Zappa

About as close as you can get to capturing the man, the legend Frank Zappa as is possible in a filmic structure

Making a film about an unclassifiable genius with a gargantuan catalogue of work and numerous other interests surely is no easy feat. "Zappa" does a fairly good job at presenting highlights of Frank Zappa's life and career and imparting some nuggets of his philosophy, and, perhaps most importantly, is boosted considerably by the use of precious archive footage from the Zappa Vault, including self-referential narrations by the man himself. A very good doc for the initiated and uninitiated alike.

I loved Zappa and saw him perform several times. This was a very interesting documentary and it was nice to hear interviews with past band members, family, friends and colleagues.

This documentary serves as an interesting overview of a highly respected and iconic American musical original. Frank Zappa was too popular a performer to be a cult figure, but his music, and the man himself, were too difficult and non- conforming to allow him to ever achieve a mass audience. That said, he offered thrilling peaks of musical beauty and incredible guitar skills as well some inconsistent and sometimes puerile and juvenile original material. Alas, in covering the highlights of Zappas busy musical career and apparently satisfying family life, the movie gives virtually no examples of his extraordinary and often spellbinding guitar playing, beyond a few very brief video snippets and the closing credits soundtrack. The man's playing was thrilling, masterful and highly original, but you'd never know it from this movie. Still, an overdue introduction for new audiences to a worthy musical and cultural original with far more substance and lasting value than most of his more far more monetarily successful rock music peers. I do wish he'd had 1/20th the popular recognition of such empty calorie acts such as the Eagles. But then that's hardly what Frank Zappa was aiming for.

Documentary chronicling the early life and career of musician Frank Zappa, who's distinct sound and creativity was unlike anything anyone was doing. Fascinating footage combined with archival interviews and recent interviews with former band members as well as his wife Gail, paint a compelling picture of the man and composer, much of whiting knew nothing about. Really great film directed by Alex Winter.

Authorized biographical documentary profits from getting access to the Zappa vaults with lots of previously unseen footage; furthermore, it is intelligently made, presents a good overview over Zappa's music and art, and still avoids adulation.

Although I am might not be the biggest Zappa lover out there, I did enjoy this journy in the man's life and mind.

nice back stories for Frank in recognition of his take on art. Out there, sure. But, damn, was he unique. Dedicated. Passionate. Yeah, good shit.

I'm a sucker for documentaries about artists, particularly musicians. Learning about the creative process & execution will always be fascinating to me as a percussionist who has an understanding of the struggles and technical execution necessary for truly great artists capable of expression themselves. I wouldn't necessarily call myself a Frank Zappa fan, but his unique voice and exceptional talent, coupled with high intelligence and courage to do and say whatever he wanted, is one that I've long admired, even when I didn't necessarily "get" what he was trying to say. I suspect director Alex Winter is in the same boat, as he's curated a wonderful portrait of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century in a way that seems to truly revere the artist without fawning over him in a fan-boy way. Winter doesn't seem interested in over-explaining Zappa's muse or creative process, for the most part; nor does Winter dig deep for controversy or family & band dramas. ZAPPA is more an exploration of the artist, told primarily via archival interview footage: often coming straight from Frank Zappa's own mouth! Winter interviews Zappa's widow, Gail, as well as a handful of band members from various eras to paint the picture of what it was like being around Frank: how intensely demanding he was to work with in he striving for his bandmates to execute his ideas as perfectly as he could. I appreciate that Winter is honest with his portrayal of Frank, with talk about how Frank was not around much when his kids were growing up. Zappa always came across in interviews as honest (down to his bluntness of fooling around with groupies on tour, getting VD, having it treated and moving on), and Winter affords Frank the same honesty here. Musicians that recorded and/or toured with Zappa's Mothers of Invention band are some of the legit best in the business; here they sometimes talk about how they sometimes couldn't keep up with Frank's ideas. As a musician who admires many of these luminaries of the industry, some of them boarding on adoration (drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, who recorded & toured with Zappa in the late 70's-early/mid-80's, is absolutely a musical drumming god amongst the rest of us mere mortals) I'm almost taken aback hearing some of them (like Steve Vai) flat-out talk about how they were at times not good enough. While that kind of blows my mind, it's a testament to Zappa's ingenuity and talents as both a composer and guitar player. ZAPPA takes us through Frank's life in a way that feels like it hits all the highlights. Winter had access to Zappa's archival vault, something no other filmmaker had been able to do; that gives us TONS of awesome homemade films Zappa made: not just home movies, but other fictional endeavors that Frank worked on before his music career blossomed. Even as someone who's not in love with Zappa's body of work I found PLENTY to keep me both interested and in awe. ZAPPA does a great job of also showcasing Frank's diplomatic work (being a sort-of diplomat when Czech Republic tore away from communism into a free country) as well as he being a strong advocate for Freedom of Speech and Assembly as they pertain to music. Zappa advocated free speech and defended artists like Prince and Bruce Springsteen (amongst MANY others) when those artists kept quiet. Frank even bluntly explained it was their right to keep their mouths shut and not protest and he had zero problems fighting for their lyrics when they wouldn't. This is a really wonderful documentary; if you every wrote-off Zappa as just another weirdo-type, give this a watch and get to know the artist behind the "weird" music.

The biographical documentary "Zappa", directed by Alex Winter was totally worth the two plus hours. It includes previously unreleased footage from Zappa's personal vault, to which Winter was granted access by the Frank Zappa Family Trust. Essentially all I knew about Zappa were the unique names for two of his four kids. He's a fascinating man who isn't always shown in a favorable light which makes this refreshing considering some of the other bio-docs we've had to go through lately. Music lovers will be in their wheelhouse. Final Score: 8/10