Zappa and 200 Motels

 

Ok ... here's the scoop ... based on the Zappa forums and such.

 

Toni Palmer has a copy of the film that is not complete. And he released it after going over it with his own ideas. In the process he cut out some things and then tried to make them look better by changing the sizing of the film some ... and the result according to the screen shots is bad and the coloring is worse and then some.

 

Toni, made his fame with a lot of rock stars, from the Beatles to many others, and he is still selling his movies on his website, but he was over his head with Frank Zappa, because it was not just a video thing, or just another fun film with visuals that weren't important or a part of the whole scene as the whole MTV thing became a few years later, but you could say, politely, that Toni was a part of helping make that visible and people appreciate the music.

 

My guess is that Pink Floyd, thought that they had better visuals and sound effects in their shows and told Toni he was not needed! (Hehe!)

 

That version is not worth it ... however, if you have never seen the film it is better than nothing. At this point anything is better than nothing, and that film needs to get out of the vaults and released, and my hope is that Warner Brothers/MGM will release it, but it will need some remastering.

 

The film had some far out things that were important. It used video, and then it was transferred to film ... why? So that one could get the visual effects that Frank was looking for and the technology for that transfer was not out there yet, but Toni apparently DID find someone that could transfer the video to film via the same three tube process (color video was 3 different filters or cameras in one) that allowed the film to be made into 3 films that could be put together. Scary thought since this was so long ago, but it got done.

 

About the movie. Here's a short review.

 

For today's audience, this is NOT a concert movie. It is a fun romp through nothing that happens to have some music all over it, and dialogue and what not. In the process, this creates a very weird, visualization that is all over the place that defies description and some dialogue that ... just goes along and it might or might not make a story. In the end, this is HOW Frank Zappa composed things and put together things for himself. Let's just say that the film is his mind opened up and how he thinks and in the middle of everything in there, is just all the words and lines and the day has that pass you by. Some you catch, and some you don't. And the whole Ringo thing being Frank's double is just a put on, for fun, and I think that any musician that wanted to be in there could be, and the likes of Keith Moon has fun with a nun costume, but in the end, it is just like another apparition in the day of a life inside someone's mind. Somethings make sense and some don't. But for any of us, to sit here and try to figure it all out, in the end, you end up getting lost and finding yourself in a hopeless situation.

 

IF, you appreciate Frank Zappa for his composition and definition of music ... in a sense that everything goes, including dialogue, then this film is enjoyable ... it is the ultimate trip and everything including the kitchen sink and the nuns, and ultimately the most surrealistic thing ever put on film, bypassing the likes of Luis Bunuel's famous 2 films with Salvador Dali.

 

IF, you only appreciate Frank Zappa for his guitar playing and rock music, or slightly modified jazz music, then you will really miss out on the open mindedness that this man had for music. And the main reason why he is so appreciated in Europe, whereas America can't. Here we are so limited by the commercial interests that it makes it very difficult for anyone to stop listening to all the top ten in order to be able to appreciate someone that thinks that music ... should never have any limits ... and a film like this is also a nice take on the film world and its rigid life and Hollywood styled "hits" that convince you that a film is this and that ... and prevents you from finding out there is a lot more out there ... and that "more" is not only far out, it can be weird, it can be strange ... but in the end, it is always fascinating.

 

In the end, it is one of a kind. As such, it deserves credit.

 

And, only a true Frank Zappa fan, that appreciates his freedom of expression better than anyone you and I have ever met, is capable of enjoying this ... as one of the true great events in rock music history.  The rest is just "fame" ... and not worth the discussion.