Heavy Metal
A Step Beyond Science Fiction
1981 | 90m | English
Popularity: 2 (history)
| Director: | Gerald Potterton, John Bruno, Paul Sabella, Harold Whitaker, Pino Van Lamsweerde, Julian Harris, John Halas, Jack Stokes, Barrie Nelson, Jimmy T. Murakami |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Len Blum, Daniel Goldberg, Dan O'Bannon, Richard Corben, Bernie Wrightson, Angus Mckie |
| Staring: |
| The embodiment of ultimate evil, a glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with bizarre stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror. | |
| Release Date: | Aug 07, 1981 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Gerald Potterton, John Bruno, Paul Sabella, Harold Whitaker, Pino Van Lamsweerde, Julian Harris, John Halas, Jack Stokes, Barrie Nelson, Jimmy T. Murakami |
| Writer: | Len Blum, Daniel Goldberg, Dan O'Bannon, Richard Corben, Bernie Wrightson, Angus Mckie |
| Genres: | Animation, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Music, Adventure |
| Keywords | flying car, taxi, heavy metal, based on comic, rotoscoping, drug use, adult animation |
| Production Companies | Columbia Pictures, Guardian Trust Company, Canadian Film Development Corporation, Potterton Productions, Famous Players |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $20,118,654
Budget: $9,300,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 04, 2026 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Rodger Bumpass | Hanover Fiste / Dr. Anrak (voice) |
| John Candy | Desk Sergeant / Dan / Den / Robot (voice) |
| Jackie Burroughs | Katherine (voice) |
| Joe Flaherty | Lawyer / General (voice) |
| Don Francks | Grimaldi / Co-Pilot / Barbarian (voice) |
| Marilyn Lightstone | Whore / Queen (voice) |
| Eugene Levy | Sternn / Male Reporter / Edsel (voice) |
| Harold Ramis | Zeke (voice) |
| Caroline Semple | Girl (voice) |
| Richard Romanus | Harry Canyon (voice) |
| Susan Roman | Girl / Satellite (voice) |
| Al Waxman | Rudnick (voice) |
| Harvey Atkin | Alien / Henchman (voice) |
| Glenis Wootton Gross | Whore (voice) |
| John Vernon | Prosecutor (voice) |
| George Touliatos | Pilot / Barbarian (voice) |
| August Schellenberg | Norl / Taarak (voice) |
| Vlasta Vrana | Barbarian Leader (voice) |
| Alice Playten | Gloria (voice) |
| Percy Rodriguez | Loc-Nar (voice / uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Gerald Potterton | Director |
| John Bruno | Sequence Supervisor, Director, Visual Effects Director, Special Effects |
| Paul Sabella | Sequence Supervisor, Director |
| Len Blum | Screenplay, Story |
| Elmer Bernstein | Original Music Composer |
| Sammy Hagar | Theme Song Performance |
| Daniel Goldberg | Screenplay, Story |
| Mick Manning | Editor |
| Milton Gray | Animation |
| Gerald Tripp | Editor |
| Pat Gavin | Art Direction |
| Peter Thillaye | Supervising Sound Editor |
| Joanne Hovey | Sound Effects Editor |
| Tayk Kim | Animation Director |
| Harold Whitaker | Animation Director, Sequence Supervisor, Director |
| Lee Mishkin | Sequence Supervisor |
| Danny Antonucci | Animation |
| Nick Rotundo | Assistant Sound Editor |
| Joe Grimaldi | Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| Ian Llande | Editor |
| Rick Maki | Animation |
| Errol Bryant | Background Designer |
| Michael C. Gross | Production Design |
| Gord Thompson | Sound Effects Editor |
| Rod Crawley | Sound Effects Editor |
| Brian Larkin | Animation Director |
| Jack King | Production Manager |
| Pino Van Lamsweerde | Sequence Supervisor, Director |
| Julian Harris | Sequence Supervisor, Director |
| John Halas | Sequence Supervisor, Director |
| Andy Malcolm | Sound Effects Editor |
| Peter Jermyn | Sound Designer |
| Ray daSilva | Animation |
| Richard Fawdry | Animation |
| Don White | Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| Marc Chiasson | Sound Effects Editor |
| Jack Stokes | Sequence Supervisor, Director |
| Barrie Nelson | Sequence Supervisor, Director |
| Austin Grimaldi | Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| Jimmy T. Murakami | Sequence Supervisor, Director |
| Dan O'Bannon | Story, Original Story |
| Richard Corben | Original Story |
| Bernie Wrightson | Original Story |
| Angus Mckie | Original Story |
| Jean Giraud | Characters |
| Don Felder | Theme Song Performance |
| Peter McBurnie | Sound Effects Editor |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Ivan Reitman | Producer |
| Leonard Mogel | Executive Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 35 | 61 | 19 |
| 2024 | 5 | 44 | 75 | 30 |
| 2024 | 6 | 29 | 45 | 19 |
| 2024 | 7 | 31 | 47 | 18 |
| 2024 | 8 | 26 | 42 | 16 |
| 2024 | 9 | 19 | 27 | 14 |
| 2024 | 10 | 19 | 44 | 11 |
| 2024 | 11 | 20 | 40 | 12 |
| 2024 | 12 | 19 | 28 | 12 |
| 2025 | 1 | 21 | 43 | 14 |
| 2025 | 2 | 14 | 24 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| 2025 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 1 |
| 2025 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2026 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2026 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Trending Position
JPV852
6.0
I know this has an incredible fan base and considered a cult classic but as someone who never watched this I don't have any nostalgia feelings for this. I found some of the animation to be pretty good while others, like for the segment, "Harry Canyon", I didn't care very much for (although it was my ... favorite one of the bunch, reminded me of The Fifth Element). The rest was watchable but not terribly impressive and the last, "Taarna" had good visuals but at that point I really was not invested. I don't know, maybe if I had watched this at some point in the late 80s or early 90s, it would have a better connection with my, but I was more interested as it is, not sure I have much interest in revisiting. **3.0/5**
Apr 23, 2022