Sometimes doccos on musos can sink in that boring ether that means even the most hardened fans of the muso want to turn the thing off or even walk out of the cinema. That isn’t the case with God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, a docco that captures a hell of a lot of Ozzy’s forty years in the industry.
This really is a no-holds barred docco as Osbourne and his family (including his first wife, Thelma, their children Elliott, Jessica and Louis, his second wife, Sharon and their children, Aimee, Jack and Kelly) tell all. The fact that his family are willing to say things such as ‘he was never really there for us’ shows just how honest everybody was prepared to be, most likely because Jack decided to take on the role of producer – it really is much easier to be honest when it is being kept in the family.
Some of the rare archival footage of Ozzy’s early days are a must for fans of Black Sabbath while the general feel of the whole docco is that no matter how low someone’s life gets there is always a way out of it. The scenes with Ozzy and Jack talking about how they got sober together are really touching and it’s impossible as an audience member to not find yourself getting a little emotional.
Directors, Mike Fleiss (The Quest) and Mike Piscitelli (newcomer) don’t ever allow the docco to bog down, not even when they are showing talking-head interviewers with people such as Henry Rollins and Tommy Lee, this is largely due to the fact that the stories of the interviewees are interesting and relevant. Fleiss and Piscitelli should also be congratulated for the fact that they don’t take the docco down the MTV style of filmmaking. They make it educational and entertaining without bringing in any bad habits or styles. The mix of interviews, archival footage and live performances is spot on.
God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is a sensational docco that truly captures the life of somebody that must be recognized as one of the most interesting people of our generation. A must for all Ozzy fans… don’t miss it.
Year: 2010
Director: Mike Fleiss, Mike Piscitelli
Stars: Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, Jack Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne, Tommy Lee, Paul McCartney, Henry Rollins
Classification: MA
Runtime: 103 mins
Rating: 
Available on DVD from 18th November, 2011