Bruce Sinofsky

There have never been more important metal filmmakers than Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger. Sure, McFadyen and Dunn are more metal, and Christopher Guest's one-off is in a class by itself. But no films nailed the substance of metal and metal culture more than Sinofsky and Berlinger's Some Kind of Monster and Paradise Lost trilogy.





People throw around praise about movies saving lives all the time, but Sinofsky and Berlinger's films did just that, casting a light on people and issues that were being ignored or vilified and changing them for the better. They kept the greatest metal band in the world together and kicked off arguably the most significant cultural movement in metal's past twenty years, leading to the exoneration of the West Memphis Three. Thank you for your work, Bruce Sinofsky, and for being a leading example of how great art can change the world for the better.

Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage

I love Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn's documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage.



Think about your favorite music movies, and how much drama all of them have. It's relatively easy to make a good movie about Ozzy Osbourne. But for a band with as little sex, drugs, inner conflict or dry spells as Rush, (I believe Geddy Lee bashfully quips "We were a little high" at one point. That's it.) Beyond the Lighted Stage is a startlingly funny, sweet and rewatchable film.

Modern music heroes whom you thought were too private or badass to gush on camera all fawn over a trio of gawky Sci-Fi nerds. Lee and Alex Lifeson's chemistry is never anything less than delightful, and every moment with Neil Peart feels revelatory. Dunn and McFadyen (Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Iron Maiden: Flight 666) have always made impressive metal movies, but this is the first one that I'd urge non-metalheads to watch. Pitchfork editors can go on laughing at Geddy's voice, Peart's lyrics or Lifeson's timing, but I can't imagine anyone not being won over by Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage.