Heavy Metal

Soft Landing[edit]
The film's title sequence story opens with a space shuttle flying in orbit over Earth. The bay doors open, releasing a Corvette.[6] An astronaut seated in the Corvette then begins descending through Earth's atmosphere, landing in a desert canyon (both car and occupant miraculously unscathed by re-entry friction heat).
Crew

Jimmy T. Murakami and John Bruno - Directors
John Coates - Producer
Dan O'Bannon - Writer
Thomas Warkentin - Art direction
Music

"Radar Rider" by Riggs

Grimaldi[edit]
Leading directly from the title sequence, the film's framing story has the astronaut, Grimaldi, arriving at home where he is greeted by his daughter. He shows her something he brought back: a crystalline green sphere. When he opens the case, the orb rises out and melts the astronaut. It introduces itself to the terrified girl as "the sum of all evils". Looking into the orb, known as the Loc-Nar, the girl sees how it has influenced societies through time and space
Cast

Percy Rodriguez (uncredited) as voice of the Loc-Nar
Don Francks as Grimaldi
Caroline Semple as Girl
Crew

Harold Whitaker â Director
John Halas â Producer

Harry Canyon[edit]
In a dystopian New York City in the year 2031, cynical taxicab driver Harry Canyon narrates his day in film noir style, grumbling about his fares and occasional robbery attempts, which he thwarts with a disintegrator installed behind his seat. He stumbles into an incident where he rescues a girl from a gangster named Rudnick, who had murdered the girl's father. She tells him about her father's discovery: the Loc-Nar, an artifact over which people are killing each other. Harry takes the girl back to his apartment, where she climbs into his bed and has sex with him. The next day, one of his fares is Rudnick, who threatens Harry if he does not cooperate. The girl decides to sell the Loc-Nar to Rudnick and split the proceeds with Harry. He agrees to take her to the exchange, where Rudnick takes the Loc-Nar out of its isolation case and disintegrates. Meanwhile, the girl informs Harry that she's keeping the money for herself and pulls a gun on him. Harry is forced to use his disintegrator on her. He keeps the money and writes it up as a "two-day ride with one hell of a tip."
Cast

Percy Rodriguez (uncredited) as voice of the Loc-Nar
John Candy as Desk Sergeant
Marilyn Lightstone as Whore
Susan Roman as Girl / Satellite
Richard Romanus as Harry Canyon
Al Waxman as Rudnick
Harvey Atkin as Alien / Henchman
Crew

Pino Van Lamsweerde â Director
W.H. Stevens Jr. â Producer
Vic Atkinson â Producer
Daniel Goldberg â Writer
Len Blum â Writer
Music

"Veteran of the Psychic Wars" by Blue Ãyster Cult
"True Companion" by Donald Fagen
"Heartbeat" by Riggs
"Blue Lamp" by Stevie Nicks
"Open Arms" by Journey

Den[edit]
A nerdy teenager finds a "green meteorite" and puts it in his rock collection. During a lightning experiment, the orb hurls the boy into the world of Neverwhere, where he transforms into a naked, bald muscle man called "Den", an acronym for his earth name, David Ellis Norman. He witnesses a strange ritual, rescuing a nubile young woman who was about to be sacrificed to Uhluhtc (H.P. Lovecraft's monster Cthulhu spelled backwards). Reaching safety, she introduces herself as Katherine Wells from the British colony of Gibraltar. While she demonstrates her gratitude with sexual favors, they are interrupted by the minions of Ard, an immortal man who wants to obtain the Loc-Nar for himself. He orders Den to get the Loc-Nar from the Queen, who performed the ritual. Den agrees, and infiltrates the palace, but is promptly caught by the Queen, who offers leniency if he has sex with her. He complies, distracting the Queen while the raiding party steals the Loc-Nar. Den escapes and races back to rescue Katherine from Ard. Recreating the lightning incident that drew him to Neverwhere, he is able to banish Ard and the Queen. Refusing the opportunity to take the Loc-Nar for himself, Den rides with Katherine into the sunset, content to remain in Neverwhere.
Cast

Percy Rodriguez (uncredited) as voice of the Loc-Nar
John Candy as Den
Jackie Burroughs as Katherine
Martin Lavut as Ard
Marilyn Lightstone as Queen
August Schellenberg as Norl
Crew

Jack Stokes â Director
Jerry Hibbert â Producer
Richard Corben â Writer

Captain Sternn[edit]
On a space station, space captain Lincoln F. Sternn is on trial for numerous serious charges (and one moving violation) presented by the prosecutor. Pleading "not guilty" against the advice of his lawyer, Sternn explains that he expects to be acquitted because he bribed a witness, Hanover Fiste. Fiste takes the stand, but his perjury is subverted when the Loc-Nar, now the size of a marble, causes him to blurt out the truth about Sternn's evil deeds. Fiste rants with such fury that he changes into a muscled giant and chases Sternn throughout the station, breaking through bulkheads and wreaking havoc. Eventually, he corners Sternn, receives his promised payoff, and promptly shrinks back to his gangly original form. Sternn opens a trapdoor under Fiste, ejecting him into space. The Loc-Nar enters Earth's atmosphere with Fiste's flaming hand still clinging to it.
Cast

Percy Rodriguez (uncredited) as voice of the Loc-Nar
Rodger Bumpass as Hanover Fiste
Joe Flaherty as Lawyer
Eugene Levy as Captain Lincoln F. Sternn
John Vernon as Prosecutor
Douglas Kenney as Regolian
Crew

