Ozzy Osbourne’s final Black Sabbath performance set for cinema release
Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath performed for the final time just weeks before his death. File picture: Ian West/PA
Ozzy Osbourne’s final performance with Black Sabbath will be shown in cinemas.
The Prince of Darkness died aged 76 in July last year, just over two weeks after his Back to the Beginning farewell concert where he was reunited with his bandmates in Birmingham.
The heavy metal band’s final performance will now get a worldwide cinema release, hitting screens next month.
Produced by Mercury Studios, captures the final live performance from Osbourne and the original Black Sabbath line-up: Guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward.
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The film documents Osbourne’s farewell performance for his fans in his Birmingham hometown, which was captured just 17 days before his death.
It is directed by Ben Wainwright-Pearce ( , ), with the live concert directed by Tim van Someren, and produced by Jim Parsons, Jamie Silk, and Dan Seliger.
Mercury Studios said it had been crafted specifically for cinematic presentation, designed to immerse audiences in both the scale of the stadium production and the intimacy of the final performance.
Presented in Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound, the film has also “been engineered to deliver a fully immersive audio-visual experience, bringing audiences into the heart of the performance with unprecedented clarity and power”.
Mercury Studios co-leads Ken Danquah and Andrea Dunn said in a joint statement: “Ozzy Osbourne is one of the most influential figures in music history, and his final performance with Black Sabbath deserves to be seen on the biggest possible stage.
“Last year, we brought this legendary concert to fans across the globe, offering millions the chance to be there through an unprecedented livestream. This film is the next chapter, giving fans a new way to experience that night on the big screen.
“ captures the scale of a stadium performance and the intimacy of a farewell, crafted specifically for the cinema screen.”
Trafalgar Releasing chief executive Marc Allenby called the concert a “landmark cultural moment”, adding that bringing it to cinemas worldwide was an “opportunity to further cement Ozzy’s legacy and impact”.
He added: “We are really looking forward to giving fans around the world a chance to experience this final celebration of Ozzy and Black Sabbath together on the big screen.”
The sold out show at Villa Park stadium on July 5 last year was a reunion of Black Sabbath’s original members performing together for the first time in more than 20 years, and also included a solo set from the frontman.
Hosted by Jason Momoa with Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello serving as musical director, the show also included sets from bands including Guns N Roses and Metallica.
During the concert, Osbourne — who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019 — told the crowd: “I don’t know what to say, man, I’ve been laid up for like six years. You have no idea how I feel — thank-you from the bottom of my heart.”
His wife Sharon Osbourne said the concert came about after she asked her husband “what would really make him happy”.
She said: “He said the only thing that would make him happy was if he could perform again and say goodbye to his fans. That’s all he wanted to do. He wanted to say goodbye and thank-you.”
Iommi called the event “closure for the band”, while Ward said he felt “completely at home” on stage again with his bandmates.
Butler added: “To me it was like pure love. It was just a wave of love. It’s the only way I can describe it really. I mean I could feel it as if it is like tangible.”
Osbourne was best known for his role in Black Sabbath — a band widely credited with defining and popularising the sound of heavy metal.
He also had a successful solo career and appeared in 2000s reality TV series alongside wife Sharon and their two youngest children.
will be released on October 28 in cinemas worldwide.
