Moe_Syzlak Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Has anyone seen "Frank Zappa: Music in Review"? I have it in my queue to rent, but know nothing about it. I would love a good, well-made doc about FZ, but I'm skeptical this is it since I have heard so little about it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winston Legthigh Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Has anyone seen "Frank Zappa: Music in Review"? I have it in my queue to rent, but know nothing about it. I would love a good, well-made doc about FZ, but I'm skeptical this is it since I have heard so little about it. I haven't, but here's a review from a netflix subscriber: ouch I'm a long-time Zappa freak and was sorely disappointed by this disk. They draw from 4 reviewers, all of whom seem to have no significant connection to Frank at all (I have Ben Watson's book, which is "cute" at best, but fairly misguided) and who don't provide very interesting commentary about Frank. Where are the interviews with ex-Zappa band musicians? Where are the snippets of footage of Frank (who was pretty good at speaking for himself)? Where are some of the clips we haven't seen a zillion times already? These guys couldn't be arsed to leave London for any of this. Also worth noting is that this doesn't cover Frank's career past, say, One Size Fits all. There are brief clips from some of the later bands (the Vinnie band on SNL, and also the band that performed on SNL before that one, with Terry), but very little is discussed about the small universe of stellar musicians Frank employed after the original MOI was disbanded. Huge waste of time, even for a die hard FZ fan like myself. Other reviews seemed just as harsh. No interviews with his musicians, no interviews with FZ. Only one song in its entirety: Peaches en Regalia. I'm still waiting for whatchamacallit to be released - the TV concert with the One Size Fits All era band that the Dub Room Special has footage of. Looking forward to Zappa plays Zappa at Summerfest... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cousin Tupelo Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I seem to remember some really weird looking fake blood in the movie? Am I hallucinating that? Yeah, like red tempra paint from grade school. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cousin Tupelo Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I had a tape I recorded in 1984 that is just about unwatchable now, it had (recorded at the 6-hour speed so you know it was good) was the Compleat Beatles British documentary for Apple, followed by All You Need is Cash. To watch them juxtapositioned set up a lot of the jokes in the Rutles perfectly. I wish I could find the former on DVD -- I think Cash has been released on DVD. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Also, from about the same time and even more heartbreaking:Nico IconWoman was seriously messed up.I forgot to mention that one. Good film, though far from uplifting for sure. I'll add a few more while I'm at it: The Beatles Anthology (5 DVDs)Johnny Cash in San Quentin (Good doc that came with the "Johnny Cash At San Quentin" box set) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Has anyone seen "Frank Zappa: Music in Review"? I have it in my queue to rent, but know nothing about it. I would love a good, well-made doc about FZ, but I'm skeptical this is it since I have heard so little about it. I haven't seen that one, but I think I've seen all of the other Zappa films that have been released officially (except for the claymation one). Probably the best documentary I've seen on him is the Classic Albums dvd covering Apostrophe and Overnight Sensation. If you watch that and the Dub Room Special you get a lot of coverage of that particular era. I don't know of any Zappa dvds that cover his entire career. Maybe someday. In the meantime, there's tons of Zappa stuff on Youtube. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Cool, I'll check out that Classic Albums DVD. I own Dub Room and Does Humor Belong in Music. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dagwave Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 damn, i forgot all about Grateful Dawg! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Has anyone seen "Frank Zappa: Music in Review"? I have it in my queue to rent, but know nothing about it. I would love a good, well-made doc about FZ, but I'm skeptical this is it since I have heard so little about it. Those are rip-off deals - usually the feature some people talking about the band, someone playing music that sounds like the band in question, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mfwahl Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Those are rip-off deals - usually the feature some people talking about the band, someone playing music that sounds like the band in question, etc.that background music that "sounds" like the artist is the worst thing I've ever heard. I saw a Jimi doc with something like that. If you can't afford the rights to the music, just use something completely different. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 that background music that "sounds" like the artist is the worst thing I've ever heard. I saw a Jimi doc with something like that. If you can't afford the rights to the music, just use something completely different. I have never actually seen one of them - but have looked at them in a store. I saw one for Led Zeppelin, Pinl Floyd, KISS, and Neil Young. