God Bless Ozzy Osbourne Movie/Documentary Review – IMDb Link
Starring: Ozzy Osbourne + Many Others
Everyone knows something about Ozzy Osbourne. Most know him for his music or his stint on reality television. Hes been the target of parent and religious groups for the past few decades, he’s made over 20 albums, he’s even written a book! The man has been active in the popular spotlight for over 40 YEARS! There have been other documentaries on his life and perhaps you think you know everything there is to know about Ozzy Osbourne. Probably not.
I’ve been a fan of Ozzy’s since my dad took me to my first Ozzy concert when I was in 8th grade. I have every CD from the first Black Sabbath album in 1970, through his most recent in 2009. I’ve seen the VH1 Behind the Music specials, I own his biography, and I’ve seen his earlier documentary, “Don’t Blame Me”.
I had actually not heard about this one until it was about to come out on video, but after doing a little bit of research, I was intrigued. “God Bless Ozzy Osbourne” was created in part by one of Ozzy’s sons, Jack Osbourne. You probably remember Jack as Ozzy’s afro-haired vulgar son, from The Osbournes, Ozzy’s reality television show on MTV some years back. Well, Jack has cleaned himself up and wants to make movies.
One thing that differentiates this documentary from others is that Jack has access to Ozzy in ways a typical filmmaker does not. In this movie, you will see interviews with Ozzy’s first two kids Louis and Jessica whom he had before he met Sharon Osbourne. You’ll see Aimee, his first daughter with Sharon. Aimee was too embarrassed to want to be on the Osbournes when it first aired, so she did not participate in the show with her younger siblings, Kelly and Jack.
There is also an all-star list of interviews, with people such as Sir Paul McCartney, all 3 other members of Black Sabbath, Mike Bordin of Faith No More, Tommy Lee from Motley Crue, Ozzy’s long time guitarist Zakk Wylde, even Ozzy’s sisters!!! There are many other very interesting interviews as well.
The topics aren’t just standard rock and roll shock value either. This documentary gets into the poor upbringings that Ozzy and the other members of Black Sabbath grew up in. They get into the severe drugs and alcohol that troubled Ozzy’s life all throughout the 70s through the 2000s. You’ll hear about how Ozzy severely beat Sharon, and was arrested for attempted murder. The depression he went through after leaving Black Sabbath, and also after the death of his friend and guitarist, Randy Rhodes. You’ll hear about how his first two children never knew their father and the spite they had towards him for never being there for him. You’ll see Ozzy visit his hometown and even go inside of the house he grew up in as a kid.
There’s a lot of great stuff here, stuff I’ve never seen in other documentaries before. There are times where you see emotions starting to overcome Ozzy as he looks through pictures of his past that he can’t remember. He watches some of his old music videos from the 80s and he thinks that he was a joke in them.
This is some good stuff, and at moments it can be very powerful. Don’t worry though, its not all depressing, there are many funny moments, and fun interviews as well. You’ll see how Ozzy finally cleaned himself up and has been sober for over 5 years now. He talks about his health and his devotion to religion and how he was reconciled with his first two children.
Simply put, this is an amazing documentary and I strongly recommend you all see this. Even if you don’t care for Ozzy Osbourne’s music or any of his antics, there is no denying that people’s lives don’t get much more interesting than his. This is a good look into the excesses of one of the most popular and successful stars in music history.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED