January 7, 1994
Videomusic, Italia
78 min.
Directed by Giancarlo Trombetti and Manuela Guidi
Includes footage from Zappa's Universe: A Celebration (NYC, November 1991), Video From Hell (1987), Does Humor Belong in Music? (1985), Baby Snakes (1979), The True Story Of 200 Motels (1989), The Amazing Mr. Bickford (1989), Sportpalast, Berlin, Germany (1968, from The Late Show, BBC-2, 1993), Palacio de los Deportes, Barcelona, Spain (1988), The Dub Room Special! (1982), Interview with FZ (Videomusic, 1988), The Late Show (interviews with Matt Groening and Ruth Underwood) (BBC-2, 1993), "Peaches En Regalia" (Version #1) (1987) and interviews with Philip Glass, Riccardo Bertoncelli, Warren Cuccurullo, Dweezil & Ahmet Zappa, Fabio Treves, Massimo Bassoli, Roberto Gatti, Terry Bozzio, Claudio Trotta and The Grandmothers (Don Preston, Bunk Gardner & Jimmy Carl Black).
YouTube: Frank Zappa—An American Dissident—(Frank Zappa documentary—Videomusic Italia 1993) (78:20 min.)
1994
FilmAmerica, Inc.
57 min.
Produced, written and directed by John Huszar
Narrated by Michael York
Includes a short FZ interview (c. October 1993, one of his last), a fragment of "Yes: Turn Left," improvised by Nicolas Slonimsky & FZ (c. 1985), and images of FZ rehearsing Ionisation (c. February 1983).
"He's just a brilliant mind. And a very warm-hearted spirit. And these are qualities not often found linked together in human beings. And... I just liked him. One of the things I really liked about him was his wardrobe. I always was impressed with his wardrobe from the first time he came over, because he had that look. He had the look of a real guy from that era, you know what I mean? The right kind of shoes, the right kind of tweed, rumple, worn for a thousand years. Kinda... sport coat, pants too short. He was wonderful. He was a fully developed character."
YouTube: Slonimsky: Frank Zappa's Last Interview (01:14 min.)
March 5, 1994-June 11, 1994
USA Network
Original music by Scott Wilk and Todd Yvega, who got permission to utilize some of FZ's music in the first 13 episodes, "by appointment to her majesty, the Scarlet Pimpernel."
List compiled by Andy Greenaway for T'Mershi Duween #46, with corrections and additions by Isaac Ibaranoff and Charles Ulrich
Here's some further info—stolen right from the pages of 'T'Mershi Duween': "FZ's synclavier/computer assistant Todd Yvega was given total creative freedom to arrange bits of Frank's music for Duckman; together with Scott Wilk he also created original music for the show."
Here's the synclaiver-only versions of stuff used in the show: T'Mershi Duween, Theme from Lumpy gravy, Holiday in Berlin, and Peaches en Regalia—synclavier versions—were all used in the first 13 episodes of Duckman.
Louis Cuneo's laughter is heard at the end of the original closing theme by Scott Wilk and Todd Yvega, which appears in all episodes of Season One, all episodes of Season Two, except #18, most episodes of Season Three, except #28-34, #37-38, and #40, and only seven episodes of Season Four, i.e., #43-45, #50, and #65-67.
Created by the animators of The Simpsons, the first episode, I, Duckman, had Frank Zappa all over it. The opening sequence featured Senator Paula Hawkins' 'fire and chains' soliloquy from 'Porn Wars' as well as 'Let's Make The Water Turn Black', and the soundtrack ended with Louis Cuneo's maniacal laughter.
There's a neighborhood video rental store in my area that will buy pretty much anything that's in print, and they can't get the episodes. So better hold onto your tapes, those hometaped vids seem to be the only source of some versions of Zappa tunes.
I just saw this on a web page:
"DUCKMAN IS RETURNING TO TELEVISION IN THE US!! The good news is that Comedy Central has picked up the entire run of Duckman. The bad news is that they may not be showing them until the year 2000. In the meantime, word is that Paramount is trying to lean on UPN to put the show on after Dilbert."
We get Duckman here in Canada every night on Teletoon.
(CBS DVD Executive VP and General Manager Ken) Ross hopes to keep satisfying consumer demand through 2008 with the release of Duckman, a cult '90s animated program. An online petition for the series' DVD bow has garnered more than 7,000 signatures.
Additional informants: Noah McKelvie, Charles Ulrich, Aren Hill
May 23, 1994
World Video Distributors E/P/11003 (HEAD ON) [V.E.G.]
20 min.
"totally unrepentant"
"give a guy a big nose and some weird hair and he's capable of anything" Both quotes from a crappy, weird, pseudobiographical 20 minute mini-movie called "The Crazy World Of Frank Zappa". It's from "Visual Entertainment Group" and has "the guy screaming with forks in his eyes and a wrapped head" picture from Scorpions' "Blackout" album cover on the front of the box. It's piss poor quality and very weird. Um, did I mention that it's weird?
I found a video in Tower Records titled "The Crazy World of Frank Zappa" from the Music Colllection, A Visual Entertainment Group presentation, produced and directed by Richard Driscoll, narrated by Dominic Valentino, edited by Leroy Stamps, research by Wilma Skinner, design by Ski Newton and writtten by Jeremy Watkins.
This video is a series of still shots with voice-over of random trivia. Cheezy computer animation effects gild the transitions between images—a border effect is used around scanned images of newspaper clipping. Topics covered Frank was born, Frank met Captain Beefheart, Frank played guitar. There are about five video clips on the tape the majority of which have been given a solarization effect—probably to hide the poor quality of the recordings. The interesting part of the tape is an interview conducted shortly before he passed on. I've never seen this interview but the problem on this tape is that the interview is sliced and diced—I'm sure there is a better source for the entire interview (don't know if this was an NBC interview). The bottom line is don't even bother with this video.
I gave away my copy years ago, but from memory:
I think all of the clips are from the BBC tribute special, some of which made it into the Biography show. From the approx. 20-30 minute total, subtract about a fourth to arrive at actual content (if you can call it that)—the sequences are divided by cheezeball titles that scroll horizontally at a snail's pace, saying stuff like "Frank Zappa Speaks About [some topic]". I recall that most of it is solarized, whether in a lame attempt at being avant-garde or an equally lame attempt at trying to hide the fact that it's all pirated material.
This video totally sucks; don't buy it. (The best thing about it is the pic on the cover, which is apparently stolen from a Scorpions cover, and is only there because it resembles FZ.)
I have this item. To add to the article on your page, the interview segment that Rick Hap refers to is taken from the BBC Late Show video. The solarization is definitely to hide a poor quality copy, because the sound during these segments is very poor indeed...
Additional informant (YouTube alert): Javier Marcote
YouTube: The Crazy World Of Frank Zappa (20:37 min.)
c. July 1994
Friends Of Tuva
Directed by Jeff Cook
Alt.culture.tuva's own Jeff Cook had a large hand in the recently released "[...] Tuvans Invade America", an informal documentary on the visit of 3 extraordinary Tuvan performers to California for the Rose Bowl Parade on January 1, 1993.
Tuvans Invade America [...] (90 minutes, videotape)
Got the video "Tuvans Invade America"? From the Tuva Trader at http://www.feynman.com/trader/
It contains a 5min video clip with FZ and Chieftains, Johnny Guitar Watson, Kaigal-ool Khovalyg and Tolya Kuular (of HHT) and Ondar (FWIW—the rest of the tape is pretty interesting).
August 18, 1994
A&E
46 min.
Mr. Zappa appears in A&E's series "Class of the 20th Century".
(splat[at]darkwing.uoregon.edu) Would this be the same as the 55 minute A&E "Biography" show, hosted by Peter Graves? And what relation does it have to the BBC special?
Yes. That's what it is. It was broadcast TWICE. Once during the day and later that same evening. It was never broadcast again. I found out about the show from a huge advertisement in either Billboard or Rolling Stone. It was "A&E BIOGRAPHY ROCK AND ROLL WEEK".
It's the SAME program. A&E "borrowed" it instead of making their own production. The program is identical to the BBC show, except...the British announcer and Late Show titles at the beginning were replaced by Peter Graves and the A&E opening! It also has commercial breaks added, of course. The closing credits are the original BBC credits preceded by another Peter Graves comment. In addition to the usual A&E production logo at the end of the program, there is also a BBC productions logo screen which precedes it.
I saw this episode of Beavis and Butthead years ago, but I just found the approximate air date so here goes:
Beavis And Butthead-"Canoe" October, 1994
On this episode, Beavis and Butthead are flipping through the channels, and they come across the "You Are What You Is" video. They watch about a minute of it, saying it sucks. Then they change the channel and turn it back a few minutes later, and the video is still on ("This is still on? That pisses me off."). Kinda funny. Maybe Mike Judge is a Zappa fan, eh?
December 1994
ZDF, Germany
50 min.
Written & Directed by Rudi Dolezal & Hannes Rossacher (DoRo, 1993)
Killer special from German TV with ultimate rarities, unreleased outtakes.. great.
Ein Leben Als Extravaganza also includes parts of Purple Lagoon, Keep It Greasey, and Easy Meat from 8/26/78 Ulm; Sharleena and Bolero from 5/8/88 Vienna; and conducted improvisations from the Yellow Shark rehearsals. Plus interviews with Dweezil, Ahmet, Brian May, Keith Richards, Nicolas Slonimsky, Neil Jordan, Andy Summers, Jean-Luc Ponty, George Duke, Don Preston, Warren Cuccurullo, Peter Wolf, Steve Vai, and Chad Wackerman. And excerpts from Uncle Meat, The True Story Of 200 Motels, Baby Snakes, Video From Hell, Ohne Maulkorb, We Don't Mess Around, and New York & Elsewhere.
YouTube: Ein Leben als Extravaganza—Part 1 (08:32 min.) · Part 2 (08:24 min.) · Part 3 (09:10 min.) · Part 4 (09:39 min.) · Part 5 (03:16 min.) · Part 6 (09:36 min.)
January 18, 1995
5 min.
With Lou Reed and Moon.
Includes footage from The Steve Allen Show (1963), Garrick Theatre (1967), Head (1968), From The Bitter End (1967), Berlin (1968), Saturday Night Live (1976), We Don't Mess Around (1978), KCET (1974), The Palladium, NYC (1977), The Palladium, NYC (1981), Saturday Night Live (1978), Baby Snakes (1979), The Pier, NYC (1984), "You Are What You Is" (1981), The Yellow Shark (1992) and Today Show (1993).
It's very rare in life to know someone who affects things; changes them in a positive way. I've been lucky enough to have known some in my life: Andy Warhol, Doc Pomus. People whose vision and integrity was such that it moved the world a bit. People who, through the articulation of their talents and intelligence, were able to leave things better than they had found them. People who were not only not in it for the money, to paraphrase Frank Zappa. Frank Zappa was such a person and of the many regrets I have in life, not knowing him a lot better is one of them.
Whether writing symphonies, satirical broadsides or casting a caustic glow across the frontier of madness that makes up the American political landscape; whether testifying before Congress to put the PMRC in its rightful lowly place, or acting as a cultural conduit for President Vaclav Havel and the Czech government, Frank was a force for reason and honesty in the business deficient in those areas. As we reward some with money for the amusement they supply to the cultural masses, I think the induction of Frank Zappa in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame distinguishes the Hall as well as the inductee. [applause]
Musicians usually cannot speak. That's why they communicate through their instruments. But Frank was one who could. And because music is pure, the musician is pure as well and when Frank spoke he demonstrated the power of purity. Who will do that now? I admired Frank greatly and I know he admired me. It gives me great pleasure to give this award to his daughter, Moon Zappa.
