The light through the darkness still burns thanks to the weird, horny, loud, unapologetically metal world of Heavy Metal. More than forty years later, there really isn't another animated film quite like it. Sure, countless movies have borrowed pieces of its DNA, but nobody has replicated the glorious insanity of watching a Corvette launched into space while Sammy Hagar screams over the soundtrack before a glowing green orb melts a guy in his own living room. If that lunatic Elon Musk thought putting a car into orbit was an original idea, somebody clearly forgot to hand him a VHS copy of Heavy Metal.
Now Sony has paired the original 1981 cult classic with its often-overlooked sequel, Heavy Metal 2000, in one gorgeous SteelBook package. It's a pairing that finally gives fans the complete animated saga of the Loc-Nar, warts, excess, and all.
The original film, produced by Ivan Reitman and directed by Gerald Potterton, remains one of animation's great counterculture achievements. Built as an anthology inspired by the pages of Heavy Metal magazine, it throws science fiction, fantasy, horror, sword-and-sorcery, dark comedy, and enough nudity to make your parents uncomfortable into one blender and cranks it to eleven.
Everything is tied together by the Loc-Nar, the glowing green embodiment of ultimate evil that terrorizes a young girl by showing her story after story of corruption, violence, greed, and humanity's endless ability to screw itself over.
Some segments have aged better than others, but that's part of the charm. Harry Canyon is still a grimy slice of futuristic noir where Richard Romanus voices a cab driver whose answer to crime is installing a disintegrator in his back seat. Den remains gloriously ridiculous, transforming an awkward nerd into a muscle-bound barbarian surrounded by impossible fantasy women and even more impossible monsters. Captain Sternn still delivers some of the funniest moments in the anthology thanks to Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty, and John Vernon chewing scenery entirely through voice work.
Then there's B-17, which remains one of the anthology's darkest and creepiest entries, while So Beautiful & So Dangerous veers completely off the rails with malfunctioning robots, alien abduction, and enough juvenile humor to remind you exactly who this movie was marketed toward in 1981.
Everything builds toward Taarna, still the emotional and visual high point of the entire film. The silent warrior riding across impossible alien landscapes while battling the corruption of the Loc-Nar remains iconic fantasy imagery. Decades later, her design still defines the look people immediately associate with Heavy Metal.
What continues to separate Heavy Metal from so many animated films is its complete refusal to behave. Every segment has its own visual identity thanks to animation teams spread across multiple studios. Rotoscoping, hand-painted backgrounds, experimental camera techniques, and wildly different artistic influences somehow form a cohesive experience. It shouldn't work. It absolutely does.
And then there's the soundtrack.
Black Sabbath. Blue Öyster Cult. Cheap Trick. Stevie Nicks. Journey. Sammy Hagar. Donald Fagen. DEVO. Nazareth.
Calling it stacked feels like an understatement. The music doesn't simply accompany the film—it defines its identity. Few movies are so inseparable from the songs blasting through nearly every scene.
But let’s turn the attention to the sequel. For years, Heavy Metal 2000 lived in the enormous shadow of its predecessor.
Part of that is fair. Part of it isn't.
Released nearly twenty years later, Heavy Metal 2000 abandons the anthology format in favor of one continuous story following Julie Strain's immortal warrior Julie and Michael Ironside's gloriously unhinged villain Tyler, a miner whose discovery of the Loc-Nar grants him unimaginable power while simultaneously destroying whatever shred of humanity he had left.
Rather than multiple stories exploring different corners of the Heavy Metal universe, this sequel essentially plays like one extended Den or Taarna-style adventure. It's more straightforward. More action-oriented. More interested in giant swords, exploding spaceships, mutant armies, and relentless pursuit than philosophical horror.
That change disappointed many fans in 2000 expecting another anthology.
Watching it today, however, the film deserves a second look.
The animation is slicker, the colors are bolder, and while early digital techniques occasionally reveal their age, there's an energy throughout that keeps things moving at breakneck speed. Director Michael Coldewey clearly understood the assignment: keep things loud, violent, sexy, and relentlessly entertaining.
Michael Ironside practically steals the movie. Tyler is exactly the kind of scenery-chewing animated villain this universe demands, and Ironside attacks every line with infectious enthusiasm.
The film never reaches the artistic highs of the original because it simply isn't trying to. Instead, it functions as a full-blown heavy metal album cover brought to life. It's unapologetically juvenile, ridiculously violent, overflowing with impossible anatomy, giant weapons, and explosions that would make an '80s airbrush artist proud.
