Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004)

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.

Directors:

Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky

Stars:

James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited 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

Storyline

Some Kind of Monster is a music documentary about Metallica's making of their album St. Anger and the difficulties they had to go through in the process. The directors shot over 1200 hours and followed the band around night and day for over a year to create this documentary.

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Plot Keywords:

metallica | rock band | record label | recording industry | rock music | 

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Taglines:

From The Makers Of Brother's Keeper And Paradise Lost

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 July 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Metallica

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$46,359 (USA) (9 July 2004)

Gross:

$1,222,708 (USA) (22 October 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Radical Media, Third Eye Motion Picture Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min 135 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Former Metallica members Jason Newsted and Dave Mustaine of Megadeth make appearances in this film.

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Quotes

Jason Newsted: At that time, the managers suggested that we have a psychotherapist come in. A man that meets with pro ball teams, you know - big-ego, big-dollar guys that can't get along, but have to make some kind of entity flow, so everybody else and everybody can make the money. And, uh, I actually said, "I think that this is really fucking *lame* - weak - that we cannot get together. Us! Look - the *biggest heavy band of all time*! The things we've been through and decisions we've made... about squillions...

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Connections

Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #18.2 (2005)

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Soundtracks

"My World"
Performed by Metallica
Written by James Hetfield (as Hetfield), Lars Ulrich (as Ulrich), Kirk Hammett (as Hammett),
Bob Rock (as Rock)
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing
Published by Creeping Death Music (ASCAP) and EMI Blackwood Music (Canada) Ltd./Mahina Hoku Publishing (SOCAN),
© 2003

User Reviews

The Monster lives

First of all, let me say I'm a Metallica fan so this review is unevitably biased. But then again, what review isn't? We all know Metallica are great business men, so the first question that arises is: is this movie a marketing tool? Even though I'm sure the movie will be a commercial success, my answer to the question is no.

Metallica's record company wanted the movie to accompany Metallica's 2003 release St. Anger as a weekly series of 30 minute reality TV to get the word out about the album. Metallica not only rejected that idea, but even decided to buy out the record company and release this a year later as a movie instead. We can only thank them for it.

This movie is certainly not a commercial for Metallica. We get to see the ugly side of Metallica. And it's ugly alright. We see Lars calling James a dick, shouting 'fuck' right in his face and getting drunk while selling his millions of dollars art collection. We see James yelling at Lars, slamming the door, checking in for rehab and after that demanding everyone to only work from 12 to 4. We see Kirk being a sissy the entire movie.

The title of the movie refers to James; he explains how Metallica has been a beast to him over the years. But Metallica has undoubtedly been a beast to others as well. Dave Mustaine is one of the most successful musicians in heavy metal with his band Megadeth, but apparently is still haunted by him being fired from Metallica. Nevertheless, the movie is ultimately about James' 'coming of age', changing from an angry alcoholic to a man who has managed to balance his personal life with the life in Metallica.

I have one beef with the movie. Around the end Lars says Metallica have proved that it's possible to make an angry record through positive energy. While I believe him when he says that, I do have to say I hardly saw any of that energy in the movie. In fact, it's a small miracle they managed to finish the album at all.

Even though not everyone is a fan of Metallica, I can recommend everyone to see this movie. See, this movie is not about the music. It's about people. People who struggle with themselves, with each other and with the outside world. It's also a unique look inside the workings (and non-workings) of a world class band and into the lifestyles of the rich and famous. This documentary is a landmark that upstages the album which creation it was originally supposed to document.