It's a fascinating movie. Very weird. Incredibly cool. Occasionally hilarious. And the soundtrack is superlative. It's also very nasty and cynical and really doesn't have any soul to it - I've seen it hundreds of times but it's never meaningfully resonated with me in any way outside of the music and a few choice quotes. 4/5
Head is a solid 5 for me but it took me a while to get there. Now I think it's one of the best films of the '60's.
From the very start, one thing was certain: Head would not be a long-form version of The Monkees. This feature film barely acknowledges the TV universe where four impoverished musicians once auditioned for local gigs and private parties in order to pay the rent. These big-time Monkees live in a luxurious version of their beachfront pad, from which they venture forth to perform in a huge arena full of screaming girls. But all is not well. The TV-show Monkees may have been down on their luck, but they were carefree and content and capable of meeting every challenge and defeating every foe in thirty minutes or less—with plenty of time left over for a second song or an after-show interview. They wielded their unique brand of magic to tame the capricious universe to their own whims, secure in the knowledge that no force on earth or in “cuckoo” could separate them. The Monkees of Head don’t use magic, can’t control anything, and the brotherly ties that once bound them together have frayed to brittle threads. They bicker, snap and quarrel as the plot drives them mercilessly through their fickle un-reality, from scene to scene, from soundstage to back lot to commissary, from daydream to nightmare and again and again and again into a mysterious black box. The film is structured in a circle, with the opening scene and closing scene neatly doubling one another—only not quite, because the closing scene is weighed down with context, bearing the emotional wreckage of all that has passed. Between the first plunge and the last, the story spills out in a series of sloppy loops; we return again and again to places and plots we have seen before. The Monkees are effectively helpless, buffeted from scene to scene by the winds of fate and capricious culture. They are actors in somebody else’s production, characters in somebody else’s script, mere images on a screen being watched—and often ignored—by an indifferent public. They retain the power to break the fourth wall, but there’s no adoring audience behind the fourth wall. There’s just a camera crew and a capricious director with a schedule to meet. Nobody listens, nobody helps, nobody cares. Head is occasionally beautiful, intermittently funny, sporadically inspirational, and deeply, deeply disturbing. It is not fit for children, nor is it particularly suitable for the innocent of heart. It is cynical and sardonic and bleak. Its best features are its musical interludes, seven unique and distinct visual presentations that embrace and celebrate the wildly disparate musical styles as only The Monkees could do. I have to admit, there comes a time during the lush, vivid beauty of As We Go Along that I am sorely tempted to turn off the TV and follow Carole King’s and Toni Stern’s excellent advice: Open your eyes, get up off your chair, There's so much to do in the sunlight… Cultural Clarification Mylar (BoPET) was invented in the ’50’s, but wasn’t used for party balloons until the ’70’s. It may seem a little silly to our eyes for Mike to be menaced by shiny, silver, pillow-shaped balloons, but they would have been a strange sight indeed in 1968. The surreal art installation “Back Seat Dodge ’38” by Edward Kienholz makes a brief appearance at Mike’s birthday party. This voyeuristic sculpture depicts a young couple—the man is sculpted from chicken wire—using the back seat of a car for the sort of thing that the back seat of a car wasn’t really designed for. Grading: A manufactured image, with no philosophies. B+ The big Victor holds the remote control. C Give me a W! Give me an A! Give me an R! RAW Never mind the metaphor, this movie makes no sense. A- Just watch the music videos and listen to the band. A+ Overall grade: 4 out if 5
Speaking of the HEAD film: Have any of you showed it to anyone you know that had either A) Just a very minor/passing interest in The Monkees, or B) Someone who had no opinion on them, or no interest in them at all? If so, what was their reaction? I have an ex-GF who I wanted to show the film to, since she was into odd films and such, but we stopped seeing each other before I ever got around to showing her the film. I do have a feeling she really would have dug it though...
Hopefully people can wait 12 hours longer before we will move onto 33 1/3. I really need to watch Head again before I post any thoughts...
I like Head more than most of the TV episodes, but I can't say that I can consider it to be an absolute classic. I think it relies a little too much on the audience being invested in the TV show and, as I'm not a huge fan of the TV show, it doesn't speak to me as much as it does to some other people. There are some great sections and great musical interludes, though. 3/5.
Today we will discuss 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee: Again, I will post my thoughts when I have more time.
33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee -- 2/5 What a mess. As an hour of television, it's a complete swing and miss. Its real appeal lies in it being a unique opportunity to see the four of them together one last time in the original Monkees run, to see and hear some songs that exist ONLY in this special, and to see them playing "Listen To The Band" together, really live. Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis turn in brief, insignificant appearances -- while the Moon Express are given about five minutes of airtime to writhe around in creepy spandex body suits for reasons that still make no sense 52 years later. It's weird, it's terribly executed, and if it hadn't been such a holy grail thing (which I never thought I would ever see) for a number of years in the '80s, I would probably rate this lower. I still get a charge out of watching it because it was elusive for so long -- but when I do see it, I am always baffled by how utterly poor it is. The script seems like it was thrown together at the last second, the sound is awful (there are lines of dialogue that are completely unintelligible as they're drowned out by sound effects), and there are so many moments where I'm left scratching my head, wondering how and why they were even shot. It's a disaster of mammoth proportions, but I feel like I have to give it a '2' for a few good songs and for the sheer guts it took to pull off that "Listen To The Band" performance. If I was Micky Dolenz, I don't think I would feel comfortable playing the drums in front of Buddy Miles.