This is so nice. Thank you, Lou. I really appreciate that. I'm a little dyslexic and earlier I freed my ass. I'm hoping my mind will follow. [sigh, sniff] [Applause] Um, thank you and, uhh, I know you know I had said that this is the year of the end of the bullshit promises and I am really sorry that my father missed that. And, um, uhh, I've almost, almost, forgiven the Wait Staff here because my heart is open from watching all of this. [gestures towards the screen on which Zappa montage had been shown] and it's very odd to be back there [backstage] before you come up because you actually hear the command given but I just want to say that this really belongs to his, his fans and um, music really is a language and I think that some languages are easy to understand than others. I don't think it's any accident that the Slavic countries really appreciated my father the most because it's really hard to get the accents down and everything. And, um, I just really want to say thank you and I think that he would really have enjoyed this. Thank you.
ZAPPA & THE ROCK UNROLLED HALL OF FARCE
"Ten days before the actual ceremony," says Gail Zappa, "we still hadn't received invitations. The producer said, 'Oh that's unconscionable! We can give you two free tickets.' Well, there's five of us of course. He said, 'Well, we can sell you additional tickets at fifteen hundred dollars a piece, but you can't sit together.' I just laughed. Moon had expressed an interest in going, so we decided she'd accept the award. A week before the ceremony, they called me and said Edward Van Halen -who would have been perfect—had turned down their offer to induct Frank because he doesn't do these things. So I suggested Johnny "guitar' Watson whom Frank knew, loved and had worked with. They said 'No.' I won't say why because I don't want to hurt Johnny, but I did tell them that Johnny was one of the most lucid and articulate people I'd ever heard interviewed. I suggested Aerosmith, but was told they were going to induct Led Zeppelin. So I suggested Led Zeppelin. Again they said no. I asked them who chooses these things and was told 'The Board.' I asked if there were any musicians on the board, and more importantly are there any black musicians. They had to call me back and they replied 'Yes one: Berry Gordy.'
"They then said 'We've invited Lou Reed to do it.' I was laughing. It was just so ironic. I said I'd talk to my kids and they were against it; they believed Lou had millions of chances to make up with Frank. So Lou called. I told him 'Listen, you said lots of shitty things about Frank.' We discussed it and he finally said 'If I said anything flip that was meant to be funny, I'm sorry.' Actually Frank admired him as a songwriter; 'Femme Fatale' and 'All Tomorrow's Parties' were two of Frank's favorites.
"We asked for a car to take Moon to the ceremony. The producer told Moon that I said she'd be giving clearance to use the Frank footage on MTV which was totally not true! He said 'That's OK, the show's running long, so we'll just cut Frank.' Moon called him back and made him apologize for making her father sound insignificant. A limo did take her to the show, but there was no-one to pick her up afterwards! I have this vision of her standing in the rain, flagging down a cab with the award in her hand...
"I watched the broadcast and they didn't play any of his music, although they played at least one song by every other artist. And then I heard Joe Perry say that Led Zeppelin has asked Aerosmith to induct them months before, so how come we only got word a week before? This is a man who went to Capitol Hill for these people! When Moon said Frank would have enjoyed it, she meant the musicians. As Lou said, it honored the Hall to induct Frank and not the other way round. It was stupid, insensitive and just thoughtless."
Before Lou Reed gives Zappa's induction speech into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame there is 2-3 minute FZ Montage. Looking at your videography I have made the list of clips shown in the montage chronological the best I could-
The Steve Allen Show (1963 bicycle appearance)
Garrick Theater Footage (attrocities on stage and audience shots)
Garrick Theater Pipco T-Shirt Footage
>From The Bitter End
Unidentified MOI Live Footage, c. 1968-69 (also shown in The Late Show)
Head (The Monkees' movie)
MOI Live Footage, Late 1968 (filmed by Cal Schenkel)
August 27, 1974 KCET (shown in A Token Of His Extreme)
Saturday Night Live (1976)
October 28-31, 1977 Palladium (shown in Baby Snakes)
John Smothers Interview (shown in We Don't Mess Around)
Saturday Night Live (1978)
Bruce Bickford Animation 1974-1978 (excerpts from Token and Baby Snakes)
October 31, 1981 LATE SHOW Palladium (shown in MTV Broadcast)
August 25-26, 1984 The Pier (shown in Does Humor Belong In Music)
September 17, 1992 Yellow Shark Premiere (shown in German PPV)
The Today Show (1993)
Beavis And Butthead: Canoe (1994)
YouTube: Frank Zappa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction (08:06 min.)
December 7, 1995
Jam Folge 19 (Viva II)
45 min.
Autoren: Rudi "Cadillac" Dolezal
In co-Produktion mit MAINHATTAN
co-Produzenten: Mike Raven
Eine DoRo Produktion für VIVA
(C) 1994
This episode (copyright 1994) was aired at least twice:
1) 12-07-95, 11pm-12pm (Viva II, now: Viva Plus)
2) 12-23-96, 1am-2am (no logo/station ident!) (Viva II, now: Viva Plus)Here's the origin of (austrian) 'DoRo' production company name: rudi DOlezal and hannes ROssacher (both guys founded DoRo, will have to check the 2nd name again, though. I think their FZ specials started the DoRo venture, meanwhile they produced lots of other music documentaries, i.e. Madonna etc.)
Additional informant: Javier Marcote (YouTube alert)
YouTube: Frank Zappa—Joe's Garage on German TV Part 1 (10:59 min.) · Part 2 (10:59 min.)
December 16, 1995
Vilnius, Lithuania
3 min.
Various short Reuters press clips from ITN Source:
LITHUANIA/FILE: STATUE OF ROCK STAR FRANK ZAPPA UNVEILED
Interior sculptor's studio, various statues.
Still photos of clay model for Zappa statue.Sculptor Konstantinas Bogdanas putting finishing touches to statue.
Bogdanas saying Zappa was a revolutionary in the sense that he fought for freedom through art. People have varying opinions of him. Some say he was a hooligan, others say he was a talented person, almost a genius (Lithuanian).Statue of Zappa being erected in Central Vilnius Square.>
Joe Black, representative of Zappa's record company Rykodisc, saying "I'm thoroughly honoured to be part of this ceremony today. I think it's a great achievement in the face of adversity and I'm really honoured that the Frank Zappa Fan Club has invited us along, it's fantastic, a great turnout, a great achievement."
Statue being unveiled, crowd laughs as cover is caught on head of the statue.
Fireworks being set off next to statue.
Bogdanas watching as statue is unveiled.
Informant: Javier Marcote
January 28, 1996
NBC
During the scene where Matthew Perry meets Julia Roberts an advertising for Strictly Commercial (1995) appears in the background.
March 29, 1996
12 min.
Includes footage from The Yellow Shark, 1992
Informant: Javier Marcote (YouTube alert)
YouTube: Peter Rundel interviewdd by Bas Andriessen 1996 (11:41 min.)
1996
Something Weird Video
Sex Hygiene Scare Films
Presents short films on sexual hygiene that were shown to high school teenagers from the 1930s to the 1960s. Includes informational films on the human reproductive system, the values of chastity and the venereal diseases, gonorrhea and syphilis.
Volume 2: VD: name your contacts (1968, 21 min.)—Sex in today's world (1968, 28 min.)—The Pick-up / U.S. Army Signal Corps (1944, 37 min.)—Boy to man (1962, 16 min.)—Girl to woman (1965, 18 min.) Video/C 6074
Available from Something Weird Video for an even $20. Catalog #6117.
1996
2 min.
Zappa's Joe's Garage 1996...a tour with Mark Maerqueson...
YouTube: Zappa's Joe's Garage 1996 (02:28 min.)
Unknown date
VHS tape.
180 min.
Pinguin Film, VHS (NTSC), color, in German and English (no subtitles), 3:00:00.
This video encompasses four 45-minute programs intended for television broadcast. The theme, as the title reflects, is loosely organized around the topic "American music"—everything from Little Richard and the Rolling Stones to Dvorák and Ives appears with no guiding narration. Although it includes many interesting film clips and photos, none of the performers, films, or people interviewed is identified. The speakers interviewed often seem amateurish, and their comments are of little use without an extablished context.
[...]
27:30 Group rehearsing Varese's Ionization
28:20 Interview with Frank Zappa (?) discussing his album, Suzy Creamcheese, interspersed with footage from various performances
32:00 Footage of a Jimi Hendrix concert in Britain[...]
Informant: Javier Marcote
August 19, 1997
BBC2
Includes unreleased footage from FZ's BBC 1993 interview.
Reviews for the BBC Documentary, 'The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart'
Informant: Noah McKelvie
YouTube: The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart—Part 1 (09:29 min.) · Part 2 (06:01 min.)
November 22, 1997
ABC-TV
Bodgie Dada—A history of Australian jazz, its social context and the youth subcultures that have attached themselves to it over the past 40 years. Based on the book by John Clare (aka Gail Brennan), this program features archive footage of Australian and overseas performers. ABC-TV, Saturday, November 22, 9.30pm.
I found this brief clip of the Mothers playing on Australian TV in 1973, along with a short word from Frank about the music they play. It comes from a documentary called Bodgie Dada, a history of Australian jazz.
1997
93 min.
Directed by Wong Kar-Wai
I happened upon the synopsis for this movie:
Happy Together
"With gorgeous, saturated images set to an eclectic soundtrack of classic tangos, torch songs and Frank Zappa instrumentals, Wong Kar-Wai chronicles the stormy affair of a gay couple (Hong Kong superstars Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung) living as expatriates in Buenos Aires. "Stylistically brash. Pulsing with life. Captures the restless, open-to-everything spirit of youth" (Stephen Holden, New York Times). Letterboxed. Cantonese with English subtitles."
Someone a while back asked "Who would use Zappa in a movie?" It too me this long to recall "Happy Together" directed by Wong Kar-Wei. "Chunga's Revenge" is all over the thing, and what sounds like a "Fillmore 1971"-era "Happy Together" is over the closing credits, too (but it isn't from the album.)
It's the Turtles' original version, isn't it? There's also a long chunk of "I Have Been in You", cut right before the "little girl" part.
It's a terrific film, but there is a lot of gay love-making, so it probably ain't at any of the BlockBusters. Wong Kar-Wei (sometimes referred to as Kar-Wei Wong...it's very confusing) also directed "Fallen Angels" and "Chunking Express". The latter is easiest to find in Vid stores, as Quentin Tarantino was the "presenter" of its American distribution. All of the films are great, though "Happy Together" may be my favorite for the kick-ass (and repeated) use of "Chunga's Revenge." I think this movie won "Best Film" at Cannes a few years back.
It's the Chinese way: the family name (Wong) goes first, and then the given name (Kar-Wai). Some people try to reformat it the Western way, and come up with "Kar-Wai Wong".
1997
113 min.
Directed by Ang Lee
Movie released in 1997 stars Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver and apparantly uses the song "Dirty Love". It's included on the soundtrack album (1997 CD Velvel 79713).
Original score written by Michael Danna. Songs performed by David Bowie, Traffic, Frank Zappa and others.
Here's more info on the soundtrack: http://www.lukpac.org/~handmade/patio/weirdo/various.html#icestorm
"Dirty Love" on "Ice Storm Soundtrack" has a reverse stereo image relative to both the RYKO 1995 OS and SC versions. Tool used for discerning this fact: my two ears. The reversal of the image is most apparent with the drum track. Applying the mono feature, however, reveals no further audible diffences.
