I thought this was a fun movie when it came out in 1981, but it really doesn't hold up that well.
The first problem is that you have such an extreme mix in tone between the stories they don't fit well together. You have drama, comedy, horror, and swords and sorcery, and going from a story with humor (Captain Stern) to horror (B-17) back to humor again (So beautiful and so dangerous) just doesn't work.
A bigger problem is the animation itself. It's mostly of poor quality, and to be fair, by 1981, even Disney had lost it's touch in this artform.
A couple of the stories do work. The B-17 story is quite good, as is the final one. (which probably could and should have been expanded into a full length feature, which is what they tried to do in Heavy Metal 2000.) Should point out this movie with its excessive sex and gore, could never be made today with the current batch of prudes at the MPAA.
The first problem is that you have such an extreme mix in tone between the stories they don't fit well together. You have drama, comedy, horror, and swords and sorcery, and going from a story with humor (Captain Stern) to horror (B-17) back to humor again (So beautiful and so dangerous) just doesn't work.
A bigger problem is the animation itself. It's mostly of poor quality, and to be fair, by 1981, even Disney had lost it's touch in this artform.
A couple of the stories do work. The B-17 story is quite good, as is the final one. (which probably could and should have been expanded into a full length feature, which is what they tried to do in Heavy Metal 2000.) Should point out this movie with its excessive sex and gore, could never be made today with the current batch of prudes at the MPAA.