Baby Snakes

Baby Snakes is a concert film with material by Frank Zappa's Halloween concert at New York City's Palladium Theater, backstage Alber estates of the crew and stop-motion clay animation by Bruce Bickford in 1977.

Content

Baby Snakes shows live footage of the Halloween concert of 1977, rearranged partly improvised, as well as rehearsals for upcoming shows, interspersed with backstage scenes of gadgets and musicians and for this movie created animation scenes. Between tracks, Zappa philosophizes about lyrics or refers the audience to the avant-garde performance with a.

Zappa himself about the film: ". Deviation Without, progress is not possible Normal People Should See Baby Snakes So They can find out what they've been missing. "

Marketing

Originally there were problems finding a distributor for the film. Frank Zappa tried unsuccessfully to United Artists, which is also his film had released 200 Motels, uninterested, Other studios followed the example of UA. They feared that Zappa's cinematic style had lost in the late '70s to appeal. European distributors persuaded Zappa to cut the film to 90 minutes. However, no rental could be found. Even after the sequences of Bruce Bickford had won a prize at a French Animation Film Festival, the situation did not change.

Finally, Zappa drove the film about his production company, InterContinental absurdities. The film was 24 hours in Victoria Theatre in New York City.

In its original version, the film was sold directly to VHS via mail order until the mid- 90s. The 90 minute version was also, but only briefly expelled. After the VHS versions were sold, was published in 2003 in Eagle Vision United States, the film on DVD.

The soundtrack for the film released in 1983 under the title Baby Snakes.

DVD Tracks

Reception

While Frank Zappa situates his film in the usual way, are the ghosts in criticism, depending on the affiliation " zappa hydrophilic " or to " zappaphoben " camp.

" 'Baby Snakes' is a movie about people who do stuff that is NOT NORMAL. ' "

" 'Baby Snakes' illustrates namely in a convincing manner the commandments of Zappa's " conceptual continuity ", as there would be " social commentary, audience participation, eclectic orchestration and spontaneous theatrics ". Making the socially critical comments in this case Zappa's Warner Music label in a very unfriendly manner. It takes the 'audience ' in part, by holding up "fuck warner " signs, may also join in singing the audience to dance and if it is female, kiss Zappa. "

" 'Baby Snakes' is a misshapen, inexcusably long concert film by, about and with Frank Zappa, whose special blend of avant-garde arrogance and boastful gloating not much helps that the time goes by. "

1979 in film Film score Peter Wolf (producer) Baby Snakes (soundtrack) Integrated Authority File
95698
de