Movies Like Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008)

Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a 2008 documentary, music film from Sacha Gervasi with a MovieMagicScore of 7.6/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Pearl Jam Twenty and Queen: Days of Our Lives.

Documentary Music

Pearl Jam Twenty

2011

Carved from over 1,200 hours of footage spanning the band’s career, Pearl Jam: Twenty is the definitive portrait of Pearl Jam. Part concert film, part intimate insider-hang, and part testimonial to the power of music.

7.8

MagicScore

Queen: Days of Our Lives

2011

In 1971, four college students got together to form a rock band. Since then, that certain band called Queen have released 26 albums and sold over 300 million records worldwide. The popularity of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon is stronger than ever 40 years on. But it was no bed of roses. No pleasure cruise. Queen had their share of kicks in the face, but they came through and this is how they did it, set against the backdrop of brilliant music and stunning live performances from every corner of the globe. In this film, for the first time, it is the band that tells their story. Featuring brand new interviews with the band and unseen archive footage (including their recently unearthed, first ever TV performance), it is a compelling story told with intelligence, wit, plenty of humor and painful honesty.

8.1

MagicScore

Freddie Mercury: The Final Act

2022

The story of the extraordinary final chapter of Freddie Mercury’s life and how, after his death from AIDS, Queen staged one of the biggest concerts in history, the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, to celebrate his life and challenge the prejudices around HIV/AIDS. For the first time, Freddie's story is told alongside the experiences of those who tested positive for HIV and lost loved ones during the same period. Medical practitioners, survivors, and human rights campaigners recount the intensity of living through the AIDS pandemic and the moral panic it brought about.

6.7

MagicScore

Rite Here Rite Now

2024

Whether you’re a devoted disciple looking to relive treasured memories of the GHOST live spectacle or among the curious uninitiated, RITE HERE RITE NOW will put you right there: putting your phones down and living in the moment—as a shadow of uncertainty looms—completely spellbound and in the thrall of this bombastic yet intimate cinematic portrait of GHOST.

8.8

MagicScore

Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story

2001

A dramatization of the early years of the hard rock band, Def Leppard, the group faces both success and personal tragedies such as drummer, Rick Allen losing his arm in a car accident and guitarist Steve Clark's alcohol addiction.

7.1

MagicScore

AC/DC: Let There Be Rock

1980

1. Live Wire 2. Shot Down In Flames 3. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be 4. Sin City 5. Walk All Over You 6. Bad Boy Boogie 7. The Jack 8. Highway To Hell 9. Girls Got Rhythm 10. High Voltage 11. Whole Lotta Rosie 12. Rocker 13. Let There Be Rock AC/DC: Let There Be Rock was filmed on 9 December 1979 at the Pavillon de Paris in Paris, France, and also contains interviews with members of the band, including lead vocalist Bon Scott, who died two months after filming. The concert film was re-released on a Blu-ray/DVD double pack along with a collector's tin, concert pictures, a souvenir guitar pick, and a 32-page booklet, or just as Blu-ray or DVD individual sets on 7 June 2011. Only 90,000 of the collectors tins were made, and each labeled with a number out of 90,000 on the base of the tin.

8.0

MagicScore

Foo Fighters: Back and Forth

2011

FOO FIGHTERS BACK AND FORTH chronicles the 16 year history of the Foo Fighters: from the band's very first songs created as cassette demos Dave Grohl recorded during his tenure as Nirvana's drummer, through its ascent to their Grammy-winning, multi-platinum, arena and stadium headlining status as one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.

7.6

MagicScore

Bon Jovi | Live at Madison Square Garden

2009

“Live at Madison Square Garden” is a concert video by the American band Bon Jovi from the last North American part of their “Lost Highway” tour. It was recorded on July 14 and July 15, 2008, at Madison Square Garden.

8.1

MagicScore

American Satan

2017

A young rock band, half from England and half from the US, drop out of college and move to the Sunset Strip to chase their dreams.

7.2

MagicScore

#10

Classic Albums: Black Sabbath - Paranoid

2010

The story of how the classic album "Paranoid" was made, with stories from band members to those who were influenced by its content, form and vitality. Paranoid is the second studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath. Released in September 1970, it was the band's only LP to top the UK Albums Chart until the release of 13 in 2013. Paranoid contains several of the band's signature songs, including "Iron Man", "War Pigs" and the title track, which was the band's only Top 20 hit, reaching number 4 in the UK charts. It is often regarded as one of the most quintessential and influential albums in heavy metal history.

