This long-desired documentary on the life and career of Ronnie James Dio finally saw the light in 2022. It had a limited theatrical run and then was on a streaming service I’m not sure of for awhile. That should tip you off that I hadn’t seen it yet. I think a month or so ago the doc was made available to buy in physical form or digitally. I bought it and finally sat to watch.

This film was fully authorized and assisted by the estate of Dio, helmed by his widow Wendy Dio. She was an executive producer of the film and also clearly had a lot to contribute about Ronnie in the film. Aside from Wendy, Dio biographer and renowned journalist Mick Wall was also a primary contributor to the project. And also involved was Dave “Rock” Feinstein, a former bandmate of Dio’s as well as his cousin.

The cast of people who lined up to film something for this doc is pretty staggering. I won’t bother with a complete list, but even summarizing it takes a moment. Rob Halford, Eddie Trunk, Lita Ford, Jack Black, Don Dokken and Sebastian Bach were all on hand. Every member of Black Sabbath that Dio worked with was on film as well, even Bill Ward who was only around for the first bit of Dio’s involvement. And the remaining list of contributor is honestly just too vast to get into here. There is also plenty of archival footage used to fill things out, and of course Dio’s own parts were necessarily culled from old interviews.

This goes through Dio’s early life and then into his music career. It spends a bit of time going over his early groups Ronnie and the Red Caps and Ronnie Dio and the Prophets. (note to record collectors – if you ever see those out while record hunting, GRAB THEM. They are scarce and expensive if people actually know who is involved.) These early old-style rock groups would transition to The Electric Elves and then Elf, all before Dio was tagged by Ritchie Blackmore as the first singer of Rainbow.

All this leads to the career path most people are familiar with – Rainbow, then Black Sabbath, then Dio. All this is discussed in detail by the principals involved, with some emphasis placed on just how huge of a gamble Dio was taking on going out solo and also with huge live production costs. They cover the highs of early Dio and then the crash of traditional metal in the 1990’s, all of it is covered pretty well.

I won’t go too hard on details in the film, but a few things are worth mentioning. One is the famous “devil horns” story. Dio is credited as the initial user of the famous metal hand gesture, with the story that he got it from his grandmother. Geezer Butler does have a very different take on the origins of the hand gesture and Dio’s use of it, that can be found with a quick search. Other noted rock musicians also have their own claims to the “devil horns” but I ain’t got time for that, Gene.

The other issue that gets brought up a lot is the stint that guitarist Vivian Campbell served in Dio’s band at the beginning. Campbell is on the first three solo albums but then left in less than cordial circumstances, and both he and Dio sniped at each other in the press until Dio’s death. Campbell was not brought in for the film itself, fairly understandable as relations between he and Wendy remain icy. But he is discussed as a key figure in Dio’s early work and also he is given a brief moment to say his own peace about his departure via an archived interview. I thought that was a pretty nice touch from the film makers to do that, at least his side is stated in some fashion. This wouldn’t happen in a lot of other musicians’ documentaries.

Overall I was very impressed with the film. It was a big league production, this was not skimped on at all. It was shot well, put together in a coherent fashion, and told the story of Dio in a fantastic way. All of the guests offer worthy contributions and everything is put together well. It flows great and uses every bit of its two hour runtime in great fashion.

The film also gets to the core of Dio’s motivations and background. It’s stated in the title, Dreamers Never Die. He was a man who offered a means of escape and dreams away from the trials of the world. It is central to what made heavy metal so popular in the first place – this was for the outcast and marginalized people, those who didn’t fit in with the popular culture or narrative. I was certainly one of those who came to metal for that reason. This was a nice narrative that tied everything together.

I’d fully recommend this film to anyone interested in music at all, whether or not you’re that familiar with Dio’s work. The film doesn’t fully explain things in reference fashion, but it also doesn’t require any degree of inside knowledge. It was wonderfully put together and is a fitting tribute to one of heavy metal’s enduring icons.