DIO: Dreamers Never Die, the career-spanning documentary of Heavy Metal Legend Ronnie James Dio, will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 29 September 2023. The film is a solid gold testament to one of the legends of Heavy Metal, and it’s told in such a sensitive, honest, respectful, and at times funny way that you can’t help but be entertained.
“Be warned that the last fifteen minutes are more emotional than you might think, even though you know what the subject will be,” MetalTalk’s Mark Rotherham wrote in his review of the film. “I can’t deny that my own emotions were welling up as I watched.”
Ronnie was ill on the last Heaven and Hell tour but still went out there and entertained. There was a kind of closing of a chapter with Devil You Know. Such a wonderful album, and it is prime Sabbath, in a way. “I think it was really sad,” Tony Iommi told us on the London Red Carpet Film Premiere, “because we were really on a roll with Devil You Know. We were touring, and we were really enjoying it. I remember talking to Ronnie when we were in Japan.”
Tony and Ronnie went for dinner one night. “We said, look, we’re not going to say we’re going to go for five years,” Tony says, “we will just try it and see where it goes. We were done with the tour, and we loved it. We enjoyed it. We were in this restaurant, and I said to Ronnie, ‘Do you fancy doing anything more?'”
Ronnie enthusiastically said yes. “We’ve got to do another album,” Ronnie told Tony. “That was the plan,” Tony says. “That’s what we were going to do. Of course, you know, Ronnie didn’t make it. But it was going so well, and we had a great time being together. We loved working together. I loved working with Ronnie, go on the stage, and you know what he is going to do. He loved his audience and loved his fans, you know. Real genuine.”
“There were things we wanted to portray of Ronnie throughout his life,” Wendy Dio told us in September 2022 (Part One). You can read Part Two here.
Ronnie often said that Black Sabbath was his favourite time. “I’m so glad that he got to go back with the guys before he passed away,” Wendy told us, “because he loved the camaraderie, he loved their playing. They were amazing together.
“I mean, you’ve got Tony Iommi, the greatest riff-master in the world. You’ve got Geezer Butler, the best bass player you’ll ever hear, and then you’ve got Vinny Appice. And the four of them were just dynamite, just unbelievable, and I’m so glad that he got to do that before he passed away.”
You can read all our Dreamers Never Die coverage, including news, reviews and interviews, here.
Mercury Studios will release DIO: Dreamers Never Die on DVD and Blu-Ray+4K and as a special Deluxe Edition featuring the DVD and Blu-Ray packaged with exclusive merchandise on 29 September 2023. All film configurations will include a 20-minute selection of deleted and extended scenes restored from the cutting room floor to create a special fan experience. Pre-order is available from https://shop.bandwear.com/collections/dio-shop.
