Some Kind Of Monster is a revealing documentary on the biggest
heavy metal band of all time, Metallica. Produced, created and directed by Joe
Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (makers of Paradise Lost and Brother’s
Keeper), Some Kind Of Monster takes you inside the
beast of Metallica in an entertaining and emotionally intense story that shows
the group battling through communication breakdowns, writing, recording, rehab,
transformation, therapy and completion.
I hadn’t seen the film before receiving the DVD, though I have been a
Metallica fan for quite a long while, so I was eager to delve into – what
I had heard was – a good inside look of this band after almost 20 years
of playing together.
The film picks up in 2001 when bassist Jason Newsted announced he was leaving,
after 15 years with the band. Right around that time, the three remaining members
– arguably the core of Metallica – decide to enter the studio and
record their ninth studio album. With no songs previously conceived, they rent
an empty house in San Francisco, bring in a portable studio and start writing
songs. This was the first time in its two decades of existence that Metallica
sat down and attempted to write songs democratically in the studio. [Note for
non-Metallica fans and those that don’t know: until this point, all songs,
lyrics, material, etc, were written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich before
entering the studio. Hetfield, especially, had very strong control of the music
on all previous albums.] Producer Bob Rock fills in as bassist during the sessions
and helps them write material. To help cope with creative differences, loss
and rising tensions, Metallica hires $40,000-per-month on-call “performance
enhancement coach” Phil Towle. Less than two months into recording, guitarist/vocalist
James Hetfield checks himself into rehab for alcohol abuse and other undisclosed
addictions. When he returns, recording begins in a new studio, but emotions
run high, as the band members struggle with themselves and each other, and even
contemplate calling it quits.
Over the next couple of months, Metallica finds their creative side again,
and complete their next album, St. Anger. By the end of the film, the band recruits
bassist Robert Trujillo (previously of Infectious Grooves, Suicidal Tendencies
and Ozzy Osbourne’s band) to fill the 4th spot of the quartet. They set
their counselor free, and with a new album due out in June 2003, they prepare
for another world tour. Berlinger and Sinofsky set out to piece together a small,
yet important, slice of Metallica’s history on film.
Personally, I thought Some Kind Of Monster was great. A bit
long (clocks in at 2 hours and 20 minutes), perhaps, but it is nonetheless entertaining
and captivating throughout. Berlinger and Sinofsky do a fantastic job of capturing
this legendary heavy-metal band in both their strongest and weakest moments.
You watch the band, filled with fear, uncertainty and anger, implode and then
rebuild again and find new meaning and inspiration in their lives, both collectively
and individually. I was impressed with the storytelling and the openness with
which Metallica welcomed the cameras. My only gripe is the lack of recording/writing
elements to the story. Some parts delve into the lyric writing and editing of
what was recorded, but there is very little that shows them actually writing
and jamming.
The movie itself is presented in its original Full Screen 4:3 format, and has
both Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo Surround sound tracks. There are also
English and Spanish subtitles, as well as English closed captions. In reality,
while the picture is fine, the 5.1 mix has little to offer throughout most of
the documentary, and it’s only used for the overlaying music and the live
bits. But that doesn’t really matter, seeing as how it’s used effectively
where it counts most. As far as packaging goes, it’s a standard DVD jewel
case that contains 2 discs and is protected by a slipcase. Overall, regardless
of whether or not you are a Metallica fan, Some Kind Of Monster is worth watching.
For Metallica fans that have yet to see this film, while I do encourage you
seeing it, I’ll warn you “this is not a concert film. This is not
Behind The Music. This is something else.” I give a B+ for film content/presentation.
It’s definitely a different side of the band, unseen till now.
Some Kind Of Monster is loaded with special features. The
first disc contains the movie, audio commentaries, and trailers. The second
disc has hours of additional scenes, festival highlights and other bonus material.
The extras are worth of a solid A grade, as it is really enough to please both
Metallica and Berlinger/Sinofsky fans alike. Here is a breakdown of what is
included:
• Audio Commentaries – There are 2 feature-length audio commentaries
for the film. The first one was recorded by the band on their 2004 Madly In
Anger With The World tour; filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky do the
second one. Both are definitely worth listening to, but they are vastly different.
The band’s commentary is a bit reserved at first, but then becomes more
active. It’s good to hear these three friends talk about their experiences
and changes in a retrospective way (Robert Trujillo was present but mostly quiet
until the end). There are some amusing moments, but most of their chatter focuses
on minor, fun details that fans will enjoy hearing. The filmmakers’ commentary
provides insight into both the making of the film and the characters they documented,
definitely loaded with more factual information and trivia about the movie itself.
• Trailers – There are two trailers for the film: the Theatrical
Trailer and the Concert Trailer (played during the 2004 tour). Each one is about
3 minutes. Nothing spectacular, but they do whet the appetite.
• Additional Scenes – There are 28 additional scenes (five with
optional filmmaker commentary) presented on this first part of Disc 2. While
none of them would significantly change the film, watching them adds more volume
and girth to the final product (i.e. the writing/recording parts that I mentioned
before as being missing). I strongly advise watching these right after watching
the movie to get full perspective, though it will add at least another 90 minutes
to your viewing time, as each clip runs anywhere from 20 seconds to 10 minutes.
The only bad thing here is the lack of a ‘play all’ feature, so
you have to select each one of the 28 individually.
• Festivals and Premiers – There are five clips from various screening
events including Sundance, the New York premiere and a fan club screening. Some
of the questions asked are repetitive, but overall some good footage is here.
They run anywhere from 6 to 15 minutes, and again, no ‘play all’
feature here.
• This Monster Lives – 13 more deleted scenes here, five with the
optional filmmaker commentary. Most of these revolve around therapy sessions.
In this batch we have the impromptu Radiers AFC tailgating performance, which
is pretty cool. The scenes range in length from 2 to 12 minutes, and again,
I’d recommend watching these along with the other deleted scenes, but
you’re adding about another hour of viewing time… and you have to
watch them one at a time.
• Music Video – This is the music video for the title track of the
DVD, Some Kind of Monster. It runs about 5 minutes and is compiled of footage
from the movie as well as recording and rehearsal sessions.
• Filmmaker Bios – On-screen resumes for Joe Berlinger and Bruce
Sinofsky.
Overall, Some Kind Of Monster is a very deep and emotional
piece about the relationship between three extremely different and creative
men, who happen to be in one of the world’s most famous and successful
rock bands ever. The film will please Metallica fans by showing a side of their
idols that remained hidden till now. Documentary fans, and fans of Berlinger
and Sinofsky, will be pleased to see yet another high quality thought provoking
and emotional piece, this time portraying a slice of rock history. The 2-disc
DVD release contains hours of extra footage and bonus material that add depth
to the content and creation of the film. My final thoughts: if you are a Metallica
fan, add Some Kind Of Monster to your collection! If you like
a solid documentary, whether you like heavy metal or not, this film is worth
checking out.
DVD Film/Edition Presentation Score: B+
DVD Special Features Score: A
DVD Overall Score: A-
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