Alex Winter’s ‘ZAPPA’ Trailer (Theaters/VOD Nov 27)

All that we got here’s
American made,
It’s a little bit cheesy
But it’s nicely displayed.
Flakes!

 

Acquired. Suck it, regional restrictions!

 

Eat This Question is made from longer straight talking head interviews and news footage interspersed with longer musical performances. It is not necessarily biographical or presented in chronological order. It uses more commonly seen footage. It focuses more on social concerns related to Frank - culture, politics, the business.

Zappa is presented chronologically as more of a biography with a focus the director states is about Zappa’s internal emotional life. It doesn’t feature full musical performances or songs - lots of short snippets. It features far more previously unseen footage - especially from the early years. The editing approach is collage like, and the interviews aren’t all shown, but also used as voice over to tell the narrative.

in general Question is more straightforward and slower paced, and Zappa is artistically picture and sound edited, overwhelming and fast paced in its presentation. I found Zappa to also be far more emotional in its intention. It focuses on Frank as a single minded composer and addresses is relationships.

hope that helps. They have overlap, but they are each unique and worthwhile. I rewatched Eat That Question last night to better answer your question.

that said, neither film focuses on the content of his music - the theory, intention, continuity, musicians, recording, production, composition etc. that’s the doc that needs to be made, but would be very hard to do right and draw a large audience.

 

Great summary, ceddy10165.

 

I suppose I've let myself get pulled into the hype around this doc that has been building for, I think, years now. I guess I'm underwhelmed now having seen it. I was going to write at length here about my opinion; what was great, what was OK, what wasn't, but don't want to bore or be too negative. But I suppose I still do want to temper expectations just a little if you haven't seen it. May you be pleasantly surprised, and feel I was wrong!

 

Was it a question of, what's now being called, 'fan-service'?
It's the term used to describe something that mostly appeals to those who already know and love the subject, as opposed to someone who was only mildly interested, and the project is made in the hopes of attracting others...

 

I'd say the film is essential watching for fans, but that doesn't say much, because fans will see everything they can (I've got old foreign Zappa documentaries transferred from VHS to DVD around here), and it does have some very good stuff for fans. Unfortunately I don't think the film works for newcomers, despite the relatively rave media reviews it is getting. Mainly because it feels like the music itself gets very short attention - no musical clip seems to last more than a few seconds - and a lot of other stuff is mentioned vaguely or presented without any context. There's also that frantic 8mm editing style (that FZ loved) featured so often that makes the film a challenge for newcomers - trying to understand what's being talked about while being presented with long barrages of bizarre images in quick succession that are unexplained. As a huge fan myself, I had a lot more issues with it, so I'm not sure who it was meant to please.

 

This video is where a lot of the Zappa stuff happened and what it looks like today.

 

Here's 'some-guy-on-the-internet''s review:

 

I'm not really into Frank's music as much as I am into Frank as a person. This documentary gave me the best of both worlds.

To me, musically, Frank was like weather. If you don't like it now, just wait a while, something will come along that will allow you enjoy the world just a little bit better. That was one of Frank's many gifts, all wrapped up in one brain.

If you're in any way about freedom - and I mean true freedom, and not the sort that our governments tell us we have - that was Frank's calling card. You can put Frank in with George Carlin and Mark Twain: some of the greatest real-world messangers, who just so happen to be American - for only an American can send a warning from within, having the insider knowledge that cuts through the bull ****.

That was Frank's lesson to me. And you can't censor that.

 

I look forward to seeing this. I recently picked up a very cheap collection of Zappa docs and am working my way through it. So far I've watched the one about the Freak Out list of influences and the history of Straight/Bizarre label and, while a little dry and academic at times, both were hugely informative. The Beefheart stuff, in particular, was great with both John French and Bill Hackleroad holding forth at length about what it was like to work with dear old Don. There really are quite a few docs out there by and about Zappa and, in a way, it forms just as eclectic a picture as the records do.

 

The Treasure in Frank Zappa’s Secret Subterranean Vault

“I was scared of her before I ever walked into her house,” Winter said. But they met, they vibed, and Winter pitched. He didn’t want to make a film about Zappa the rock god, whose epic shirtless guitar solos are readily available on YouTube. He was interested in Zappa as a culture warrior in the Lenny Bruce/Richard Pryor tradition—the icon photographed naked on a toilet in London’s Royal Garden Hotel in 1967, the hero of free expression who was fêted in the Czech Republic after the Velvet Revolution. The film’s main focus, Winter told Gail, would be Zappa the avant-garde composer, whose little-known orchestral music is sometimes ranked among works by Charles Ives, Edgard Varèse, and other seminal twentieth-century artists.

“That’s how Alex got the movie,” Ahmet said. “That was the thing Gail cared about.”