March 22, 1999
PBS
May 5, 1999
WDR TV
Yesterday our WDR had a docu (1hrs.) about the californian music scene, made for as additional material for teachers of music classes of schools. It had Zappa and the Mothers included, beginning with old black and white film material of the Watts riot with Trouble Every Day as background music. They also had b&w footage of the Mothers playing King Kong, probably from Essen 1968, but wasn't able to identify that.
Directly followed: The Doors. Interesting was a short b&w film excerpt of an open air festival, and how Jim Morrison got arrested on stage by three or four policemen. One pulled his microphone away, the others taking him from stage, with Jim doing a face like Kermit the frog. Very funny! 8-)
The docu was very interesting, covering the beginnings of Hippiedom up to recent american music, from Folk, Acid, Psychadelic to Pop, Mainstream and Hardrock.
There's a rerun of it on wednesday, 12. May at 7:00am.
Surfin' California
NEU
Die Musikszene in Kalifornien
2 Sendungen zu je 30 Minuten—ab 9. Schuljahr
Teil 3 + Teil 4
Mi. 05.05.99
7.00-8.00 Uhr
Mi. 12.05.99
7.00-8.00 Uhr
3.Vom Surf-Sound zum Acid-Rock
4.Vom Acid-Rock zum Gangsta-RapDiese beiden Sendungen gehören zum Multimedia-Paket "Surfin' California", das aus einer CD-ROM, der Internetsite "Learning Station" (http://www.learning-station.com) und vier Sendungen besteht. Die Sendungen vertiefen Aspekte der CD-ROM. Die beiden ersten Sendungen gehören in den geografisch-politischen Unterricht (Siehe im Inhaltsverzeichnis Geographie).
Beide Sendungen beschreiben die Entwicklung der kalifornischen Musikszene mit dem Schwerpunkt auf den 60er Jahren. Die Beach Boys, Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Janis Joplin und die Doors sorgten damals fr weltweites Aufsehen, auch wenn ihre Musik im Vergleich zu dem, was heute aus den Ghettos von Los Angeles in die Hitparaden drngt, geradezu harmlos wirkt.
Dennoch war es gerade diese Musik, die Kalifornien bis heute zum Zentrum der Musik-Industrie machte. Ihre Interpreten zhlen oft immer noch zu den Top-Acts der Branche. Anders als heute war die Musik damals aber noch eingebettet in eine Lebensphilosophie, die zwar einerseits typisch kalifornisch geprgt war, andererseits aber einen unwiderstehlichen Reiz auf Jugendliche in der gesamten westlichen Welt ausbte.
Die Musiker und die mit ihnen verbundene Szene propagierten einen Lebensstil fr eine ganze Generation. Dieser Konsens ist heute in viele verschiedene Richtungen zerfallen.
I'm not sure which one it was...but it was the History of Rock and Roll series, the one about the 70's. People mention Zappa once or twice, and there's a clip of him throwing a bunch of fake money at the audience and sneering.
I looked up Frank on the Internet Movie Database today, and found that archive footage of him was used in a flick called The Male Swagger. It was made this year, seems to be a sub-Mad-level spoof of Beowulf, and features a fake Hulk Hogan, a fake Malcolm X, a fake Jesus Christ and the real Alex Trebek. Anyone have any notion what on earth this is?
This appears to be a hoax perpetrated by students at St. Mark's High School in Dallas, Texas. At best, it's a real film by students at said high school.
Aside from Alex Trebek and FZ, none of the actors have any other film credits. Well, director/producer Darius Safavi appears to have had one guest appearance on a tv series (Sons of Thunder, a spin-off of Walker, Texas Ranger) and to be represented by a talent agency <http://www.mcalistertalent.com/casting.htm>.
Note that there are no reviews of the film at the IMDb, and only three user comments, all posted from the DFW area.
June 23, 2000
BBC 2, UK
30 min.
Aired on Simpsons Night on Friday, June 23, 2000. Matt Groening talks about his background and influences, including the music and lyrics of Frank Zappa. Includes a short snippet of "Blessed Relief" from The Grand Wazoo (1972) as background music, and also two short fragments of footage from the Sportpalast, Berlin, October 16, 1968 (probably from the soundcheck), and Colour Me Pop, BBC, October 23, 1968.
Informant: Javier Marcote
YouTube: My Wasted Life—Part 1 (10:00 min.) · Part 2 (10:02 min.) · Part 3 (09:08 min.)
July 2, 2000
VPRO
52 min.
2000
AMC TV
145 min.
2000
Allegri Films
52 min.
Includes footage from Stockholm, 1973 and Frank Zappa (VPRO, 1971).
Title
"In the ocean" / a film by Frank Scheffer; scenario by Frank Scheffer, Benedict WeisserPublisher
[s.l.]: Allegri films; NPS, 2000
Physical Description52 min 42
Notes
In the Ocean by Frank Scheffer renews the music documentary genre. By bringing together for the first time in a film musicians such as Steve Reich, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Louis Andriessen, it helps to understand the complexity of the movement of contemporary music of the last 30 years and the influences between Europe and the New World . This round trip between the two continents is personified by the story of Bang on a Can, a musical movements of the liveliest of our time. The founders and artistic directors of Bang on a Can are three young American composers Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe. This new generation is as heirs to the forefront of American composers from Charles Ives and John Cage to Steve Reich and Philip Glass. (Editor's summary)
Contains
Excerpts from: Weather 1, 3 Weather, Weather 4, Yo Shakespeare / Michael Gordon. Arsenal of democracy, Lick, Believing / Julia Wolfe. Six marimbas, Its gonna rain, Music for eighteen musicians, Sextet, Proverb / Steve Reich. Concerto for piano and orchestra / Milton Babitt. Slow movement / David Lang. Dance 3, Changing shares / Philip Glass. A room, Fourteen / John Cage. Sonata for flute, oboe, cello and harpsichord, String Quartet No. 1 / Elliott Carter. De Staat / Louis Andriessen. Cheating, lying, strealing / David Lang. Music for Aiports / Brian Eno. Bebop tango / Frank Zappa . Headset sextet / Joshua Fried. Fix / us / Martin PaddingAuthor (s) / Performer (s) / Interview (s)
Scheffer, Frank, filmmaker, screenwriter
Weisser, Benedict, screenwriter
Gordon, Michael Zev (1963 -....), interviewee
Cage, John (1912-1992), interviewee
Wolfe, Julia, interviewee
Lang, David (1957 -....), interviewee
Reich, Steve (1936 -....), interviewee
Glass, Philip (1937 -....), interviewee
Eno, Brian, interviewee
Carter, Elliott (1908 -....), interviewee
Andriessen, Louis (1939 -....), interviewee
Zappa, Frank, interviewee
Ziporyn, Evan, interviewee
Stewart, Mark, interviewee
Padding, Martijn, interviewee
Informant: Javier Marcote
YouTube: In The Ocean—A Film About The Classical Avant Garde (49:42 min.)
December 2000
VH1
2 min.
Music heard (album versions except where indicated): Peaches En Regalia, My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama, Cosmik Debris, Don't Eat The Yellow Snow, I'm The Slime, Joe's Garage (Halloween 1981)
Includes footage from: "Peaches En Regalia" (Version #2) (1987), 1970 England Press Conference, Halloween 1981, The Amazing Mr. Bickford
Includes short interviews with: Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi), Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society), Scott Ian (Anthrax)
Informant: Noah McKelvie
YouTube: Frank Zappa—100 Greatest Artists Of Hard Rock #36 (01:59 min.)
December 25, 2000
zappa.com
3 min.
On December 25 2000, the following file was posted to http://www.zappa.com/:
RoxyTrailer.mov
It's a 6.7MB, 3:14 trailer for "The Roxy Performances".
According to the advice of someone on affz, and my own experience, there has been trouble running the file with anything but Apple's Quicktime. Other windows players such as "Movie Player" didn't seem to work, though your results may vary.
The content is highlights from the film, and it looks like a doozy. But don't read about it here... go and check it out for yourself while it's still up.
Now look at the html-source of that page. In the keywords, they didn't mention "Freak Out" and "Absolutely Free" and "Lther". Otoh, there is "Dance Me This", "Trance-Fusion", "The Rage And The Fury". Wtf?
Anyone else notice that the Roxy trailer is no longer on zappa.com? It was at http://www.zappa.com/~roxytrailer/RoxyTrailer.mov but going there now produces a 404 error. It is also no longer linked from the left menu frame. Is this good news or bad? I'm assuming bad.
Watching the trailer again:
0:00 tuning (w/Pymgy licks) w/slowed-down FZ footage
0:25 dissonant chord (Dupree's intro) w/slowed-down FZ footage
0:30 I'm The Slime (same as YCDTOSA 1?)
0:40 "Ladies and gentlemen, we are making a movie of this"
0:43 I'm The Slime
0:48 "there's a camera there, and there's a camera there, and there's a camera there"
0:51 Inca Roads (two excerpts)
0:57 Village Of The Sun (furthering the mystery of why this is not in the tracklist)
1:03 Echidna's Arf
1:09 Big Swifty guitar solo (sounds like the guitar solo from YCDTOSA 1)
1:13 Big Swifty audio fades under backstage shot of FZ
1:19 improv (Cosmik Debris? Be Bop Tango?)
1:21 Cosmik Debris guitar solo
1:34 conducted improv (probably Dupree's intro)
1:43 Penguin In Bondage
1:48 T'Mershi Duween
1:54 RDNZL trombone solo
2:02 Dickie's Such An Asshole (text matches YCDTOSA 3 except there is an additional "I've did you no harm" and there is a segment starting at 2:30 edited out of YCDTOSA)
2:40 Idiot Bastard Son
2:43 Cheepnis (from the Roxy, not the studio version in the movie recently released—text matches the Roxy By Proxy version)
3:11 "ok, the gong always gets 'em" (from the band intro before Inca Roads on Proxy)
3:14 end(Thanks to Zappamaniac for assistance.)
The Roxy Trailer finally appeared in all its splendor included in the Baby Snakes DVD.
Additional informant: Derek Milhouse Gilger.
June 8, 2001
105 min.
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Watermelon In Easter Hay (Joe's Garage version) is played during the closing credits of Y Tu Mamá También. It is also included on the soundtrack album.
Y Tu Mamá También is a Mexican film directed by Alfonso Cuarón. It was released in 2001 (June 8 in Mexico, October 6 in the USA). Alfonso and Carlos Cuarón were nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay.
AGRADECEMOS ESPECIALMENTE A
[...] Gail Zappa [...]
Y a "Watermelon in Easter Hay" de Frank Zappa
[...]
"WATERMELON IN EASTER HAY"
de Frank Zappa's "Joe's Garage"
Compuesta, producida e interpretada por FRANK ZAPPA
Cortesía de la Familia Zappa.
(P) 1994 RYKO Disc Inc. Licenciataria exclusiva mundialmente, The Zappa Family Trust
© Copyright 1979 The Zappa Family Trust
Es una rola que cuando estábamos escribiendo el guión la teníamos como un loop eterno, porque ese era el tono que queríamos usar en la película; cuando quisimos adquirir los derechos se nos informó que era imposible porque Zappa en su testamento estableció que tres de sus canciones no salían de su disco. Resulta que una era ésta. Entonces le enseñé la película a Gall Zappa, su viuda, y se prendió, nos dijo: 'Si Frank estuviera vivo se sentiría orgulloso de pertenecer a esta película'. Otra cosa curiosa fue que el soundtrack lo remasterizó el mismo ingeniero que lo hizo con la canción de Zappa hace 20 años; el ingeniero nos dijo: 'No puedes usar esta canción, mucha gente la ha tratado de usar y no se la dan a nadie; checa con tus abogados porque no se la dan a nadie'; y resulta que a una peliculita mexicana se la dieron.
