I mean, they were absolutely huge in their day and remain so. They got and get plenty of recognition. Doesn’t matter if they weren’t “cool” at the time.
I wouldn’t hesitate to call this the best movie ever. It’s one of those movies that you have to replay scenes to figure out the meaning/ what’s going on and it leaves you thinking about it long after it’s over
I agree, I saw it at the big theater, and have watched it numerous times since. This was a huge achievement for The Monkees, I just wish they had treated it that way.
I could not believe how good it is , on my first viewing i was floored . Watched it for the fourth time last night and i could watch it again tonight . its THAT good , and it certainly seems to be one of if not THE best psychedelic rock movie ever made .
.....a FANTASTIC analysis, Alex! What's MOST remarkable - and troubling - about 'HEAD', is that even a half-century-plus later, its themes are STILL relevant, of MORE vital concern than EVER.....
I used to own a 16mm print of "Head". The renting company gave it away since they had no luck renting it out. I remember looking through the catalog they had & along with "Track Of The Moon Beast" (with all of Rick Bakers gore scenes intact), I asked how much do you want for "Head" & they looked at me like I was crazy. They said give us $350 for Moonbeast & we'll thrown in "Head" as a bonus. It was a gorgeous print. I would show it at parties & at school.
Thanks for the great review. It's about time this film got some recognition. As a kid, I didn't understand it as a social and political statement. I just loved the album soundtrack and loved seeing the Monkees as a movie. I can remember all the hub-bub about the film, prior to it's release. I was shocked and delighted when seeing it a number of years later (I was too young to see it in the theater), but I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I also thought immediately that the original music from the film was some of the group's best works, since it was their own and not written by others. They truly showed us that they were fully talented artists and not just a packaged band, which is what they wanted from the start. It's too bad it came too late for them.
@jamiebellwolf , there was no point. It's not a film with a specific message, but rather a collage of the confusing time of the 1960s; the lack of solid bearings, a war that seemed to have no purpose or end, yet was killing and maiming tens of thousands of young men, the never-ending onslaught of corporate advertising, and a government that casually lies to its citizens, who try to escape but can't. Which is why it begins and ends with an attempted suicide. And today, it's more relevant than ever...
A very smart and understanding review. I was older than the average "fan", and found myself interested in their peculiar situation as individuals seeking to become "genuine" in a culture that wasn't interested in giving them a chance. (Also liked their own music, NOT the hits, but rather things like Writing Wrongs, