The film of Ozzy Osbourne’s final show with Black Sabbath had a limited cinema run starting on October 28, with physical releases arriving in December and April 2027
Images: official Back to the Beginning website.
The final show of Ozzy Osbourne’s life made it to the big screen. Ozzy Osbourne & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning, the film of the event held on July 5, 2025 at Villa Park in Birmingham, had a brief run of special, limited screenings starting on October 28, 2026 in cinemas across several countries. And for those who missed the screenings or want to keep this moment at home, the show is also getting releases on 4K, Blu-ray, CD and vinyl, plus a deluxe box set.
The film
Directed by Ben Wainwright-Pearce, with live show direction by Tim van Someren and production by Mercury Studios, the film captures Ozzy’s farewell to the stage and the reunion of Black Sabbath’s original lineup, with Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward together for the first time in 20 years. Trafalgar Releasing handled cinema distribution, and screenings featured Dolby Atmos and 5.1 sound.
The feature intercuts Ozzy’s solo set and Sabbath’s show with the guest bands, behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with musicians they influenced. For the guest bands, however, the film shows only their Black Sabbath and Ozzy covers, not their own songs. The show took place seventeen days before Ozzy’s death on July 22, 2025, making the film an even more moving record of the occasion.
Photo: official Back to the Beginning website.
What it was like to watch
I was at Villa Park that July 5 and managed to see the film in the cinema during its short run. It was a curious experience: I cried at exactly the same moments as I did on the day, during Changes with Yungblud, when Steven Tyler came on and during Mama, I’m Coming Home. Ozzy’s songs are interspersed throughout the film, and Mama, I’m Coming Home was saved for the end, with the effect you can imagine.
It was great to see parts of Mastodon’s and Rival Sons’ sets, which I missed on the day because of an almost three-hour journey to Birmingham. And there was a surprise: I didn’t remember Tool playing. When I saw Maynard onstage in the film, I thought: wait, what happened? That was probably when I went out to get something to eat.
Some editing choices stand out. Halestorm’s Perry Mason, which for me was the best cover of the day, appears only briefly. I thought that was a shame, and it really bothered me, since Lzzy Hale was the only female singer fronting a band at the event and her version was incredible. The booing David Draiman received when he walked onstage is also absent, for obvious reasons. For Guns N’ Roses, the film didn’t choose Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, the most famous cover they played, but one that, in my opinion, sounded dreadful with Axl singing.
Photo: official Back to the Beginning website.
Ozzy’s voice has also been touched up. In the film it sounds much cleaner and clearer than it did on the day, and I think some correction was involved. I would have left it as it was, because nobody was there to see Ozzy performing at his peak, but I understand the choice, since the show is also coming out on CD and vinyl.
The film also includes interviews that give that day even more weight. Sharon says Ozzy wanted to say goodbye and have the chance to thank his fans, and that he chose how he would go, even after being hospitalised with sepsis and pneumonia about two weeks before the show. And Tom Morello sums it all up when he talks about a band that created a genre returning, with its original lineup, to where it all began, in Aston, Birmingham, to bring things full circle.
The full story of what it was like to be at Villa Park, from the saga of buying a ticket the day before to that final Mama, I’m Coming Home, is in my account in the Remasterizado series.
Photo: official Back to the Beginning website.
Photo: official Back to the Beginning website.
The December 11 releases
Pre-orders are already open, and the home releases arrive on December 11, 2026. The package includes around three and a half hours of content, featuring Ozzy’s and Black Sabbath’s shows and performances by Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Slayer and Pantera. Extras include a making-of feature, the documentary Sounds of Birmingham, video tributes from the likes of Dolly Parton, AC/DC and Ricky Gervais, and special videos featuring Jack Black on Mr. Crowley and Fred Durst on Changes.
- 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray + CD: the film in two picture formats, accompanied by the soundtrack on CD. Available in a standard edition and an edition exclusive to selected retailers.
- 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray + double vinyl: the film accompanied by the soundtrack on two LPs, in four colour variants. Black will be available at all retailers, purple splatter and silver splatter are exclusive to online shops and the official website, and metallic is exclusive to specialist shops.
- Digital: the soundtrack will be released on platforms in standard, high-definition and Dolby Atmos versions, and the film will also be available to buy digitally.
The soundtrack features nine songs: the five numbers from Ozzy’s solo set and Black Sabbath’s four:
- I Don’t Know
- Mr. Crowley
- Suicide Solution
- Mama, I’m Coming Home
- Crazy Train
- War Pigs
- N.I.B.
- Iron Man
- Paranoid
The deluxe box set and Japanese edition
For collectors, the big release arrives on April 23, 2027, with a deluxe box set that is also already available to pre-order. It includes:
- 3 Blu-rays: the film in 4K and HD, with extras, and a bonus disc featuring all 35 Ozzy and Black Sabbath songs, including the guests’ covers, in show order.
- 2 CDs: the Ozzy and Sabbath soundtrack and a bonus disc featuring nine covers performed by the guests.
- 3 180-gram black vinyl LPs: one for Ozzy, one for Black Sabbath and one featuring the guests’ nine covers.
- 72-page hardcover book: with photos, commentary and interviews with Sharon Osbourne, Tom Morello, Live Nation’s Andy Copping and production manager Jake Berry.
- Collectibles: an Ozzy pendant necklace, a numbered certificate of authenticity and a reproduction of the film poster.
On the same date, Japan gets an exclusive SHM-CD edition, also accompanied by the film on 4K and Blu-ray.
A historic record
Back to the Beginning was a charity event that brought together some of the biggest bands in rock and metal to honour Ozzy and Black Sabbath in the city where it all began. Just over a year later, the film and records turn that day into a definitive document of the farewell of one of the most important bands in music history. For those who missed its cinema run, it will be available to watch at home from December 11. And for those who were there, it is a chance to relive it all.