Google Translate:
It is a song that when we are writing the script we had it as an eternal loop, because that was the tone that we wanted to use in the film; when we wanted to acquire the rights we were told that was impossible because Zappa in his will stated that three of his songs came from his record. It was this one. Then I showed the film to Gall Zappa, his widow, and arrested him, said, 'If Frank were alive he would be proud to belong to this film'. Another curious thing was that the soundtrack remastered the same engineer as he did with Zappa song 20 years ago; the engineer told us, 'You can not use this song, many people have tried to use and do not give anyone; check with your lawyers because they do not give anyone'; and it turns out that a Mexican gave it little film.
2001
97 min.
Directed by Jessica Villines
Just thought you might like to know that I produced a film on groupie/ artist Cynthia Plaster Caster in which there's a brief scene of Cynthia and Pamela Des Barres discussing their relationship with Frank. (There's also some contemporary footage of Cynthia with Miss Mercy of the GTO's.) The film is called "Plaster Caster" and is due for DVD and VHS release on Oct 7 by Xenon Pictures (relevant links below).
The movie
Xenon Pictures
Cynthia's own site
The Cynthia P. Caster Foundation
you guys just HAVE to see this movie. i'm by no means a film critic. i don't really know how to describe what i saw other than as a historical document of a time and of events that we all hold dear. cynthia had nothing but very, very nice things to say about frank. he was the first one to tell her that what she was doing was art, and did nothing but encourage her to continue. after the screening, as she was talking questions from the audience, someone asked her if she had a special relationship with frank. she almost started crying as she answered that she still misses him. quite a poignant moment. on the bright side, the movie has some very funny moments and touches on a lot of moments in our mythology.
i went, hoping to maybe get some insight into her original ideas and motivations. i think that i left with more questions than i had when i got there. i guess for her, she loves it-it's a way of life.
2001
So I happen across this "history of groupies" show VH-1 is airing. After the first couple minutes of clip-montage, the first segment-and-a-half consists largely of clips of The GTO's, Miss Pamela, Cynthia, and all sorts of Mudshark mythology, including a video interview snippet of FZ, an audio segment of "The Mud Shark," not to mention clips of Led Zeppelin and The Vanilla Fudge recalling (or decidedly not recalling) the event in question. Funny stuff.
To my knowledge, it was originally broadcast about a year ago and has been repeated seemingly quite a few times since.
April 21, 2002
VH1
100 min.
Director: Mark Waters
Screenplay: Jay Martel
Producer: Steven Haft
Jason Priestley as Charlie Burner
Mariel Hemingway as Tipper Gore
Dee Snider as himself
Griffin Dunne as Frank Zappa
It's down and dirty, it's rock and roll... and that's the way we like it. But when Senate wives meet Twisted Sister, things get a little weird on Capitol Hill.
It's 1986 and the only thing lobbyist Charlie Burner wants is his blank tape tax passed so he can schmooze his way into a cushy corner office. He thinks it's in the bag until prominent Senator wife, Tipper Gore gets an earful of her kids' latest record collection. Suddenly, Prince doesn't sound so charming and Tipper leads the Washington Wives down the warpath to ban "porn rock." They create a banned song wish list and call it "The Filthy Fifteen." This turns the music industry on its head and Charlie has to choose between saving his job or saving rock music.
Charlie makes a choice and looks for rock and roll rebels to join the cause, amassing the most unlikely crew of freedom fighters ever. What else could bring together Frank Zappa, Dee Snider and John Denver? It's musicians vs. mothers on Capitol Hill. Once in awhile you gotta stand tall, open your mouth and let freedom sing.
It was a big lie. [They got it wrong] intentionally. It was really laughable, it was so pathetic. I think there was really an intent to glorify the RIAA. There was definitely an intent to convince the public that the RIAA gives a f--k about artists' rights, which is a joke. I didn't see anything in that entire piece that resembled Frank Zappa in any way. Frank stood up for individual rights, for the First Amendment, for artistic freedom...and more importantly, every single one of his albums since 1971 says, "Register to vote" on them, ever since the 18-year-old vote was passed.
This film is an insult to the Constitution of the United States, an insult to the Congress. It's an insult not only to Frank but to the people who, for whatever reason, formed the PMRC. It's not representative of Tipper Gore or Al Gore, or most of the senators, or even the way a hearing is conducted. They wanted the record companies to bend over, which they did, to get the blank-tape tax passed. The whole thing was just preposterous. The idea that Frank would be gunning for anyone, making threatening phone calls! When you're taking what actually happened and fantasizing it and massaging it to suit your own needs, everyone should question, "What is VH1's relationship to the RIAA? Do they own them?" I think they do.
June 20, 2002
90 min.
2002
Mezzo/Cityzen TV
53 min.
Directed by William Streik & Michael Willis
Informant: Oscar Bianco
February 16, 2003
90 min.
[Lisa Brounstein as Mama Cass Elliot; Adam Tomei as Frank Zappa.]
Directed by Bill Fishman
Written by Howard Kaylan
March 8, 2003
Arte
9 min.
Includes some footage from Ein Leben als Extravaganza (DoRo, 1995). Also includes interviews with Don Preston, Bunk Gardner and Roy Estrada, and some footage of The Grandmothers and the Chamber Orchestra Of Invention conducted by Don Preston in Leipzig, February 2003.
Emission du 08 mars 2003 dimanche 2 mars 2003
Tricky Women—L'avenir de la culture—Des modèles pour les musées de l'avenir—György Konrád—"Glück"—Frank Zappa—Grandmothers of InventionA l'occasion du 10e anniversaire de la mort de Frank Zappa—Son ancienne formation, "Mothers of Invention" (rebaptisée "Grandmothers of Invention") rencontre le "Chamber Orchestra of Invention" au Gewandhaus de Leipzig
May 9, 2003
ZDF
7 min.
September 11, 2003
Fort Worth, TX
10 min.
In 2003, the Smithsonian opened a traveling exhibit consisting of artifacts related to the September 11 attacks.
At the Fort Worth, Texas exhibit, the local newspaper had put together a video montage of images capturing the local effect of the attacks. American Airlines' headquarters is here, as is Lockheed-Martin (makers of things that fly really fast and drop big bombs) and a big Naval Air Station.
Well, the music chosen for this montage was none other than "Get Whitey" and "Outrage at Valdez". Unfortunately, this montage doesn't seem to be available on the web, but it was quite moving, and the music chosen could not have been a more perfect match.
The guy who put the montage together was Max Faulkner, the director of photography at the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram. He is apparently a huge FZ fan.
October 29, 2003
Conspiracies Episode 5 "The truth behind Satan's servants..." (TECH TV)
While watching the TV series 'Conspiracies' tonight on the Tech-TV channel, FZ was included in the episode called 'Satanic Panic'. I was not paying attention to the program and only realized near the end of his screen time that it was Frankie offering his opinion on the music industry.
I was surprised to hear in the program that some religious folk/entities state the band name KISS is supposed to mean 'Knights in Service to Satan' and that the band name AC/DC actually means 'Anti-Christ/Devil's Children'. I feel so enlightened after hearing that.
Just as an FYI. I'm sure you've all seen or heard this section of interview. This particular show was on Satanists. The odd thing is this particular interview section was taped long before Tech TV existed and before most people, including myself, knew the internet existed. The interview clip was taped during the PMRC hearings because they also used old footage of Tipper Gore and her fellow Washington wives. FZ's comments were the familiar line that Satan doesn't exist and that listening to Satanic lyrics will not send you to hell.
I watched the episode again and paid attention to FZ's comments. He mentioned that even though you (used as a generalization) and he (FZ) might not like an artist or a band, someone else may and the offending artist(s) should not be banned by governmental edict. FZ added that there is no devil and music can't hurt you.
'Conspiracies' is a former BBC series rebroadcast in the USA by Tech-TV.
November 26, 2003
SVT 2
35 min.
December 7, 2003
The E! True Story Hollywood
Episode #314: Rock Stars Daughters
E! Entertainment Television
While cruising channels in great boredom last night I came across Baby Snakes of all things on VH1, quickly replaced by Roxy footage, quickly replaced by an interview with Moon and Diva.
This show is seen on E! True Hollywood Story—originally aired on Dec 7, 2003—it airs again this Saturday Dec 20, again on Dec 23, Dec 28 and Dec 29. Not sure where and when the Zappas show up in this 2-hour show.
I saw this last night, too. It must be pretty new.
Yeah, Frank's all over the thing. Multiple interviews with Diva, Moon and Gail and even some interview footage of FZ.
The program had bits of Baby Snakes, Roxy and some footage of FZ conducting Ensemble Modern (I think that's who it was). It even ended with a shot of him sitting in a chair saying, "This is Frank Zappa and you're watching E, Entertainment Television." (Or something to that effect.
Pretty cool.
I saw all of it. It was great and very illuminating—even for me. I met Moon in 1977 when she was a kid. I would never have come out an volunteered any opinions about the personal life of the family (don't think I ever did that—if I did, so be it but no offense intended,) but it was very interesting for me to hear Moon say the things that she did about Frank. It was like an update—from a more mature point of view—of stuff that she and Dweezil and Ahmet said in a Rock star's kids documentary from like 5-8 years ago—which was basically "tough to live in the shadow of such a genius". Anyway in the Rock Stars Daughters thing it was interesting to hear—from Moon—that they hardly ever saw Frank for long stretches—and that Valley Girl was essentially motivated by a note that she finally wrote to Frank saying that she need some personal-quality time with him. The result was that he woke her up in the middle of the nite—hustled her down into the studio to create/sing Valley Girl. That's great—Frank SO immersed in his work that quality time took place in the studio. We used to see the kids come in while we were working—Frank would stop for a while and spend time with them—talk for while—ask them about school etc—and then back to work—it was a reminder for all of us that this guy has 2 families—his band and engineers—and his wife and sons and daughters. And he was a very patriarchal figure.
Gail/Moon talking about Moon's birth—FZ told Gail the baby's name would be Motorhead or Moon—"you pick".....and then as told by Moon—a bittersweet opportunity to finally spend some time with Frank when he got sick—because he was finally available. And some GREAT Frank footage—at home and on stage, Frank basically admitting that his relentless working and touring had taken a huge toll on him. Frank was addicted to his work—that is common for artists. But Frank was—you know -MEGA.
Bottom line: a bigger understanding of who Frank is, the level of his genius, and that no matter what you love the guy to death and beyond—eternally. It is his playing of the duality that somehow increases my own love for Frank, and perhaps for others it is the same. Not always easy—but always deep.
rock on
ed
December 11, 2003
Surround Music Awards, Los Angeles
2 min.
On 11 December 2003, FZ was the recipient of the Surround Pioneer Award at the second annual Surround Music Awards in Los Angeles. [...] Included here is the short piece graciously prepared by Jim and Ann Gable just for this event.
c. 2004
TV5 2, France
3 min.
Deep Purple members talk about the recording of "Smoke On The Water." Includes footage from Paris Airport, December 1971.