7.1

MagicScore

#11

Metal: A Headbanger's Journey

2005

The film discusses the traits and originators of some of metal's many subgenres, including the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, power metal, Nu metal, glam metal, thrash metal, black metal, and death metal. Dunn uses a family-tree-type flowchart to document some of the most popular metal subgenres. The film also explores various aspects of heavy metal culture.

7.6

MagicScore

#12

Global Metal

2008

In GLOBAL METAL, directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn set out to discover how the West's most maligned musical genre - heavy metal - has impacted the world's cultures beyond Europe and North America. The film follows metal fan and anthropologist Sam Dunn on a whirlwind journey through Asia, South America and the Middle East as he explores the underbelly of the world's emerging extreme music scenes; from Indonesian death metal to Chinese black metal to Iranian thrash metal. GLOBAL METAL reveals a worldwide community of metalheads who aren't just absorbing metal from the West - they're transforming it - creating a new form of cultural expression in societies dominated by conflict, corruption and mass-consumerism.

7.3

MagicScore

#13

I Am Thor

2015

Jon Mikl Thor was a bodybuilding, steel bending, brick smashing rock star in the '70s & '80s whose band, Thor, never quite made it big. Years later he attempts a comeback that nearly kills him.

7.0

MagicScore

#14

Airheads

1994

The Lone Rangers have heavy-metal dreams and a single demo tape they can't get anyone to play. The solution: Hijack an FM rock radio station and hold the deejays hostage until they agree to broadcast the band's tape.

6.2

MagicScore

#15

Pink Floyd: Behind the Wall

2011

This documentary looks at the conception, design and live shows of The Wall performed by Pink Floyd in 1980 and 1981. It features in-depth 1980s era interviews with Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason and shows footage of The Wall performed at Earl's Court in 1980. It also features archival footage of the Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd and discusses how David Gilmour was brought into the band to initially augment their live shows when Syd became unreliable due to his drug problem and how Gilmour ultimately replaced him.

8.1

MagicScore

#16

Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams

2018

An in-depth and intimate portrait of Coldplay's spectacular rise from the backrooms of Camden pubs to selling out stadiums across the planet. At the heart of the story is the band's unshakeable brotherhood which has endured through many highs and lows.

7.8

MagicScore

#17

Becoming Led Zeppelin

2025

The individual journeys of the four members of the band, as they move through the music scene of the 1960s, playing small clubs throughout Britain and performing some of the biggest hits of the era, until their meeting in the summer of 1968 for a rehearsal that changes their lives forever.

7.1

MagicScore

#18

We Are X

2016

As glam rock's most flamboyant survivors, X Japan ignited a musical revolution in Japan during the late '80s with their melodic metal. Twenty years after their tragic dissolution, X Japan’s leader, Yoshiki, battles with physical and spiritual demons alongside prejudices of the West to bring their music to the world.

7.1

MagicScore

#19

Heavy Metal Mater

2010

Mater and Lightning McQueen are ready to rock! When Mater's garage band, Mater and the Gas Caps, records a hit song, Mater becomes a rock legend. Then Lightning joins Mater's band for the rock concert of the century!

6.1

MagicScore

#20

Nana

2005

Two girls named Nana meet on a train to Tokyo. Nana K. aims to reunite with her boyfriend and Nana O. hopes to make it big in the music business. Despite their differences, the pair hit it off and become roommates.

6.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Anvil! The Story of Anvil?

The top films similar to Anvil! The Story of Anvil by MovieMagicScore are Pearl Jam Twenty (7.8), Queen: Days of Our Lives (8.1), Freddie Mercury: The Final Act (6.7). Each shares documentary/music themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Anvil! The Story of Anvil worth watching?

Anvil! The Story of Anvil holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.6/10 from 263 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Anvil! The Story of Anvil?

Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008) is a documentary, music film directed by Sacha Gervasi, starring Steve 'Lips' Kudlow, Robb Reiner, Kevin Goocher.

Where can I find more recommendations like Anvil! The Story of Anvil?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more documentary recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Pearl Jam Twenty Movies like Queen: Days of Our Lives Movies like Freddie Mercury: The Final Act Movies like Rite Here Rite Now Movies like Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story Movies like AC/DC: Let There Be Rock

About movies like Anvil! The Story of Anvil

This ranked list pairs Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008), a documentary and music film from Sacha Gervasi, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Steve 'Lips' Kudlow take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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