Julian Harris â Director
Paul Sebella â Director
Bernie Wrightson â Writer
Music

"Reach Out" by Cheap Trick

Neverwhere Land[edit]
Because of time constraints, a segment called "Neverwhere Land" was cut; in the film, it would have connected "Captain Sternn" to "B-17".
The story follows the influence of the Loc-Nar upon the evolution of a planet, from the Loc-Nar landing in a body of water, influencing the rise of the industrial age, and a world war. This original story was created by Cornelius Cole III.
The original rough animatics are set to a loop of the beginning of Pink Floyd's "Time". The 1996 VHS release included this segment at the beginning of the tape. On the DVD release, this segment is included as a bonus feature. In both released versions, the sequence is set to the music of "Passacaglia" (from Magnificat), composed and conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki.
B-17[edit]
A World War II B-17 bomber nicknamed the "Pacific Pearl" makes a difficult bombing run with heavy damage and casualties. As the bomber limps home, the co-pilot goes back to check on the crew. Finding nothing but dead bodies, he notices the Loc-Nar trailing the plane. Informing the pilot, he heads back to the cockpit, when the Loc-Nar rams itself into the plane and reanimates the dead crew members as zombies. The co-pilot is killed, while the pilot parachutes away in time. He lands on an island where he finds a graveyard of airplanes from various times, along with the wrecked airplanes' zombified airmen.
Cast

Percy Rodriguez (uncredited) as voice of the Loc-Nar
Don Francks as Co-Pilot (Holden)
Zal Yanovsky as Navigator
George Touliatos as Pilot (Skip)
Crew

Barrie Nelson â Director
W.H. Stevens Jr. â Producer
Dan O'Bannon â Writer
Music

"Heavy Metal (Takin' a Ride)" by Don Felder

So Beautiful and So Dangerous[edit]
Dr. Anrak, a prominent scientist, arrives at the Pentagon for a meeting regarding mysterious mutations that are plaguing the United States. At the meeting, the doctor tries to dismiss the occurrences, but when he sees the Loc-Nar in the locket of Gloria, a beautiful buxom stenographer, he behaves erratically and attempts to sexually assault her. A colossal starship bursts through the roof and abducts the doctor and, by accident, Gloria. The ship's robot is irritated at Anrak, who is actually a malfunctioning android, but its mood changes when it sees Gloria. With the help of the ship's alien pilot and co-pilot, the robot convinces Gloria to stay on board and have "robot sex". Meanwhile, the pilots snort a massive amount of plutonian nyborg (a powdered substance resembling cocaine) before flying home, zoning out on the cosmos. Too intoxicated to fly straight, they crashland unharmed into a huge space station.
Cast

Percy Rodriguez (uncredited) as voice of the Loc-Nar
Rodger Bumpass as Dr. Anrak
John Candy as Robot
Joe Flaherty as General
Eugene Levy as Male Reporter / Edsel
Alice Playten as Gloria
Harold Ramis as Zeke
Patty Dworkin as Woman Reporter
Warren Munson as Senator
Crew

John Halas â Director
Angus McKie â Writer
Music

"I Must Be Dreamin'" by Cheap Trick
"Queen Bee" by Grand Funk Railroad
"Crazy? (A Suitable Case for Treatment)" by Nazareth
"All of You" by Don Felder
"Heavy Metal" by Sammy Hagar
"Prefabricated" by Trust

Taarna[edit]
Original story by Daniel Goldberg and Len Blum; inspired by Moebius' Arzach stories.
The Loc-Nar, now the size of a giant meteor, crashes into a volcano, changing a tribe of human outcasts into mutated barbarians who ravage a peaceful city. The elders desperately try to summon the last of a warrior race, the Taarakians. Taarna, a strong, beautiful, Taarakian warrior maiden, arrives too late to stop the massacre and resolves to avenge the city. Her search leads to the barbarians' stronghold, where she is captured, tortured, and left for dead. With the help of her Taarakian mount, she escapes and confronts the barbarian leader. Though wounded, she defeats him. With Taarna readying her final attack on the Loc-Nar, it tells her not to sacrifice herself, as she cannot destroy it. She does not relent, and her self-sacrifice destroys the Loc-Nar.
Cast

Percy Rodriguez (uncredited) as voice of the Loc-Nar
Don Francks as Barbarian
August Schellenberg as Taarak
Zal Yanovsky as Barbarian
George Touliatos as Barbarian
Vlasta VrÃ¡na as Barbarian leader
Mavor Moore as Elder
Thor Bishopric as Boy
Len Doncheff as Barbarian
Cedric Smith as Bartender
Joseph Golland as Councilman
Charles Joliffe as Councilman
Ned Conlon as Councilman
Music

"The Mob Rules" by Black Sabbath
"Through Being Cool" by Devo
"Working in the Coal Mine" by Devo
"E5150" by Black Sabbath is played at the beginning of the sequence. While it sounds like background, the track and "The Mob Rules" are played in the order they appear on the Mob Rules LP.
"Vengeance (The Pact)" by Blue Ãyster Cult is a retelling of "Taarna", and describes the pact that a Defender makes.

Epilogue[edit]
As the final story ends, the Loc-Nar terrorizing the girl is similarly destroyed, blowing the mansion to pieces. Taarna's mount, reborn, appears outside and the girl happily flies away on it. It is then revealed that Taarna's soul has been reincarnated in the girl. The girl's hair color changes to that of Taarna, and she reveals a Taarakian mark on her neck.
Cast

Percy Rodriguez (uncredited) as voice of the Loc-Nar

Question: Who composed and conducted "Passacaglia"?
Answer: Krzysztof Penderecki; Krzysztof Penderecki