The Film
Directors Mike Fleiss and Mike Piscitelli spent two years on the road with musical god Ozzy Osbourne. As they mention, "they survived." They also created a documentary called God Bless Ozzy Osbourne. However, the film really isn't about life with Ozzy on the road. It's more about how Ozzy came to be.
If you don't think that Ozzy is indeed a musical god, you obviously weren't interviewed for this film -- but it may just change your mind, since it recaps many of Ozzy's achievements.
The film opens with Ozzy's surprise 60th birthday, which was almost three years ago, by the way. Here, even Ozzy seems surprised at his own survival. He's not the only one, and the film spends the rest of its time giving reasons why Ozzy is both a success and a survivor. There's a lifetime of controversy, stories, news clips, and music here. It's also got a little bit of concert footage, although that's far from the film's focus. There are interviews with friends, colleagues and family -- and not just the ones we've seen on MTV. Ozzy actually has a total of five children (from two relationships), and all of them have a say. Not surprising, the Prince of Darkness wasn't such a great dad. He was actually more of a drunk dad. That has also taken a toll, since to this day, he can't seem to remember when the kids were born.
Of course, Ozzy is bigger than fatherhood, reality TV, and the F-word, which is out in full force here. Love him or hate him, whether for his music, his antics, his inability to speak coherently, his affection for bat heads, or his reality TV endeavors, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is an insanely interesting, in-depth look at the man, his lengthy career, and his mark on music.
The Picture
As with many documentaries, this film combines interviews, concert footage and the occasional flashback. In other words, this 1.78:1 transfer is a bit of a mixed bag, based on the source content. Older footage doesn't always look great. However, the newer interviews are fairly sharp. Some scenes are slightly soft and others have a shaky-cam effect. However, it's not an action flick; it's a documentary -- and a very nice looking one overall. Fans of Ozzy, fans of heavy metal and fans of Blu-ray will be pleased.
The Sound
The disc defaults to the LPCM stereo track, but also has a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1-channel track, as well as Dolby Digital 5.1. We tried out the LPCM track first, which sounded fine but the DTS-HD track really offers more of an immersive experience.
Believe it or not, this film is more about interviews than the actual music. There are moments where Ozzy's voice may sound muffled -- and not Ozzy's typical muffled incoherence. However, that appears to be more about the on-location filming than the audio on this release. It's reality folks, and you don't have the luxury of dubbing in lines later, or "fixing it in post." Those moments are fleeting, though, and the audio is mostly -- perhaps surprisingly -- clean and clear. You will not miss one anecdote or one F-word. Of course, once the music appears, the audio becomes a much more intense and immersive experience. Some of the older Sabbath appearances, both musical and interviews, have a slight hum. However, that is just the nature of the source material. The rest is wonderful and it's a great track overall. Sadly, there are no full songs in this film. After all, it's not a concert film. Instead, the music is used to convey the time, the place, and the people featured, and this the sound track accomplishes extremely well.
The Extras
Eagle Rock has included a decent amount of extras with this release. There's a little under five minutes from the movie's premiere, which includes both red carpet and Q&A footage. If you want a real Q&A, however, check out the 19-minute session with Ozzy and Jack Osbourne. Ozzy's son serves as one of the film's producers, but is sort of a blip in the film. Here he gets a bit more say, although Ozzy does most of the talking. At 19 minutes, it's sort of like one long deleted scene. However, it's nice to see father and son sit down to cover some different content. If you're looking for a bit more movie, you're also in luck. The release also includes a ton of deleted scenes.
Final Thoughts
Are you ready to rock? Well, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne probably isn't for you. Despite being about a musical legend, there is very little actual music in the film. Super-fans may also be disappointed by the lack of revelations, but they will still want this Blu-ray. It's got great audio and video, and they're super-fans after all! For the rest of us, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne offers a very interesting, extremely well made look at a controversial music icon.
Product Details
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