Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004) on Netflix
NR20042h 20mDocumentaryMusic
In 2001 bassist Jason Newsted quits the heavy metal band Metallica. James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett hire a therapist and start work on a new album without him.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb7.5/1021,197 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes89%
Trailer
Plot summary
The documentary follows Metallica from 2001 onward, after the band's lawsuit against the file sharing service Napster turned fans against them and longtime bassist Jason Newsted quit. To hold the group together, singer and guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist Kirk Hammett begin sessions with Phil Towle, a performance coach their management brought in, and try to write a new album from scratch at the Presidio of San Francisco, with their longtime producer playing bass. Six weeks in, an argument between Hetfield and Ulrich sends Hetfield out of the studio and into treatment for alcoholism, and the album goes on hold.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Producers asked Dave Mustaine's permission to include footage of his 2001 meeting with Lars Ulrich; he refused, but had already signed a release form letting the band and producers use it. Mustaine called it "the final betrayal" and said he gave up hope of reconciling with Metallica.
- As costs rose during filming, Metallica's label Elektra Records considered turning the project into a reality television show. The band, wanting a theatrical release and complete control, bought the film rights from Elektra for $4.3 million.
- While James Hetfield was in rehabilitation until December 2001 and away from the studio until April 2002, the filmmakers kept following Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett; the crew ultimately filmed Metallica for 715 days.
- Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky's project originally was to film Metallica in the recording studio and produce a pair of 60-minute infomercials for late-night television to promote the band's forthcoming album.
- James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett wanted cut a scene in which Lars Ulrich and his wife sell art at a Christie's auction for $13.4 million; Hetfield called it "downright embarrassing". Ulrich refused to remove it, saying his passion for art was essential to who he is.
- Metallica normally did not allow their music to be used in films, but after being moved by the story of the West Memphis Three they let filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky use their songs in the 1996 documentary Paradise Lost free of charge.