January 23, 2004
Dweezil & Lisa Episode #LD1A03
"St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast Party"
Food Network
January 23's episode of Dweezil & Lisa's show on the Food Network featured lots of pancakes with lots of Frank Zappa's St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast playing in between. There was also a dinner/pancake party where the chef made a statue of Frank made out of fruit—Gail and Ahmet were there too—Frank's music was playing in the background...Dweezil went on to tell of a story where Frank once brought home pancakes home from Austria to share with his family because they were so splendid...
2004
MuchMusic, Argentina
26 min.
Argentinian documentary series about the history of rock. FZ's episode covered the first decade of his career and was to be the first of two, though there was never a second one.
Written and directed by Alfredo Rosso
2004
BBC Four
50 min.
Here's A Piano I Prepared Earlier celebrates the experimental music movement which flourished during the 1960s, and whose legacy has lived on in musicians as diverse as Frank Zappa, Steve Reich, Michael Nyman and Brian Eno. Experimental music was usually written in free notation, or as written instructions with no notes at all. Composers often incorporated elements of chance, like the tossing of coins to choose notes, and performed on "prepared" instruments, like a piano stuffed with hay, to produce unexpected sounds. Starting with John Cage, godfather of experimental music, this documentary looks at the work of young US composers in the 60s, whose desire for freer music led to the hypnotically repetitive process known as minimalism. We also look at the British experimentalists, such as Cornelius Cardew, who together with his anti-Establishment colleagues provided a refreshing change from the strictly notated compositions of Boulez and Stockhausen. Blending anarchy with a healthy measure of irony, their music was vibrant, original, and often strangely beautiful. The programme investigates the link between minimalism and rock music, and includes ambient music from Gavin Bryars, whose Sinking of the Titanic and Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet are two of the most famous works to emerge from the experimental movement. In keeping with the theme, all contributors were asked to throw a pair of dice. The random throws are used to compose an original waltz, which is performed at the end of the programme. Musical excerpts include: · John Cage '4'33"' · Terry Riley 'In C' · Steve Reich 'Clapping Music' · Cornelius Cardew 'Treatise' · David Bedford 'With a Hundred Kazoos' · Gavin Bryars 'The Sinking of the Titanic' · Gavin Bryars 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet' · Portsmouth Sinfonia 'Also sprach Zarathustra' · Mozart Waltz composed by contributors throwing dice
March 13, 2005
Directed by Josh Rubin
July 21, 2005
France 2
15 min.
this video contains
-ads for tour de frank 2005
-small biography with:
snippets of FZ in Olympia 1969, Gaumont Pallace 1970, VPRO 1971, ? 1974, Palladium 77, We Don't Mess Around—Cirkus Krone video 1978, Baby Snakes (the movie), Does humor belong in music (the movie), FZ Gail Dweezil Ahmet Pierre Boulez interviewsmainly in french but it has part in english with french subtitles
(unreleased)
Although it's been nearly twelve years since Frank Zappa's death, his influence is heard in the music of artists ranging from System of a Down to Trey Anastasio. This fall, Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa will pay tribute to their late father by performing his music across Europe on the Zappa Plays Zappa tour. The Zappa family is also assembling the first full-length documentary about the legendary musical iconoclast, which they plan to release by early next year. They will debut a condensed version of the film on the tour.
The documentary spans the guitarist/bandleader/composer's diverse career, from early performance footage of songs such as "Inca Roads" and "Call Any Vegetable" through sessions for his final project, 1993's The Yellow Shark. Zappa died of prostate cancer that same year.
The film shows the private side of one of rock's greatest satirists. "He had a very cynical, sarcastic sense of humor," Dweezil says, "so there's a lot of stuff talking about how difficult it is to get your music played and how expensive it is."
But the focus of the documentary will be Zappa's role as a composer. "It gives you a lot of insight into the way he worked," says Dweezil. "He was always using classical themes in his music: Whenever he wrote a new part he'd stick it into a song, and then you'd hear it later as a whole other work of its own . . . And he was an amazing arranger, so his music was always evolving."
The Zappa Plays Zappa tour kicks off October 25th in Barcelona.
May 15-June 24, 2006—Europe & North America
Episode #10: 1979
July 14, 2006
VH1
60 min.
I was watching I Love The 70s Volume 2 and during the 1979 episode they had a small segment on Frank Zappa. The footage/audio was interspersed with interviews from some other celebrities.
In his segment, there were 4 brief video excerpts from Baby Snakes and two brief audio Joe's Garage excerpts interspersed with interviews. One excerpt from Baby Snakes that was used in his segment was a little "Revenge Of The Knick Knack People" segment that took place at Village Recorders! The other excerpts from Baby Snakes that I could recognize was a little portion of the live Palladium version of "City Of Tiny Lites", the count-in (1-2-3-4!) from the Baby Snakes Rehearsal that appears at the beginning, and a part of the "A Pound For A Brown On The Bus" Bass solo.
The segment also featured a bit of audio from "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee" while showing tubes (the kind they take a urine sample in) in a laboratory. The other song from Joe's Garage that was used was "Catholic Girls" set to somebody walking down the steps out of a church.
October 18-31; December 10-30, 2006—North America
December 8, 2006
NRK 1, Norway
50 min.
December 2006
Universal
4 min.
Musical video by U2
April 22 & 29, 2007
Nederland 2
120 min.
July 18-August 23, 2007—North America
September 25-November 23, 2007—Europe & North America
November 27-December 4, 2007—Australia
January 21-23, 2008—Japan
November 26, 2007 (UK)
February 5, 2008 (USA)
Classic Rock Legends
65 min.
The life and work of Frank Zappa are examined in this superb new critical review, which features new in-depth interviews with industry insiders, rock journalists and respected critics plus highlights from the songs that re-drew the face of rock music.
Including: Veteran music journalist Chris Welch. Welch interviewed Zappa in 1968, and shares his memories of his meeting with a true legend of modern times.
The insights of Ben Watson, author of the acclaimed Zappa books The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play and Frank Zappa: The Complete Guide to His Music. A lifelong fan and frequent correspondant, Watson also interviewed Zappa 6 weeks before his death.
Further insights from Ian Fortnam of Kerrang!, Uncut and NME and industry player Gem Howard-Kemp.
June 25, 2008
EinsFestival, Germany
28 min.
Zappa content: commentary about Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention, an interview with Fritz Rau and some B&W footage from Beat-Club, October 1968.
August 28, 2008
Arte, Germany
90 min.
Roboter essen kein Sauerkraut—Die Anfaenge deutscher Rockmusik (Original German title)
Robots don't eat Sauerkraut—The beginnings of German Rockmusic (Eeeeeenglish title—perhaps)With FZ-MOI-snippet, probably from an old TV-documentary about the "Internationale Essener Song-Tage 1968"
Broadcast:
German-French TV-station, arte, August 28. 2008This documentary contains contributions about the following German (Rock?)-Groups:
Amon Düül II, Embryo, Popol Vuh, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Birth Control,
Ton Steine Scherben, Guru Guru, Can, Kraftwerk, Eloy, Jane, Grobschnitt, Kraan,
Witthueser & Westrupp, Scorpions, Lucifer's Friend, Frumpy, Udo Lindenberg... and others
December 12, 2008
ARD Video
8 DVDs
This contain a 3:23 segment from the same Beat Club interview 1970.06.19, but it is a different segment, previously unseen.
It doesn't seem that the DVD-BOX contain also the lieder-liches show itself (Frank is not listed, nor in vol. 1 and 3).
I have this additional info: Original broadcast: German TV, Beat-Club 59 / 15. August 1970
Additional informant: Javier Marcote
2008
98 min.
Directed by Denny Tedesco. Includes a short (18 sec.) interview with FZ from c. late 1982. Also includes interviews with, among others, Carol Kaye, Tommy Tedesco, Don Randi, Plas Johnson, Lew McCreary, and Bill Pitman.
One of the movie's most interesting clips is from an interview with Frank Zappa, originally part of a 30-minute profile about his father that Denny made in college, previously only aired on local PBS. The senior Tedesco was the class clown of the Wrecking Crew. As is fairly well known (even legendary) in the guitar community, he won TV's "Gong Show" by playing guitar and singing a song about being a washed-up studio has-been—dressed like a 300-pound ballerina. "This is where it got interesting for me," Denny says. "We showed Frank Zappa a clip of my father on 'The Gong Show' and expected some funny comment from him. Instead, he came back with a very serious commentary about how the recording business works in L.A. At the time I was disappointed, but only years later did I understand the impact of his comments. It's as if he said, 'Hey, you might want to take a look at this in 25 years.'"
I just got home from seeing the Wrecking Crew documentary. It was great.
[...] No one ever mentions FZ, but there is a brief interview clip wherein he talks about Tommy Tedesco's appearance on the Gong Show.
Informant: Javier Marcote
February 16, 2009
DVD
134 min.
This film reviews the true story of The Mothers of Invention and the music they made during the first incarnation of the band. With group members Jimmy Carl Black, Bunk Gardner, Don Preston and Art Tripp taking up the tale and revealing—often for the first time—what the real Frank Zappa was all about; and with contributions from 'scenesters 'like LA wildman Kim Fowley, biographer Billy James, Zappa academic Ben Watson, music journalist Richie Unterberger and English writer and musician Alan Clayson—acclaimed biographer of Edgar Varèse—this program is the most detailed, informative and enjoyable documentary on Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention yet to emerge. Also features rare footage of Frank and The Mothers from throughout the 1960s, archive interviews, seldom seen live performances, and a host of other features.
November 13, 2009
Regional Info, France 3
2 min.
Festival Présences Radio France
Broadcast : Regional Info, France3, 13 nov 2009
2mn 35sFestival Présences promo in Radio France with appearance of Peter Eötvös, FZ & Pierre Boulez in 1984, FZ in 1980, Florent Jodelet, Walter Boudreau...
February 22, 2010
DVD
88 min.
The Freak Out List!—Frank Zappa Under The Influence
This film explores the musical roots of Frank Zappa by putting The Freak Out List under the microscope and tracing the lineage from the most pivotal names therein to the recordings and performances of the man himself. Featuring rare footage of Zappa and the Mothers plus archive film of Freak Out List artists, exclusive interviews with The Mothers Of Invention's Ian Underwood, Don Preston and George Duke, 1950s Doo Wop legends, The Cadillacs, contributions from Zappa biographers Ben Watson and Greg Russo, Edgar Varese biographer Alan Clayson, experimental modern music historian Professor David Nicholls, soul and R'n'B expert Robert Pruter and many others. Also features numerous seldom seen photographs, news archive, radio spots and a host of other features which all together make for a fascinating, unique and hugely watchable programme.
April 1, 2010
zappa.com
9 min.
Interview with Joe Travers, including scenes from the vault and old FZ footage. Produced by Gail Zappa, edited by Peter Alton.
zappa.com: Joe Travers—Vaultmeister (08:36 min.)
April 8, 2010
Sycomore Films
19 min.
By Thomas Bertray & Pacôme Thiellement
See also Ritual Of Pope Decapitation—Teaser (2012)
Vimeo: LE DISPOSITIF 46—Rituel de Décapitation du Pape (18:46 min.) · LE DISPOSITIF 46—Ritual of Pope Decapitation (english subtitles) (18:46 min.)
Informant: Javier Marcote
September 19, 2010
ABC 2
2 min.
Report on the Zappa Sculpture Dedication with old footage from Baby Snakes (1979), The Cutting Edge (1987), the Senate Committee Hearings (1985), KCET TV Special (1974) and 200 Motels (1971).