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Has anyone seen "Frank Zappa: Music in Review"? I have it in my queue to rent, but know nothing about it. I would love a good, well-made doc about FZ, but I'm skeptical this is it since I have heard so little about it.Has anyone mentioned "200 Motels"??? LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Three dollars and 63 cents Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Still Crazy is a pretty good fictional rock and roll movie. I actually liked it more than This Is Spinal Tap. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Has anyone mentioned "200 Motels"??? LouieB I did. It was greeted with responses along the lines of "REALLY?!?!?!?!?!?!?! That movie F-ING SUCKED!" Heh, I still like it. As far as I'm concerned, once you put Ringo in a Zappa costume it really doesn't matter what happens for the rest of the movie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I did. It was greeted with responses along the lines of "REALLY?!?!?!?!?!?!?! That movie F-ING SUCKED!" Heh, I still like it. As far as I'm concerned, once you put Ringo in a Zappa costume it really doesn't matter what happens for the rest of the movie.I saw it when it first came out..crazy experimental stuff (one of the first video movies) and while it makes no sense, Dental Hygene dilema may be one of the funniest things ever....gawd that was a long time ago...(and I can't talk about the circumstances...) LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Monte Davis Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 I came on here to mention 200 Motels. I love that movie alot. Also loveHedwigDig!Kill Your Idols (amazing doc, even if it tuns to shit half way, the first half is sooo good) Just to mention a few. One that I didn't like was Red Hot Chili Peppers - Funky Monks. It's not that I didn't like it, just it felt boring, and the ending just didn't do that much for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 I saw it when it first came out..crazy experimental stuff (one of the first video movies) and while it makes no sense, Dental Hygene dilema may be one of the funniest things ever....gawd that was a long time ago...(and I can't talk about the circumstances...) LouieBI'm assuming you mean you can't talk about your 'condition' when you saw the movie. It's ok man - the statute of limitations have ran out by now. I enjoyed that film. But I was in an extremely altered state at the time (early '80s). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mfwahl Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Just saw Fearless FreaksAmazing movie, well made, really interesting. I can't believe I hadn't seen this yet. Essential for any Lips fan. Couldn't believe they show Steven hitting the horse. Yikes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I'm assuming you mean you can't talk about your 'condition' when you saw the movie. It's ok man - the statute of limitations have ran out by now. I enjoyed that film. But I was in an extremely altered state at the time (early '80s).Uh yea.....the exact state of my condition will have to wait for a personal discussion on our respective altered states. I saw it when it first came out at the Cedar Lee theater in Cleveland Heights....I was still in college which made it the early early 70s I believe. Wikipedia has lots of interesting trivia about the movie. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I actually found this on a junk bin in a record store at the mall many years ago - I gave it to the friend of mine who is a Zappa fan. It was the same place I found the The GTOs cd. To keep costs down, the movie was shot and edited entirely on Quadruplex videotape in the PAL format and only transferred to film after post-production was complete, a cinematographic first Which is why is looks like shit. Some news about a DVD release. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mfwahl Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Just saw Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo. Amazing movie by Les Claypool. It's like a Spinal Tap for the jam band scene.Some really funny stuff. I would add this to one of my all time faves. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FaintingGoat Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 This topic has been covered very well in this thread, but I'd like to add one to the "Best Of" list: We Jam Econo, a doc on The Minutemen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cooperissup3r Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 the GD movie is damn good. I love the Last Waltz...but knowing the story behind it dims my view of it a bit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cousin Tupelo Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Anyone hear of the 1967 film "The Privilege."? It sounds quite intriguing. Very Short List (http://www.veryshortlist.com/home/) points it up in their newsletter today. It stars the lead singer from Manfred Mann. This from VSL: Was it was just four summers ago that Britney Spears Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Some of it is on Youtube. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.