33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee - I remember reading in TV Guide that the Monkees were signed to do three television specials for NBC and I was looking forward to seeing the first one. Peter Tork had quit the Monkees and seeing him with the group one more time was a pretty big deal. I remember being pretty confused by the special. It was great seeing all four Monkees one more time, but I kept wondering who Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll were. The musical performances I thought were all good, I was impressed by the pianos stacked on top of each other, I later learned that the gentleman on those pianos were Rock & Roll Royalty: Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino. I really enjoyed the Monkees solo segments and the 50’s Rock & Roll spectacular before the ‘Listen To The Band’ freak out at the end. It was all pretty weird, in keeping with what was going on with Rock culture of that time. I was hoping that there would be more specials by the Monkees, but I learned later because this first one performed so poorly that the plans for the follow up specials were canceled. Many years later I got to see the special again at the Museum of Television & Radio in New York City with my friend Jerry Beck. It was just as weird seeing it again as it was the first time, but this time I had learned more about the background of it, knowing that it was pretty much continuing the deconstruction scenario done much better in the movie Head. While the special is extremely confusing and chaotic, what helps save it are the musical performances by the Monkees and their classic 50’s Rock guest stars, which also includes Buddy Miles, and a quick blink and you’ll miss him cameo by Rip Taylor, he’s the one holding the “He’s Really Playing This” sign over Nez during LTTB. It’s too bad that Jack Goode didn’t abandoned the storyline and just do a big Music special just featuring The Monkess and their guests. Disappointing in execution, worth watching for the musical performances. 3/5.
33 1/3 is a unique type of program. What made it even more unique is I was able to listen to the entire show, which I did hundreds and hundreds of times, without ever seeing the video side. In fact, the same can be said for The Point. That was accomplished by purchasing cassette tapes, probably from the back of Goldmine magazine guessing late 80's or early 90's. It actually may be more enjoyable just to listen to the whole thing without watching. I know it is for me. The Monkees solo spots were good. I think Micky's bluesy I'm A Believer is great and Naked Persimmon is fantastic. I really like Peter at the clavinet. Like Fred, I wondered who Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll were. I wondered why they were chosen for this project. It was especially weird to me since by the time I bought the tape I had been listening to music for quite a while and I was into the late 60's stuff but had never heard of them. I do like Julie Driscoll's version of several songs now. I like the way they transition to the closer, Listen to the Band and I like the fact the Monkees are playing. For those reasons I will give this special a 3. If you take only the cool parts it could be a 4.
If they had gone into the creation of Head determined to not make a 90-minute version of the television show, for 33 and 1/3 Revolutions per Monkee they must have been doubly determined to leave the show behind in the dust. This not-so-special is stripped of every last element that made The Monkees lovable and loved: its premise, its characters, its clever dialogue and its loopy, self-deprecating humor. The special has all the abstract symbolism of Head, but none of the slick production values. Weighed down by the ponderousness of its pretensions, 33 and 1/3 trudges and slogs and groans its way to make two salient points: 1. Rock and roll music has an illustrious history, and 2. The Monkees ain’t it. There’s a storyline, of sorts, but it’s performed almost entirely by guest stars Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll, two Brits not particularly known for their acting. While they do add a distinctive musical flavor to the proceedings, they also do a horrendous amount of scenery-chewing. (One wonders how much better the special might have been if these major roles had been cast for actors rather than musicians.) Meanwhile, the Monkees are called upon to sing—and even play just a little bit—but never to act. Here, lovingly transcribed, are the sum total of lines spoken in 33 and 1/3 by the four young actors whose special this supposedly was: Micky: I am Micky Dolenz! No, I am— I am Monkee number one. Peter: I am Peter Tork! No, I— I am Monkee number two. Mike: I am Michael Nesmith. No, I’m— I am Monkee number three. Davy: David Jones! No, I’m— I am Monkee number four. Micky: Hey, man. Dig that crazy chick! Peter: Hi, Mike. Note that the last line, Tork’s apparently spontaneous “Hi Mike,” can barely be heard. Note also that those are the only words that are spoken by one Monkee to another. The devolution of the fictional band is very nearly complete. NBC aired the special once—on a Sunday night, up against the Academy Awards. The other two NBC Monkees TV specials were never made. Grading Evolution. C Magic. C+ Monkee solos. B+ (Naked Persimmon pulled the average way up.) Monkee group performances. C- Brian Auger & Julie Driscoll. D+ Other musical guests. A for Awesome Overall grade: 1 out of 5
Tomorrow, when we discuss the last TV special in the Monkees' catalog, could we refer to it by the title given to it by Michael Nesmith, who wrote it? In the records of the US Copyright Office, it is registered as A Lizard Sunning Itself on a Rock.
