Finally a movie about the legendary band Iron Maiden just came out called “Burning Ambition” by Trafalgar Releasing. It’s about their storied 50-year career (1975–2026).” The film is directed by Malcolm Venville and you can say, its much about the fans that is about the history of the band. The movie made its debut in theaters worldwide on May 7th, 2026.
The story of Iron Maiden starts in Lyton, East London back in 1975 when a young lad named Steve Harris formed the band. The band has gone through numerous lineup changes, which the documentary goes through. In an hour and 46 minutes you can’t do a deep dive into every detail about the bands history. I thought Venville did a good job painting the picture of who and what Iron Maiden represent in the overall picture of music and their contributions to the start of New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
They took bits of pieces of interviews from former members Paul Di’Anno and Blaze Bayley and combined them from current members Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Nicko McBrain, Janick Gers, Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris. They also interjected interview clips from other musicians that included Gene Simmons, Tom Morello, Scott Ian, Chuck D amongst others. To me, the real stars of this movie were the various fans who were interviewed for it. They came from Poland, Lebanon, Australia, Canada, United States, Columbia, etc. reflecting the band’s global reach. I learned a few things about the band through this movie. First, I didn’t know that Nick McBrain knew that Bruce Dickinson was leaving the band a few months prior to his departure. McBrain talked about his strong dislike for Dickinson at that time because of it. Also, it was interesting to hear that there was battle for front spot on the stage once Dickinson joined the band between him and Harris. Their longtime manager Rod Smallwood got involved as Harris wanted Dickinson out. Smallwood cemented Dickinson’s place and history was soon written after.
As I said before, this film is more about the dedication and love of the fans of the band. Iron Maiden happens to be the background to it. This film will appeal to all fans; die hard and for those who are just getting an introductory to what the band is about.