ABC2: Deceased rock legend Frank Zappa honored at the Enoch Pratt Free Library (02:12 min.)
December 4, 2010
Associated Press
2 min.
Includes footage from the You Are What You Is videoclip and an unidentified interview from c. 1991.
Informant: Javier Marcote (YouTube alert)
YouTube: Today In History for December 4th (01:20 min.)
December 11, 2010
Televisión Pública Argentina
3 min.
Includes images from the Lennon & Mothers jam, June 1971.
Informant: Javier Marcote (YouTube alert)
YouTube: V7Inter: En recuerdo de Lennon y Zappa (03:04 min.)
c. December 21, 2010
Cmais+, Brazil
12 min.
Interview with Fabio Massari. Includes footage from The Dub Room Special! (1982).
Informant: Javier Marcote
YouTube: Frank Zappa (11:50 min.)
March 9, 2011
Breakfast Television, Edmonton
4 min.
Interview with Ed Mann. Includes footage from The Palladium, NYC (1981).
Informant: Javier Marcote
December 31, 2011
3sat & ZDFkultur, Germany
3 min.
ZDFMediathek: Frank Zappa—Montana (ZDFkultur) (02:59 min.) · Frank Zappa—Montana (Filme, Dokus & Kabarett) (02:59 min.)
Informant: Javier Marcote
January 20, 2012
Rai Storia, Italy
30 min.
It's 2011 documentary by Italian director Salvo Cuccia, and broadcasted the first time on Italian TV Channel "RAI Storia" January 20, 2012. It's the story of Zappa's 1982 Italian Tour, especially in Sicily, and Massimo Bassoli guide Dweezil & Diva in Partinico, the city of Frank's father.
Includes footage from The Dub Room Special! (1982) and Discoring (Rai, 1984). Bassoli says he met FZ in 1972 (actually, 1973), when the Mothers played at the Palasport, Rome.
YouTube: Frank Zappa—1982: L'estate di Frank (documentary, Italy 2011) (29:39 min.)
Informant: Marco Ricci
February 27, 2012
Prism Films, UK
161 min.
Directed by Rob Johnstone. Narrated by Thomas Arnold. Interviews with Billy James, Barry Miles, Essra Mohawk (Sandy Hurvitz), Richie Unterberger, Kim Fowley, Ben Watson, Pamela Des Barres (Miss Pamela), Miss Mercy, John French (Drumbo), Bill Harkleroad (Zoot Horn Rollo), Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith, Jeff Simmons, Mark Paytress, and Jerry Lawson.
Documentary which examines the influence of the Bizarre and Straight record labels, set up by the musician Frank Zappa. Though the initial idea behind the imprints was to provide Zappa with artistic independence by freeing him from his present record contract, the label founder poured every bit as much energy and enthusiasm into the records released by other artists as he did his own. The labels provided a home to Alice Cooper, Captain Beefheart and Tim Buckley, among others, and have become an integral part of rock music history.
May 31, 2012
ZDF, Germany
3 min.
News about the Zappanale vs. Gail Zappa issue. Includes an interview with Fritz Rau and footage from Sportpalast, Berlin (October 16, 1968), Does Humor Belong In Music? (1985), Zappa in Prague (January 1990) and Baby Snakes (1979).
ZDFmediathek: heute nacht vom 31. Mai 2012 (15:02 min.)
Informant: Javier Marcote
July 17, 2012
PBS
14 min.
Program: History Detectives
Episode: Frank Zappa's Lost Collage
A life-long art collector spotted a striking piece in a South Carolina thrift store, a graphic collage of percussion instruments, intrigued by the signature "FZ." His research led him to an intriguing possibility: Rock and Roll legend Frank Zappa. Gwen Wright meets with friends and biographers of Zappa to see if she can find out whether Zappa made this collage.
PBS Video: History Detectives: Frank Zappa's Lost Collage (13:45 min.) · History Detectives: Web Extra: Frank Zappa (00:41 min.)
Informant: Javier Marcote
October 13, 2012
Eye On LA, ABC7
60 min.
Includes footage from You Are What You Eat (1968); Sportpalast, Berlin, 1968; Frank Zappa (VPRO, 1971); FM TV (1982); Baby Snakes (1979).
The first interview I did for The Legends of Laurel Canyon was in July of 2011 with Micky Dolenz, who I have come to absolutely love (and BTW has an incredible new album out called "Remember"). The final interview I had the utter privilege of conducting was with the wonderful and poignant Gail Zappa this past September. The stories I've accumulated for this special are hysterical, touching, heart breaking, and above all else, inspiring.
ABC7: Eye on L.A. presents 'The Legends of Laurel Canyon' (07:17 min. · 07:22 min. · 06:53 min. · 11:04 min. · 04:46 min. · 08:56 min. · 01:37 min.)
November 28, 2012
Sycomore Films
By Thomas Bertray & Pacôme Thiellement
http://www.popedecapitation.com/
See also Dispositif 46—Rituel de décapitation du Pape (2010)
Vimeo: Ritual Of Pope Decapitation # Teaser (02:30 min.)
December 19, 2012
WatchMojo.com
8 min.
Script written by Craig Butler. Includes footage from Frank Zappa (VPRO, 1971); KCET, LA, August 27, 1974; Passaic, NJ, October 13, 1978; Baby Snakes (1979); Paris, June 11, 1980; Valley Girl TV Performance, 1982; Does Humor Belong In Music? (1985); Senate Commerce Committee Hearings, September 19, 1985; "Night School" with clay animation by Bruce Bickford (MTV); Uncle Meat (1988); The Yellow Shark (1992); Today Show, May 14, 1993;
WatchMojo.com: Frank Zappa Bio: Life And Career (07:40 min.)
2012
Germany
86 min.
Directed by Sigrun Köhler and Wiltrud Baier (Böller und Brot)
Until his death in 2008, the two filmmakers spent the last two years shooting Jimmy Carl Black in the Bavarian village of Höpfling and at his concerts. Covering his cancer disease with blustering humour, Black sets out to go on a big tour in America that once more leads him to his hometown El Paso. A film about sex, drugs, Rock'n'Roll and no old age support.
Featuring Jimmy Carl Black „THE INDIAN OF THE GROUP", Don Preston, Bunk Gardener and Roy Estrada from „THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION", Eugene Chadbourne „DR. CHAD", Arthur Brown „THE GOD OF HELLFIRE", The Muffinmen, The Hurricanes, Moni Black, Blaskapelle Vogling Siegsdorf, and many more . . .
June 20, 2013
Financial Times Videos
7 min.
Hosted by Peter Aspden. Filmed by Steve Sklair. Produced by Griselda Murray Brown. Includes interviews with Roger Wright and Nicholas Collon, and footage from Colour Me Pop, BBC, October 23, 1968.
Known for his eclectic musical influences and vibrant personality, Frank Zappa was a rock king who also composed complex classical works. Peter Aspden asks why Zappa is being embraced by the classical community 20 years after his death.
FinancialTimesVideos (YouTube): Frank Zappa's Classical Come-Back (07:02 min.)
July 26, 2013
ZDF
3 min.
Includes footage from Berlin, 1968.
Jimmy Carl Black, der Exschlagzeuger von Frank Zappa musste auch im hohen Alter noch durch die Lande touren, um Geld zu verdienen. Zappa hat Ruhm und Reichtum versprochen, bekommen hat Black nur Ruh
ZDF Mediathek: Ruhm ohne Reichtum (03:38 min.)
August 28, 2013
TV Pública, Argentina
10 min.
"El informe de Bobby: Frank Zappa," by Bobby Flores. With some comments by Eduardo de la Puente. Includes footage from KCET, LA (1974), Saturday Night Live (1976), The Palladium, NYC (1977) and The Pier, NYC (1984).
YouTube: TesT—28-08-13—Frank Zappa, en el informe de Bobby Flores (10:35 min.)
Informant: Javier Marcote
August 29, 2013
Interviews with Massimo Bassoli, Gail Zappa, Moon Unit Zappa, Dweezil Zappa, Joe Travers, Steve Vai, Tanino Liberatore, Thomas Nordegg, Maurilio Prestia, Michele Russotto, Daniele Cuffaro, Paola Coniglio, Viki Matranga, Pietro Lombardo, Megan Zappa, and others; Dweezil and Diva visit Partinico, Sicily; Moon Unit, Mathilda, Dweezil, Megan, Diva visit Partinico, Sicily.
a message from Massimo Bassoli :
Frankie Goes To Hollywood......in Venice
The long awaited movie "Summer 82 When Zappa Came To Sicily" by Salvo Cuccia will have the world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Italy, on August 29th 9.00 am at Sala Grande, August 30th 5.00 pm at Sala Perla, August 31st 5.00 pm at Sala Darsena. Do not miss it. It's amazing......more to come, stay tuned
Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily Blu-ray
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=22355Special Features:
Never-before-seen concert and backstage footage with Frank Zappa
*A limited theatrical run of Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily starts in LA on November 5.11/5—Los Angeles—The Regent Theater—Q&A with Dweezil & Moon Zappa + Steve Vai
11/17—Philadelphia—PhilaMOCA—Q&A with Dweezil Zappa
11/20—Boston—The Regent Theatre—Q&A with Dweezil Zappa
YouTube: 70th Venice Film Festival—Summer 82 When Zappa Came to Sicily (3:08 min.) · Summer 82 when Zappa came to Sicily Clip Ufficiale (2013) Salvo Cuccia Movie HD (7:09 min.) · Venezia 2013—Summer 82 When Zappa came to Sicily—Intervista a Gail Zappa (2:16 min.) · Summer 82 When Zappa Came To Sicily—Salvo Cuccia director (4:21 min.) · Summer 82 When Zappa Came To Sicily (2013)—Trailer (10:41 min.) · Summer 82 when Zappa come to Sicily: conferenza stampa—Venezia 70 (24:22 min.)
2013
Biography.com
5 min.
Includes footage from "The Lost Interview" (c. 1990), and interviews with Dweezil Zappa, Jon Pareles and Henry Rollins.
Informant: Javier Marcote
Biography.com: Frank Zappa—Mini Biography (4:57 min.)
October 27, 2013
Rai 3
8 min.
Stefano Bollani plays a piano version of "Peaches En Regalia." Includes footage from The Steve Allen Show (1963).
Another great performance from Stefano Bollani's italian TV show "Sostiene Bollani" [September 9, 2013, no actual FZ footage]. Here Bollani plays Zappa's "Let's Move To Cleveland" with four great italian pianists Antonello Salis, Lorenzo Hengeller, Dado Moroni and Francesco Grillo.
This is a very particular interpretation of Frank's piece, because the five musicians play two pianos with a funny "alternate double four-hands" technique, and combinate with an accordion finale played by Antonello Salis. A sublime music moment...
Informants: Javier Marcote, Marco Ricci
YouTube: Sostiene Bollani : Frank Zappa 27/10/2013 (8:07 min.)
November 5, 2013
120 min.
Directed by Bob Smeaton. Includes footage from Hallandale, FL, May 18, 1968.
While watching Hear My Train A Comin, a Hendrix doc/live performance program, I spotted a brief footage on FZ and MOI.
December 4, 2013
Milenio Televisión
4 min.
Comments by José Luis Martínez S. Includes footage from Berlin, 1968; BBC, 1968; Fillmore West, 1970; 200 Motels (1971); Upper Darby, 1980; Barcelona, 1988; Prague, 1990.
Grupo Milenio: La tinta y la imagen: Frank Zappa (04:04 min.)