 

The soundtrack's up on YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kRzn3WLCIigOZrKiaW7jQy6HqJSxmPTo8

 

I just watched this last night. I can't say that I had a powerful reaction to it. I wish I could! The doc had a lot of good/new stuff in it, but in the end I don't feel any closer to Frank than before. I have always known that he was acerbic, and that comes through loud and clear. I guess that I was hoping to discover a more human side of him. I was hoping for more from Steve Vai, as well. His recollections here seem paled by the stuff he says on YouTube. (That being said, I am now hopelessly in love with Ruth Underwood...!)

 

Perhaps, a doc strictly on Ruth is in order!

 

Now there's an idea! Yes please!

 

I’ve actually thought of certain Zappa alumni there could be a documentary on. Ones I thought of are...

• George Duke: VIP in Zappa’s band, successful jazz and funk solo artist, fusion pioneer, collaborator of Jean-Luc Ponty, the Adderley Brothers, Stanley Clarke, Miles Davis, and Michael Jackson among others, not to mention producing the likes of Rufus and Chaka Khan, A Taste of Honey, The Brecker Brothers, Larry Graham, and Deneice Williams [“Let’s Hear It For The Boys” anyone?] as well as serving as music director at the Nelson Mandela concert at Wembley in 1988).
• Jean-Luc Ponty: pioneer of electric violin and jazz fusion, a member of a family of French classical musicians who rebelled and went jazz, rising star in France and Europe’s jazz scene before being brought by Zappa over to the Stares. A successful solo artist in addition to playing with Mahavishnu Orchestra, Zappa’s Mothers Of Invention, Return To Forever, Elton John, Billy Cobham, Jon Anderson, Lalo Schifrin in addition to constantly following his muse and pushing himself creatively.
• The Fowlers- their father Dr. William L Fowler being a leading figure in music education, one of the first to dedicate studies specifically to jazz and reinventing music education in the process. Oh, and leading a battalion marching band while serving in WWII. And of course, having five sons that become extremely accomplished musicians in their own right-three becoming key contributors to some of Frank Zappa’s most celebrated work, any one of the brothers having collaborated with the likes of Ray Charles, the aforementioned Jean-Luc Ponty and George Duke, Captain Beefheart, Eric Clapton, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Oingo Boingo, Woody Herman, and many more. Adding to that is Bruce and Walt’s work in Hollywood as top orchestrators, working on some of the biggest films of the past thirty or so years (Jurassic Park, Shrek, the Dark Knight trilogy, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Inception, Despicable Me, several of Pixar’s films, Black Hawk Down, Men In Black, you name it).
• Ian Underwood: Zappa’s #1 guy for many years, almost became a member of the Magic Band, has worked with the likes of Ponty, Quincy Jones, Herb Alpert, The Brothers Johnson, Dolly Parton, Barry Manilow, Barbara Streisand, and many more. One of the top synth programmers in LA, and has also worked on films such as Aliens, Titanic, Avatar, Blade Runner, Braveheart, Marathon Man, and Field Of Dreams among other films in addition to working on “We Are The World”. Yes, really.
• Van Dyke Parks: Cult artist, major figure in baroque pop and alternative music, Brian Wilson’s writing partner for the (in)famously unfinished SMiLE, a Mother for five seconds, has collaborated with the likes of The Byrds, Judy Collins, Mighty Sparrow, Tim Buckley, Little Feat, Randy Newman, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Major advocate for world music and particularly Afro-Caribbean music, head of Warner Bros’s audio/visual department which helped pioneer music videos, and has worked on films such as The Jungle Book, Follow That Bird, The Brave Little Toaster, Private Parts, and Heathers.
• Don Preston/Dom DeWilde (With The Vial Foamy Liquids): Pioneer in synthesizers and electronics, Played in the military band during the Korean War, was a key member of the Mothers Of Invention, has also played with people such at Nat King Cole, Herbie Mann, Elvin Jones, The Residents, and Robby Krueger, served as Meredith Monk’s music director, and also contributed to the soundtrack for Apocalypse Now.
• Captain Beefheart: Need I say more?

 

Blu-Ray and DVD release is 4th March in the US

No details, nothing. Assume there are no extras or anything then. Anyway preorder away blind!

https://twitter.com/zappa/status/1357519887187415040

https://twitter.com/Winter/status/1357447336121753600

 

Per a comment on Blu-ray.com,
"Alex was interviewed on the Zappacast and said there would be some amazing bonus features on the BluRay too."
Zappa Blu-ray

Presuming this is the Zappacast in particular:
Zappacast Episode #47: Directly From Alex Winter's Heart To You

 

At the moment it seems beyond them to actually detail these in the press release, other than PREORDER NOW!

 

Available to watch in the UK now streaming - for £10 ($14) - because we don't understand the concept of renting it via streaming, only buying it outright

Zappa

 

I watched this last night, it was pretty good and the roughly 2 hours flew by. Lots of old footage to be seen.......

 

Is there a UK release date for BD/DVD?

 

That is probably beyond them right now. At the moment it is available to "own" on a streaming platform that'll probably shut down in a few years.

 

May have to import the US BD then. Pricey.