God Bless Ozzy Osbourne (2011)

Too much of everything

best movie i've ever seen.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is an extensive piece of work that sheds light on the Prince of Darkness himself. Ozzy Osbourne is a cultural and musical icon, pioneering heavy metal with Black Sabbath in the late sixties, introducing an explosive solo career, along with a reality show and raucous tours that fans say will never be matched. The documentary puts Ozzy's success in the background, while his personal troubles, demons, and hardships are placed in the foreground.John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne was born in 1948 in the working class neighborhood of Aston, Birmingham, England. As a teen, he had very few options; go to work in a factory, go to the army, or go to prison. The choice was his. He could never hold down a job and cringed at the thought of working decades in a factory. Like many teens, Ozzy formed a band with his friends, who would later get a small record deal with Warner Bros. to form the band Black Sabbath.Like mentioned in the documentary, listening to Black Sabbath now, it sounds rather ordinary because all the tricks have been copied over and over again, but in the seventies, it was some of the hardest, roughest, and most engaging rock music ever heard. Ozzy married young and had two kids, Jessica and Louis, both who agree that he was a bad father, distant, unkind, and very, very deranged.After his divorce, he finally married Sharon Arden, and had three children, Aimee, Jack, and Kelly who would later become the stars of the MTV reality show The Osbournes. Sharon states that living with Ozzy is a roller-coaster. He never seemed to be a fully functional father, always being away on tours, binging on alcohol and drugs (things he has had untold troubles with), not to mention just putting his musical work in front of his family.Once he was released from Sabbath, Ozzy pursued a solo-career, one of unmatchable talent. He became the "Prince of Darkness," hosting tours that were dark, eerie, and unpredictable, and began releasing heavy metal records that were unique and stylistic.One thing that is frequently brought up in the documentary is how insecure Ozzy truly is. He was the clown character of Black Sabbath, and Sharon states he acted that way to try and cover up his insecurities. It too seems that his erratic drug use is a response to all his regrets and missed opportunities in life. The series The Osbournes may have been funny to watch, due to it being rather all over the place, but as said by Jack Osbourne, it truly tore the family apart. Everyone began using drugs.As of today, Ozzy is stone cold sober. He has himself together, he is working on resurrecting his solo career (his latest album Scream is a definite winner), and he is trying desperately to be the real father to his children, all of which, even Jessica and Louis, he maintains a healthy relationship with. God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, which was produced by his son Jack, is a nicely composed documentary, but I have a feeling that this is nothing eye-opening to a lot of Ozzy fans. For me, someone who thought they knew more about the man than they did, it colored things in and even took me outside the lines, but hardcore fans of the prince may find it to be obvious, repetitive, and unnecessary.Starring: Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, Jack Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne, Aimee Osbourne, Jessica Osbourne, and Louis Osbourne. Directed by: Mike Fleiss and Mike Piscitelli.

I had seen bits and pieces of the MTV series The Osbournes, and I have been interested to see more about the past of the rock star known as the Prince of Darkness, and this documentary was a good opportunity to see that stuff. Basically this film, which uses four decades worth of stock footage, gives us an insight into the ups and downs of the life of Ozzy Osbourne, the world famous rock star who found fame in the band Black Sabbath, and solo. He started as a regular young man in Birmingham, England, and grew up to become a tearaway, and then of course he entered the music industry, and during the 1970's and 1980's he was one of the biggest names in rock. Ozzy also found happiness when his manager Sharon and he married and had three children together, Aimee (the one hardly anyone knows), Kelly and Jack, but of course his personal life was difficult when he delved into the seemingly impossible to escape world of drugs and alcohol. With his addictions becoming increasingly addictive, he found himself unable to remember his actions, and worst of all he would become dangerously violent, to the point where he was arrested for attempting to kill Sharon. Finally though, with the help of rehabilitation and his family's support, Ozzy managed to get away from the drugs and alcohol, and has been clean for years, and with a good happy life, and this documentary sees him celebrate his 60th birthday. With interviews from Ozzy himself, Sharon, Aimee, Kelly, Jack, Tommy Lee, Paul McCartney, Louis Osbourne - Ozzy's brother, Paul Osbourne - Ozzy's brother, and Ozzy's three sisters. Good!

The only other review (at the time I'm writing this) sums this movie up quite well, but I'll try to add just a little in the form of a different perspective. To start off with, I'm not an avid Ozzy fan, I have and do still enjoy several of the classics like paranoid and crazy train on occasion; so yeah I think people who aren't big fans may enjoy this movie, I sure did.The movie has a nice balance of the musical background and home/family/party/everyday life. There is a lot about the struggles Ozzy dealt with throughout his life. The drug and alcohol abuse is confronted head on, and really gives the viewer a unique insight. Ozzy truly seems to be one of a kind. I found the part about The Osborne's show particularly interesting. It made me think of the show differently. ...Trying not to give away any spoilers. I'm sure many people already knew what I didn't. The part I found interesting is the comments made about how the outside viewer may say or think that Ozzy's actions and behaviour on the show was 'cute' or 'funny', but really it was quite 'sad'.I have much more respect and empathy for Ozzy and his family after watching this. Though I admit it's not going to make me more of a fan of the music.

This is a great combo of awesome ozzy music, from the early sabbath days right up to current solo ozzy, and the story of his life. It outlines ozzy's youth, the formation and his later sacking from black sabbath, and his amazing comeback as a solo artist. It makes you really realise how amazing it was that he was able to make such a comeback after such a low point in his life.The movie also gives the story behind ozzy biting the heads off bats, the death of randy rhoads,his attempted murder of sharon and his addiction (and eventual recovery). I was enthralled the whole time. Not sure if people who are not ozzy fans would enjoy it, but I absolutely loved it.