December 8, 2013
France 5
52 min.
Pierre Boulez, le geste musical
Documentary by Marie-Christine Gambart
51:56Only 30 secondes with Frank Zappa in concert in Paris, january 84.
December 17, 2013
iTunes
10 min.
This is a documentary of the making of a recording and performance of "Cheepnis" by Frank Zappa.
Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028
Sun, Aug 17, 2014 7:30pm[...]
"Cheepnis" (1973, 10 min.) Featuring the only footage Zappa cut together from his legendary 1973 Roxy concerts, "Cheepnis" sings the praises of low-budget monster movies. This short documents the director, bandleader, songwriter and musician at work.
Additional informants: Charles Ulrich, bigtyke66
May 14, 2014
6 min.
Includes footage from Paris, December 15, 1970 and Paris Airport, December 1971.
YouTube: Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water (Official Film Clip) (06:05 min.)
May 16, 2014
ARD, Germany
155 min.
16.05.2014
02:00 UhrDie kurze Nacht der langen Haare
Open Air-Festivals auf Burg Waldeck 1964—69 | SR FernsehenAm Fuß der Burgruine Waldeck im Hunsrück fand an Pfingsten vor 50 Jahren das erste Open-Air-Festival auf dem europäischen Festland statt. Ursprünglich 1964 als traditionelles deutsches Liedertreffen geplant, entwickelte sich die Veranstaltung ab 1967, unter dem Einfluss des Vietnamkrieges und der zunehmenden Politisierung der Jugendlichen und Studenten, zu einem Festival der jungen deutschen Polit-Liedermacher-Szene.
Details
Am Fuß der Burgruine Waldeck im Hunsrück fand an Pfingsten vor 50 Jahren das erste Open-Air-Festival auf dem europäischen Festland statt. Ursprünglich 1964 als traditionelles deutsches Liedertreffen geplant, entwickelte sich die Veranstaltung ab 1967, unter dem Einfluss des Vietnamkrieges und der zunehmenden Politisierung der Jugendlichen und Studenten, zu einem Festival der jungen deutschen Polit-Liedermacher-Szene. Hanns Dieter Hüsch, Franz Josef Degenhardt, Walter Mossmann, Hannes Wader und Reinhard Mey traten bis 1969 hier auf und wurden nicht selten ausgebuht, weil das Publikum oft mehr an politischen Diskussionen als an Liedvorträgen interessiert war.
Burg Waldeck gilt seitdem als die "Mutter" des deutschen Open-Air-Festivals. Die Waldeck-Musiker wurden zu Stammgästen auf unzähligen nachfolgenden Festivals und die Veteranen unter den Festivalmachern engagierten sich bei immer größeren Events. 1968 organisierten die Waldecker die international besetzten Essener Songtage (u. a. mit Frank Zappa), 1972 entstand, noch unter dem Eindruck der ausufernden Diskussionen auf der Waldeck, das unpolitischere Euro Folk Festival in Ingelheim, 1975 dann das größte seiner Art, das Open Ohr Festival in Mainz, das bis heute die Tradition des politischen Musikfestivals in Deutschland aufrechterhält.
In alten Archivaufnahmen von den Burg Waldeck-Festivals (1965-69), vielen Konzertausschnitten bekannter Liedermacher, aber auch durch Aufnahmen von den Essener Songtagen, dem Ingelheimer Euro Folk Festival und dem Open Ohr Festival in Mainz wird die Geschichte des deutschen Open Air Festivals rekonstruiert und musikalisch mit Hannes Wader, Reinhard Mey, Interburg & Co, Schobert & Black, Franz Josef Degenhardt, Hanns Dieter Hüsch, Hein und Oss und vielen anderen Liedermachern untermalt.
Lange Nacht "Burg Waldeck"
The short night of the long hair
open air festival at Burg Waldeck 1964-69 | SR TelevisionAt the foot of the castle ruins Waldeck in the Hunsrück found at Pentecost 50 years ago, the first open -air festival in mainland Europe instead . Originally planned in 1964 as a traditional German songs meetings, the event developed in 1967, under the influence of the Vietnam War and the increasing politicization of the youth and students, a festival of young German political singer-songwriter scene. details repetitions Folk / Pop Rock / Pop documentation / Reportage story Rhineland-Palatinate regional
At the foot of the castle ruins Waldeck in the Hunsrück found at Pentecost 50 years ago, the first open -air festival in mainland Europe instead . Originally planned in 1964 as a traditional German songs meetings, the event developed in 1967, under the influence of the Vietnam War and the increasing politicization of the youth and students, a festival of young German political singer-songwriter scene. Hanns Dieter Hüsch, Franz Josef Degenhardt, Walter Moss man, Hannes Wader and Reinhard Mey came up here in 1969 and were often booed because the audience was often more interested in political discussions than lectures song .
Burg Waldeck is now considered the "mother" of the German open-air festivals. The Waldeck- musicians were regulars on countless subsequent festivals and the veterans among the festival organizers engaged in ever larger events. 1968 organized the Waldecker the international panel Essen Song Days (among others with Frank Zappa ), 1972 was still under the impression of escalating discussions at the Waldeck, the unpolitischere Euro Folk Festival in Ingelheim, 1975, the largest of its kind, the open ear Festival Mainz, which maintains the tradition of political music festivals in Germany to this day.
In old archive footage of the Burg Waldeck Festivals ( 1965-69 ), many concert clips known songwriter, but also by pictures of the Essenes song days, the Ingelheimer Euro Folk Festival and the Open Ear Festival in Mainz, the history of the German Open Air festival is reconstructed and musically accompanied with Hannes Wader, Reinhard Mey, Inter castle & Co, Schobert & Black, Franz Josef Degenhardt, Hanns Dieter Hüsch, Hein and Oss and many other songwriters .
Long Night " Burg Waldeck "
2014
A film by Tom O'Dell
This film focuses on the sophomore Mothers, looking too at the very different projects that book-ended their brief existence; Zappa had incorporated ideas from free jazz and fusion into his music to produce three eccentric albeit influential solo albums. [...]
Featuring rare footage, archive and exclusive interviews, contributions from many who worked alongside Zappa during this period, rarely seen photographs, and a number of other features which all at once provide for the first documentary film to tackle this phase in the Zappa legend. Includes new interviews with; George Duke, Aynsley Dunbar, Don Preston, Jeff Simmons, Mark Volman, Max Bennett, Sal Marquez, Ian Underwood plus 200 Motels director Tony Palmer, biographers Ben Watson and Billy James and Mojo Magazines Mark Paytress.
Eye On L.A.
August 27, 2014
With Mike Keneally, Joe Travers, Gail Zappa, Moon Unit Zappa, Dweezil Zappa, Ahmet Zappa, Diva Zappa, Billy Bob Thornton, Steve Vai. Includes footage from The Palladium, NYC, 1977, Bunny Bunny Bunny (1987), Frank Zappa (1971), The Palladium, NYC, 1981.
Facebook: Zappa Celebration At The Egyptian Theater (02:37 min.) · Part 2 Zappa Celebration At The Egyptian Theater (02:11 min.)
YouTube
September 4, 2015
2 min.
Includes footage from the Roxy performances, December 1973.
Since Pat broke down the old trailer, just for completeness' sake, let's break down the new one, which is much simpler:
0:01: I'm the Slime
0:08: Dickie's Such an Asshole
0:38: Dog Breath Variations
0:51: Big Swifty transitional signal (which I'd guess is being played over footage of the Be-Bop Tango dance contest and/or the vigorous circular motion from Yellow Snow)
1:00: Big Swifty guitar solo [YCDTOSA Vol. 1]
1:40: Big Swifty outro
YouTube: ROXY—The Movie (Trailer) (01:58 min.)
October 25, 2015
Retro Report
The New York Times
11 min.
Offended by lyrics they deemed too sexual and violent, Tipper Gore and Susan Baker campaigned to put warning labels on albums in 1985. Years later, warning labels have ended up in unexpected places.
January 25, 2016
90 min.
Directed by Thorsten Schütte.
Formerly known as Zapped.
Thorsten Schütte came to the Studio Theatre to show us unseen, lost and forgotten film footage and discuss FZ's role as a film maker. Thorsten is currently putting together FZ footage for an official release, with ZAPPED as the working title. [...] They only showed us three of six film clips from ZAPPED, one of which is up on YouTube.
Zapped
Germany | 90min.Logline
Zapped celebrates the 20th anniversary of Frank Zappa's death in 2013 with a treasure trove of lost and forgotten film and audio recordings from all around the globe.Project information
Status: development / research
Title: Zapped
Country: GermanyCredits
Director
Thorsten SchütteProduction
Jochen Laube for teamWorx Television & Film GmbHCommissioning Editor
Martina Zöllner for SWRSelected for FORUM 2011
Sundance Institute today completed its feature film lineup for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival with the highly anticipated narratives, documentaries, episodic work and events in the Premieres, Documentary Premieres, Spotlight, Sundance Kids and Special Events sections. The Festival takes place January 21-31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Sundance and Ogden, Utah. [...]
Eat That Question—Frank Zappa in His Own Words / France, Germany (Director: Thorsten Schütte)—This entertaining encounter with the premier of sonic avant-garde is acidic, fun-poking, and full of rich and rare archival footage. This documentary bashes favorite Zappa targets and dashes a few myths about the man himself. World Premiere
Thorsten Schütte's film is a sharply edited and energetic celebration of Zappa through his public persona, allowing us to witness his shifting relationship with audiences. Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into the musician's world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character.
[...]
Cast & Credits
Director Thorsten Schütte
Screenwriter Thorsten Schütte
Producer Estelle Fialon
Line Producer Claire Babany / Michael Jungfleisch
Editor Willibald Wonneberger
Researcher Elizabeth Klinck
Co Producer Jochen Laube[...]
Watch at the Sundance Film Festival
8:30 PM MON 1/25 Prospector Square Theatre
9:00 PM WED 1/27 Temple Theatre
6:00 PM THU 1/28 Tower Theatre
11:45 PM SAT 1/30 Egyptian Theatre
Sony Classics: Eat That Question—Frank Zappa In His Own Words
KickStarter
March 8, 2016
5 min.
Alex Winter's Who The F*@% Is Frank Zappa KickStarter video. Directed by Alex Winter.
KickStarter: Who The F*@% Is Frank Zappa by Alex Winter, KickStarter, March 8, 2016 (04:36 min.)
May 12, 2016
INA; France
8 min.
Includes footage from 1988.
Who stole Ravel's Bolero ?
Qui a volé le Boléro de Ravel ?
A documentary in 9 episodes, the Zappa affair is mentioned in episode 7 (1988-1997)
Ina.fr: Qui a volé le Boléro de Ravel?—E07 Les paradis fiscaux (07:53 min.)
May 26, 2016
2 min.
New trailer for Eat That Question—Frank Zappa In His Own Words (2016).
YouTube: EAT THAT QUESTION Trailer (Frank Zappa Movie—2016) (2:04 min.)
La 2, RTVE, Spain
January 12, 2017
49 min. (FZ content: 2 min.)
"Llegan los rock stars" ("Rock stars are coming"). Documentary about international concerts in Spain in the '80s. FZ content (2 min.) includes footage from Barcelona 1988 and interviews with Spanish promoters Neo Sala and Pino Sagliocco.
RTVE a la carta: Ochéntame otra vez—Llegan las rock stars (49:24 min.)
Arte TV, France
March 17, 2017
61 min.
