Watch This ‘Lost’ Ozzfest Documentary From the Director of ‘Wayne’s World’
Ready for some Ozzfest memories? Footage from 2001 documentary We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll is making the rounds online. The rare look at Ozzfest from filmmaker Penelope Spheeris — the director who hatched Wayne's World and influential The Decline of Western Civilization docs — was filmed at the 1999 festival where Black Sabbath, Deftones, Godsmack, Slipknot and many more performed.
The picture's title echoes that of a 1975 Sabbath compilation, and the movie is often considered a fourth or "lost" entry following Spheeris' trilogy of Decline of Western Civilization rock films.
The movie never got a wide release, as pointed out by MetalSucks in their tribute to the flick Monday (July 15), even though it apparently played at several major film festivals, including Sundance in 2001.
We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll was reportedly "conceived by Penelope after the Osbournes – Ozzy and his manager wife Sharon – approached her about making a fictional film revolving around the Ozzfest. Penelope told them to forget doing a fictional film and allow her to make this documentary," according to a review at the time.
The same review also noted that Spheeris said the film had "some serious legal music rights problems," the director claiming it "may never be seen again" after one of its handful of premieres that year.
Relive the magic of Ozzfest '99 below.
Photos: Ozzy Osbourne Through the Years