''Iron Maiden: Flight 666'' is a

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

featuring the English heavy metal band

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

. The film follows the band on the first leg of their

Somewhere Back in Time World Tour Somewhere Back in Time World Tour was a concert tour by the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Iron Maiden in 2008 and 2009, focused on the band's 1980s material, in particular songs from ''Powerslave'', ''Somewhere in Time (Iron Maiden album) ...

in February and March 2008, during which they travelled on their own customised

Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the trijet Boeing 727, 727, received its first orders in August 1978. The ...

, Ed Force One, which used the call-sign "666". ''Flight 666'' is co-produced by Toronto-based

Banger Films Banger Films is a Canadian film and television production company, which specializes in documentary films and television series on music and culture. The company was launched in 2004 by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn to create and distribute their ...

, known for their documentaries '' Metal: A Headbanger's Journey'', ''

Global Metal ''Global Metal'' is a 2007 documentary film directed by Scot McFadyen and Canadian anthropologist Sam Dunn. It is a follow-up to their successful 2005 documentary, '' Metal: A Headbanger's Journey''. The film's international premiere took place a ...

'' and '' Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage''. The film was shot in

high-definition video High-definition video (HD video) is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for ''high-definition'', generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines ( ...

with accompanying 5.1

surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to ...

produced by

Kevin Shirley Kevin Shirley, also known as The Caveman, is a South African music producer, engineer, audio mixer, and musician. He has produced music for many artists, including Silverchair, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, The Hoodoo Gurus, The Angels, and C ...

(who has worked with the band since their 2000 album ''

Brave New World ''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931, and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hier ...

''). It was distributed by Arts Alliance Media and

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

(except in the US, where it was sub-distributed by D&E Entertainment) in select digital theatres on 21 April 2009.

Synopsis and background

''Iron Maiden: Flight 666'' documents the opening leg of the band's

, which took place between February and March 2008. During this leg of the tour, the group travelled 50,000 miles (encompassing India, Australia and North and South America) in just 45 days, performing 23 shows in 13 countries to half a million fans. To achieve this, the band travelled in their own

, nicknamed "Ed Force One" after the band's mascot, Eddie, and in the style of the U.S. president's

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...

, which was specially converted to carry the band, their crew and twelve tonnes of equipment. The aeroplane was largely piloted by the band's lead singer,

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Dickinson has performed in the band across two stints, from 1981 to 1993 and from 1999 to the present d ...

, who was then employed by

Astraeus Airlines Astraeus Limited, trading as Astraeus Airlines, was a British airline based at Astraeus House in Crawley, West Sussex, England. Founded in 2002, and named after the Greek God of the dusk, it entered administration on 21 November 2011, ceasing ...

. According to Dickinson, who came up with the idea, Ed Force One meant they could visit countries where "The bean counters said it's just not worth going" and allowed them to "do an almost European-type itinerary, but on an inter-continental basis". As a result, the band were able to perform in Costa Rica and Colombia for the first time. The aircraft was flown under the call-sign "666", a reference to their 1982 single " The Number of the Beast", which provided the film's title. Despite the technical aspects behind the tour, the documentary is predominantly about the group's fans, with Dickinson commenting that "Two-thirds of the film is not about us". Scenes shot in South America are particularly focused on the audiences, where

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

report that they are "venerated like football stars", while ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' state that the film makers "elicit tearful eulogies" from those in Costa Rica and Colombia, then seeing the band for the first time. Dickinson asserts that the band's relationship with their fans is "the real story of Maiden", and the fact that this is the film's primary theme "is the way it should be". The documentary was written, directed and produced by

Scot McFadyen Scot McFadyen is a Canadian film director, producer and music supervisor whose work focuses on the subculture of heavy metal. He co-owns Toronto-based production company Banger Films with Sam Dunn. Films Metal: A Headbanger's Journey McFady ...

and

Sam Dunn Sam Dunn (born 20 March 1974) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, musician, and anthropologist, best known for his series of documentaries on heavy metal music. He co-owns Toronto-based production company Banger Films with Scot McFadyen. Dunn ...

, using their production company,

. McFadyen and Dunn requested permission to shoot the film as soon as the tour was announced, which they received with just two months left to prepare. Despite the fact that the film makers had been acquainted with Iron Maiden while working on their first two documentaries, 2005's '' Metal: A Headbanger's Journey'' and 2007's ''

'', some band members were initially mistrustful of the venture and were wary of having their privacy invaded. Although Dickinson and drummer

Nicko McBrain Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain (born 5 June 1952) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1982. He is the third-longest serving member of the band, having appeared on each Iron Maiden album sin ...

were the most comfortable with the filming, bassist

Steve Harris Steve Harris may refer to: * Steve Harris (musician) (born 1956), founder member and bassist of the band Iron Maiden * Steve Harris (actor) (born 1965), American film and TV actor * Steve Harris (basketball) (1963–2016), American basketball playe ...

and guitarist

Adrian Smith Adrian Smith may refer to: * Adrian Smith (basketball) (born 1936), American basketball player *Adrian Smith (architect) (born 1944), American architect *Sir Adrian Smith (statistician) (born 1946), English statistician and academic *Adrian Smith (m ...

took longer to adapt, while guitarist

Janick Gers Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1990. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith (musician) , Adrian ...

largely ignored the crew until the final week. Following ''Iron Maiden: Flight 666'', the band worked with Banger Films once again on their 2012 live video, '' En Vivo!''.