Directed by Thorsten Schütte, 2013. Abridged version of Eat That Question—Frank Zappa In His Own Words.
Arte is one of the original production company of that film itself—but this special TV version was shortened "amateurish" from originally 90 minutes to 60 minutes.
For example the importand "Ensemble Modern phase" towards the end of that docu, was completely eliminated! That just doesn't add up! Just to fit to a one hour format?
As usual for these rock documentary on arte (often broadcasts of officially released DVDs/Blu-rays), they added exclusive new subtitles in German and French.
The dedication to Gail, directly at the beginning of the credits were left out—actually this version was assembled with completely new closing titles.
September 12, 2017
15 min.
Direced by Patrick Waldrop.
Hungarian immigrant and influential animator Gabor Csupo is a lifelong Frank Zappa enthusiast. This is their story.
WORLD PREMIERE
TribecaONLINE PREMIERE
Short of the Week
TV3, Spain
December 4, 2017
11 min.
Hosted by Ruth Jiménez and Vador Lladó. Nando Caballero, Francesc Arnau and Juan Gómez "El Sobrino del Diablo" talk about Frank Zappa and play "Joe's Garage" and a bit of "Bobby Brown." Includes footage from New York, NY, October 31, 1981, The Steve Allen Show (1963), Stockholm, Sweden, August 21, 1973, and Paris, June 11, 1980..
TV3 a la carta: Tarda oberta: Frank Zappa, reguetón i Trump (11:02 min.)
WDR, Germany
August 13, 2018
Includes
Premiered September 20, 2018
82 min.
Directed by Andrew Slater.
Frank Zappa lived across the street. And he once stood in the middle of the street reading me the lyrics of "Who Are The Brain Police?" Like Allen Ginsberg. It was— And I kept going, "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" And then I heard Frank Zappa do an orchestration on a track without the yelling over it. And it was— It was otherwordly. It was really, really incredible.
May 31, 2020 (Part 1); June 7, 2020 (Part 2)
79 min. (Part 1); (Part 2)
Directed by Alison Elwood. Includes audio from an (unidentified?) interview by FZ.
[Part 1, min. 5]
David Crosby: The only person that moved there before we did might have been Zappa.
[Part 1, min. 28]
Alice Cooper: This one night, the music we played was just white noise. The audience could not take it. Within four minutes we had cleared the place. Only one person left standing there, and it was Frank Zappa. Frank looked at us. He said, "What was that?"
FZ: People had a very violent response to it. Invariably when they would play people would leave the room and I knew they had something.
Alice Cooper: But Frank Zappa was just starting his record label, Bizarre Records. And he wanted some new look, some new sound. So Frank says, "Okay, why don't you guys come to my house at 7:00 and I'll listen to you?" We were so anxious because everybody wanted to meet Frank Zappa. In the music business, there was nobody more revered. Zappa was the maestro. So we go to Frank's house in Laurel Canyon, the log cabin, at 7:00 in the morning. We just set up down in the basement and started playing. Our hair was down to our waist. We were in chrome pants. Frank comes down the stairs, he's got his robe on and a coffee. He goes, "What are you doing?" I said, "Well, you said 7:00." And he said, "I meant 7:00 at night. Go ahead. Go ahead." Frank listens and he goes, "The song doesn't go anywhere. It just stops." And I went, "Well, is that good or bad?" And he goes, "Oh, no, no. I'm gonna sign you because I don't get it.
FZ: The record company that I had was called Bizarre. So, I figured, well, here we go.
Alice Cooper: Frank produced the first album for us. When I finally could afford to buy a house, I bought a house right above Frank's log cabin. It was a very odd place to be because it was right next door to Micky Dolenz from The Monkees. And the club house was Frank's house. You might see two or three of The Mothers Of Invention, Frank's band, the most underground group, sitting there talking to Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz from The Monkees.[Part 1, min. 35]
Micky Dolenz: The place I moved into looked like you're in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. It was an old cabin a Disney animator had built, and it looked like a Swiss chalet—massive pine trees, rock gardens. It did turn out to be a gathering place. We'd began to throw theses soirees along with a ping pong tournament. Up the street were The Turtles, and Zappa was a little further down. People were just everywhere, literally wandering around the little streets, not even knowcking on your door, just walking in, "How you doing? What do you got to eat?" "Stephen, oh, good to see you." It was a very small community of musicians and long-haired weirdoes.
[Part 2, min. 51]
Paul Barrere: When I finally moved up into the Canyon, I was already a member of Little Feat. That was the '70s. People like Bonnie Raitt were living there. More and more people had discovered Laurel Canyon, which is kind of funny because Laurel Canyon way back when was home to Tom Mix, and Houdini had a house up there. And then Zappa and all the different variations of The Mothers. Lowell George was a member of The Mothers until he started Little Feat.
Magnolia Pictures
October 28, 2020
2 min.
With unfettered access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage, ZAPPA explores the private life behind the mammoth musical career that never shied away from the political turbulence of its time. Alex Winter's assembly features appearances by Frank's widow Gail Zappa and several of Frank's musical collaborators including Mike Keneally, Ian Underwood, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood, Ray White and others.
Available everywhere Thanksgiving Week
Directed by Alex Winter
http://www.thezappamovie.com/
October 10, 2020
129 min.
Directed by Alex Winter.
Produced by Alex Winter, Glen Zipper, Ahmet Zappa, John Frizzelli, Devorah DeVries, Jade Allen.
Principal Cast: Frank Zappa, Gail Zappa, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Mike Keneally, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood, Steve Vai, Ray White.
Coming Soon
Was to be premiered on March 13, 2020 at SXSW; then on March 19, 2020 at CPH:DOX, Denmark. Both cancelled.
(Also known as Zappa Movie and Who The F*@% Is Frank Zappa.)
The ground-breaking musician Frank Zappa will be the subject of a new documentary that Alex Winter is writing and directing with the cooperation of the Zappa Family Trust. He will produce the film alongside Glen Zipper [...].
Because of the the cooperation of the Zappa Family Trust, the filmmakers, who are aiming for a 2017 release, said they will have exclusive access to the Zappa Vault, a collection of unseen visual and audio recordings, in addition to previously released video clips, interviews and concert recordings, with Winter noting that "our tale will be told primarily in Frank's own words; he will be our guide through this journey."
Alex Winter is developing a documentary on the late musician Frank Zappa, which he will direct from his own script and produce with Glen Zipper.
The Zappa Family Trust has given its backing to the untitled project.
"There has yet to be a definitive, authorized documentary on the extraordinary life and work of Frank Zappa," Winter said. "I am beyond thrilled to be embarking on this journey. Our tale will be told primarily in Frank's own words; he will be our guide through this journey."
Winter expects the doc to be finished in time for release in 2017.
Separate from [the new partnership between the Zappa Estate and Universal Music Enterprises], the Zappas have also granted filmmaker Alex Winter permission to make a documentary about the main Mother's life, which is slated to come out in 2017.
"It is massive, but you construct a structure and then you look for gold and then the gold tells you where to go," he says.
"You have parameters; we're only making a two-hour movie, maybe a four-hour movie... We'll run out of money eventually if we keep going. But the footage always talks to you; it prioritises itself.
"I'm not trying to tell every single anecdotal scrap of story. There's no way—you couldn't do a 40-hour mini-series and do that."
EXCLUSIVE: It won't be absolutely free, but a new Frank Zappa movie is coming to North America. Magnolia Pictures has acquired rights to Zappa, a documentary directed by Bill & Ted's Alex Winter that will hit theaters and VOD on Thanksgiving weekend.
Billed as an intimate and expansive look into the innovative life of the iconic—and iconoclastic—musician and artist, the pic was made with unfettered access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage. It explores the private life behind the musical career that never shied away from the political turbulence of its time.
Zappa features appearances by the musician's widow Gail Zappa and several of his musical collaborators including Mike Keneally, Ian Underwood, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood, Ray White and others.
Magnolia Pictures announced today that they have acquired North American rights to ZAPPA, directed by Alex Winter (BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC, SHOWBIZ KIDS, THE PANAMA PAPERS). The documentary is an intimate and expansive look into the innovative life of the iconic musician and artist. Magnolia is planning to release the film in theaters and on demand November 27.
With unfettered access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage, ZAPPA explores the private life behind the mammoth musical career that never shied away from the political turbulence of its time. Alex Winter's assembly features appearances by Frank's widow Gail Zappa and several of Frank's musical collaborators including Mike Keneally, Ian Underwood, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood, Ray White and others.
[...] Directed by Alex Winter, ZAPPA was produced by Winter, Glen Zipper, Ahmet Zappa, John Frizzell, Devorah DeVries, and Jade Allen. Executive producers are Robert Halmi and Jim Reeve of Great Point Media.
USA—10 October 2020—(virtual cinema) (Camden International Film Festival)
USA—17 October 2020—(virtual cinema) (Montclair Film Festival)
USA—28 October 2020—(Philadelphia International Film Festival)
USA—11 November 2020—(virtual cinema) (DOC NYC)
Netherlands—22 November 2020—(virtual cinema) (International Documentary Festival Amsterdam)
Canada—25 November 2020—(Calgary Underground Film Festival)
Canada—27 November 2020—(internet)
Italy—27 November 2020—(internet)
USA—27 November 2020
Brazil—18 February 2021
UK—19 February 2021—(internet)
Netherlands—17 June 2021
Finland—29 June 2021
Spain—1 July 2021—(limited) (subtitled version) (event release)
Hungary—1 July 2021
Russia—28 July 2021
Premiered in Cannes, France
July 7, 2021
121 min.
Written & directed by Todd Haynes.
Informant: Tan Mitsugu
October 8, 2021
Sky Arts
48 min.
Directed by Matthew Longfellow.
Frank Zappa - Freak Out! ...Classic Albums. The debut album from Mothers of Invention comes under the microscope. It won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award and gained a cult following in the US. (S5, ep 6)
Episode 6
Frank Zappa - Freak Out!: Classic Albums.
48 minsThe debut album from Mothers of Invention comes under the microscope. It won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award and gained a cult following in the US.
The new interviewees for this episode are: Elliot Ingber, Terry Gilliam, Matt Groening, David Fricke, Ahmet Zappa, Pamela Des Barres, Joe Travers, Cheech Marin, Ruth Underwood, Carl Franzoni, Mike Keneally and Del Casher.
Yes, they play back isolated tracks from the original recordings. There's footage/photos of Frank's first wife Kay that I hadn't seen before. We see Keneally in the studio playing riffs and licks from the album.
All in all, it's an excellent watch—no question.
The Making of FREAK OUT! Don't miss #Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention on Classic Albums in the UK tonight! ------>> 8PM on @SkyTV
May 14, 2023
Arte TV
28 min.
Written and directed by Sascha Schmidt. Season 1, episode 4 of the Häuser der Kunst series. Some members of Deep Purple (Ian Paice, Roger Glover & Ian Gillan) recall the "Smoke On The Water" incident. No actual FZ footage.
December 1, 2023
One Gate/Radio Bremen (DVD)
166 min. + 50 min. bonus
November 10, 2024
SWR Kultur, SWR, Germany
4 min.
In der Bad Dürkheimer Weinstube "DieDa" tritt der ehemalige Frontsänger von Frank Zappa auf: Das 81-jährige Multitalent Napoleon Murphy Brock.
Google Translate
The former lead singer of Frank Zappa, the 81-year-old multi-talented Napoleon Murphy Brock, will be performing in the Bad Dürkheim wine bar "DieDa".
Maintained by Román García Albertos