Iron Maiden: Flight 666

In 2008 Iron Maiden set out on a world tour and did something unusual: the whole crew, the equipment and the stage travelled in a single aircraft. The plane was flown by the band's singer Bruce Dickinson, who is also a commercial pilot. Five continents and thirteen countries in forty five days. The documentary follows that journey; airports, concerts, hotel rooms and hours in the air. Along the way there are crowds waiting in India, in Latin America and in Japan, and some countries are being visited for the first time. Scot McFadyen directs with Sam Dunn. All the members of the band speak in it. It is a Canadian production. The documentary also looks at the band's past; the founding years and the changes of singer are inside the narrative. The matter it treats is attachment; the film shows the relation the audience has with the band country by country. Concert footage and travel footage are given in turn. Bruce Dickinson flying the plane is the most concrete detail and the thing that gives the film its name. The documentary shows the members not as stars but as people doing a job. The narrative looks for no conflict and the tension is low. The film was made for the band's audience and says little to anyone outside it. The ending closes as the tour finishes. Its limit is reach; the narrative is tied to one tour, there is no critical distance, and the pace repeats. Who it is for: listeners of Iron Maiden and people who like music documentary. Who it is not for: the subject is narrow, the view partisan, and the ending plain.