of MTV's "The Osbournes" (2002). However, after seeing much of the footage the band felt this was not a direction they wanted to take their careers and bought out VH1's rights to the material and made the film as you see it today.

Quotes:

[Metallica is asked to record a radio promo]
Lars Ulrich: Hey it's Lars from Metallica. I'm about to stick 50 grand up your ass...
James Hetfield: ...One dollar at a time.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Electric Apricot (2006)

Soundtrack:

Some Kind of Monster

Great documentary about humorless band

I am a huge fan of early Metallica. They lost me, though, on the Metallica album (the black album, the first sign that they were turning into Spinal Tap). While this documentary is great film, I have to say that it just makes clear that Lars and James are utterly devoid of humor when it comes to themselves. At the film festival screening the theatre was filled with laughter as they revealed themselves to be petulant children who have a long way to go to reach maturity. Poor Kirk and the new guy, Rob Trujillo. There were only two times when Lars spoke really honestly in a way that didn't seem manipulative, and James never gave up anything real except when he was with his kids. The $40,000 a month counselor (he is not a trained psychiatrist or psychologist) was right out of Spinal Tap. FYI- the biggest cheers erupted after every Jason Newsted interview because he is just straight up, real, and honest. I wish him a lot of success because he seems to truly be all about playing music. Believe me, I applaud Metallica for being willing to let people see this truly great film, but as for Lars and James, lighten up for crying out loud. Therapy isn't only about expressing your feelings and expecting everyone to pat you on the back, it's also about learning to admit when you're wrong or being a jerk and laughing at yourself.