33 1/3 - 2/5 Low 2. This is awful. I cannot really sit thru the whole thing. I like the 50s medley going on and most of the other music. The highlight is Listen to the Band at the end (before the freakout parts). The music itself pushes it to a 2. One reason this special is lousy is that there was a workers' strike, so the filming had to be moved to a different studio at the last minute, hence why some of it seems out of place.
I’ve come to appreciate it more over the years. I guess now I’m looking at it as a curiosity piece rather than than a form of entertainment. The best part is when they play as a band! What a concept. 2.5/5
When the Bluray set was released, I jearned that the aired version was telecast WAY out of sequence. Seeing the proper order restored helps a LITTLE but Auger and Driscoll still sink the ship. Mike's contributions are top notch as always and I can live with the other solo performances but the show itself? 2/5
"33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee"-Begrudgingly, it gets a 3/5 for *three of the four 'solo spots', the Rock 'n Roll medley, and 'Listen to the Band'. The rest, not so much. Micky sure doesn't seem too thrilled with it if you listen to his commentary. I never listened to Brian Auger's full commentary, which may tell how he and Julie Driscoll got involved. * I do not care for Davy's 'solo spot'.
I think I watched 33 1/3 when we got to this stage on the first lap of this thread. I can't remember thinking "wow, I can't wait to watch that again!". The last 10-15 minutes seemed especially tedious. Being generous, there are probably a few musical bits in it which would elevate it to 2/5.
If there was an equivalent factor of the more cheesy aspects of the 33 & 1/3 special, I might say it would have been the 1980 Lynda Carter special.
33 1/3 ... 2/5 Best described above as "a mess" Only good thing from it is Nesmith's "Naked Persimmon". Wish a studio quality recording existed.
33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee Having not watched this for a bit, I was surprised at how weird, in a good way, the start is. This is definitely Head-style, not like the TV show. Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger absolutely camp it up, but in a different way from standard villains on the TV show. As well as adding their excellent musical skills to the mix. The R&B I'm a Believer is absolutely great, and shows that a self-cover doesn't have to be boring or repetitive. Micky absolutely aces this. A very hard solo Monkee act for Peter to follow, but Peter does things his own way and it would be an apples and oranges comparisons to compare them. I think having seen both series and Head has primed me for this show, and I'm grinning along to rock Nez versus country Nez on Naked Persimmon. Goldilocks Sometimes isn't so much my thing, but it shows Davy's personality. Speaking of Davy, his facial expressions during Wind Up Man crack me up. There are some great ideas here. E.g. four levels of keyboards would be one thing, but Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Brian Auger in a giant tower - who thought of these things? And who made it happen I really like the bizarre commentary by a crazed Charles Darwin. The Evolution Dance is very good indeed, and shows that if the Monkees had been able to create their variety show, it would have been far from run of the mill. I Go Ape is great fun, and then Come On Up is a great song and performance by their very well selected guest/host/erm, whatever. Micky's performance on At The Hop is a bit overdone and 'cute' for my tastes. But then the guest stars come in and that's so much better. Mike's good in his bit, but we needed to see him shake a tail feather. Davy is hilarious the way he moves as the greasy 50s doo-wop singer. My favourite bit is the slow build towards Listen to the Band. Davy singing, the Peter showing that yes they can play those instruments. Then Listen to the Band one of their best ever songs, just played by the four of them. I don't mind that there is no bass, when it's just The Monkees, it just works. It's as loose as heck, especially when all he guests come on, but it's a great song. And then we have the freak out. Apart from the brief interludes/links/introductions/whatever they are, this is very much focussed on the music. And, I think it works. An utter bl**dy shambles, but it works. But, even more than Head I wonder what the kids who liked the original show would think. People talk about it being surreal when Hendrix opened for The Monkees, but he would fit perfectly into this show. Zappa too. How is this 'The Beginning of The End'? Did they mean the This is really unrateable, but I thoroughly enjoyed my latest viewing of it. Hence: 4.7/5
Really glad a fan enjoyed this special. There could be a few more die-hard fans of it - - maybe. It just was a disappointment for me overall, despite most of the music being somewhat enjoyable.
Me and my girlfriend took some Frodis recently and watched the special with Micky's comments, and we giggled throughout it. Good clean fun
The more I watch it, the more I enjoy it. It's the subtle things that make me enjoy it. And, I like surrealism in moderation, and I detect it in 33 1/3. Davy's expressions often crack me up. It's a different humour from the TV series, but definitely humour.
33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee is 2/5 The first time I saw it, also at the Museum of Television in NYC, I was a teenager and was really thrilled by the musical performances, especially the I’m A Believer duet, and the Listen to the Band jam. The next time I saw it was years later on VHS when Rhino put it out as a single thing separately from their tv box set. That’s when I realized what a mess it was and that the Monkees were hardly actually in it and had basically no dialogue. It’s a big let down and shows how dysfunctional they were at the time. For a group that had been fighting for more creative control in their work, they just seemed to have gone along with Jack Goode on this without much input. Maybe it’s because of what was going on in their personal lives and that Peter was on the verge of leaving that they didn’t collectively care.