The soundtrack follows suit, replacing classic rock with late-'90s and early-2000s hard rock and metal from Pantera, Monster Magnet, System of a Down, Days of the New, Machine Head, Coal Chamber, Billy Idol, and others. It's a different sound for a different generation, but it captures the same rebellious spirit that made the original unforgettable.
No, it isn't Heavy Metal. It was never going to be.
Viewed on its own terms instead of constantly measuring it against an untouchable classic, Heavy Metal 2000 is a wildly entertaining B-movie wrapped inside an animated fantasy epic. Time has been kinder to it than many critics were upon release.
The real victory here is simply having both films together.
One represents the lightning-in-a-bottle explosion of adult animation in the early '80s. The other shows how that same rebellious spirit evolved at the turn of the millennium. They're different beasts sharing the same corrupted green heart.
Heavy Metal remains a pop culture landmark that refuses to grow old. It's weird. It's messy. It's occasionally juvenile. It's often brilliant. And it still feels like the kind of movie somebody would get fired for pitching today.
Thank whatever gods are left for that.
Heavy Metal/ + Heavy Metal 2000 on Blu-ray | Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital 4K
Home Video Distributor: Sony Pictures
Available on Blu-ray - April 19, 2022
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Spanish SDH, Arabic, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Video: Native 4K; Dolby Vision; HDR10
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; Dolby TrueHD 7.1; DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; three-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A
THE ULTIMATE CULT ANIMATION DOUBLE FEATURE RETURNS IN STEELBOOK!
Experience the groundbreaking animated fantasy that redefined adult animation—and the explosive sequel that carried the legend into a new millennium. Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal 2000 arrive together in one collectible SteelBook packed with unforgettable music, stunning visuals, and enough sci-fi mayhem to melt the Loc-Nar itself.
From a Corvette launched into space to Taarna's legendary final battle, Heavy Metal remains a one-of-a-kind anthology fueled by visionary animation and an iconic soundtrack featuring Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Journey, Stevie Nicks, Sammy Hagar, DEVO, Donald Fagen, and more.
Then crank the volume even higher with Heavy Metal 2000, an all-out sci-fi adventure starring the voices of Michael Ironside and Julie Strain. Armed with an updated hard rock and metal soundtrack, breathtaking intergalactic action, and enough swords, mutants, and cosmic carnage to satisfy any fan of fantasy excess, the Loc-Nar's corruption lives on in spectacular fashion.
Bold. Beautiful. Brutal. More than four decades after it first shattered expectations, Heavy Metal remains the gold standard for adult animated fantasy—and this SteelBook finally unites both films in one definitive collector's edition.
VIDEO
Heavy Metal continues to impress with a vibrant, film-like presentation that preserves its hand-painted animation, rich color palette, and natural grain structure. The restoration remains the definitive home video presentation, with razor-sharp detail and excellent contrast.
Heavy Metal 2000 also benefits from a noticeable upgrade, offering stronger clarity, bolder colors, and improved shadow detail, though the early digital animation still reflects the technological limitations of its era.
AUDIO
Both films deliver energetic lossless surround mixes that put the music front and center where it belongs.
Whether it's the classic rock soundtrack powering Heavy Metal or the hard rock and metal assault of Heavy Metal 2000, every guitar riff, explosion, and cosmic battle fills the room with authority while dialogue remains clean and well-balanced.
Supplements:
Commentary:
- See below
Special Features:
This SteelBook carries over the legacy bonus content from previous releases rather than introducing new material. Fans can revisit audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, documentaries, storyboard and production galleries, and theatrical trailers. While longtime collectors likely own these extras already, newcomers will find a worthwhile collection of archival material that explores the making and enduring legacy of both films. The real attraction here is the handsome SteelBook packaging that finally unites Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal 2000 in one collectible edition.
- NEW: Heavy Metal: A Look Back retrospective featuring Ivan Reitman, Kevin Smith, Norman Reedus, and others
- Original Feature-Length Rough Cut
- Audio Commentary by Carl Macek (on the Rough Cut)
- Imagining Heavy Metal Documentary
- Deleted Scene
- Alternate Framing Story with Optional Commentary
- Heavy Metal 2000 Featurettes:
- Julie Strain: Super Goddess
- Voice Talent
- Animation Tests
- Animatic Comparisons
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