Theatrical showings

The film's world première took place at the Cine Odeon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 14 March 2009, during the final leg of the band's

. The UK première took place on 20 April 2009 at the Kensington Odeon in London. The following night, the film was screened simultaneously on over 450 screens in 41 countries globally. Distributed by Arts Alliance Media and

, with D&E Entertainment sub-distributing in the US, ''Flight 666'' was shown in a 2K

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...

format, with

5.1 surround sound 5.1 surround sound ("five-point one") is the common name for surround sound audio systems. 5.1 is the most commonly used layout in home theatres. It uses five full-bandwidth channels and one low-frequency effects channel (the "point one"). Dolb ...

mixed by the band's producer,

. The screenings on 21 April were very successful, with Arts Alliance Media reporting that it was the largest simultaneous worldwide release of a documentary film. This led to additional showings in some territories, such as in India, where it was released on 8 May by

PVR Pictures PVR INOX Pictures Limited is the film distribution arm of PVR INOX, which also owns PVR Cinemas and INOX Leisure, two of the largest multiplex companies in India. It was earlier named PVR Pictures but post the merger with INOX Leisure, it was ...

, and Australia, where it was screened from 30 April to 6 May. At the UK box office, the film grossed £84,276 (US$123,886), while making $74,134 in Australia and $35,173 in Russia CIS, totalling $233,193 from the three territories tallied.

Reception

''Flight 666'' was welcomed by overwhelmingly positive reviews from the music press and general media. Rock and metal magazines ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'' and ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'' each gave the movie full marks, with ''Kerrang!'' referring to it as a "unique peek behind the Iron Curtain" that was "not to be missed" and ''Metal Hammer'' calling it a "continent-jumping, fire-breathing monster of a film". ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'' gave it 4 stars and felt that the behind the scenes antics were interesting, despite lacking in drama when compared to '' Metallica: Some Kind of Monster'' and ''

Anvil! The Story of Anvil ''Anvil! The Story of Anvil'' is a 2008 Canadian rockumentary film about the Canadian Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Anvil (band), Anvil. The film is directed by screenwriter Sacha Gervasi, in his directorial debut, and features interviews wi ...

'', and that the concert footage is "magnificent". ''Flight 666'' won the "24 Beats Per Second" award for best music documentary at the

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...

in Austin, Texas, Music DVD of the Year at 2010's

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s, and Best DVD at the 2009

Metal Storm Metal Storm Limited was a research and development company based in Brisbane, Australia, that specialized in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology and owned the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technology ...

awards.

Home media

''Iron Maiden: Flight 666'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 25 May 2009 by

. In North America, it was issued on 9 June and by

Universal Music Enterprises Universal Music Enterprises (UME, stylized as UMe) is the catalogue division of Universal Music Group. It includes Hip-O Records, Universal Chronicles, and UM3 or UMC (which is the international division of the company). Under various divisions, ...

in the US. In addition to the documentary film, the video contains the full sixteen song setlist from the Somewhere Back in Time World Tour, with each track recorded at a different venue. Alongside the DVD and Blu-ray, a double CD soundtrack album was released simultaneously, featuring the same track listing as the video concert footage. The DVD and Blu-ray release was particularly successful, peaking at No. 1 in 22 countries including the UK and US.

Soundtrack and concert footage track listing

Charts

Album

Video

Certifications

;Album ;Video

Credits

Production and performance credits are adapted from the Blu-ray, DVD and soundtrack album liner notes. ;Iron Maiden *

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Dave Murray –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s *

– guitars *

– guitars,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, backing vocals, co-producer (concert audio) *

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

;Additional musician *Michael Kenney – keyboards ;Film production *

– producer,

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

– producer, writer, director, narrator *

Rod Smallwood Roderick Charles Smallwood (born 17 February 1950) is an English music manager, best known as the co-manager of the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. With his business partner, Andy Taylor, whom he met while studying at Trinity College, Cam ...

–

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

band manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to oversee the day- ...

*Stefan Demetriou – executive producer *Andy Taylor – executive producer, band manager *Victoria Hirst – co-producer *Martin Hawkes –

director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

*Lisa Grooten Boer –

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

*Wendy Hallum Martin – editor *Mike Munn – editor ;Concert audio production *

– producer, mixing *Jared Kvitka – assistant *Ryan Smith – mastering *Dave Pattenden – live audio recording *Ian Walsh – assistant *Johnny Burke – assistant *Tony Newton – assistant ;Additional personnel *Peacock –

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

John McMurtrie John McMurtrie (born 1969) is a British music photographer. He makes portraits of musicians, usually in the heavy rock arena. He has shot covers for ''Metal Hammer'' magazine and ''Total Guitar'' magazine and also contributes to ''Rolling Stone'' ...

–

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

*Hangman – stage design

References

External links

* * *
''Iron Maiden: Flight 666''
at

BBC Online BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

{{Iron Maiden 2009 films British musical films Canadian musical documentary films English-language Canadian films Concert films Iron Maiden video albums Documentary films about heavy metal music and musicians Documentary films about aviation Films shot in Chile Live heavy metal albums 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films 2000s British films English-language documentary films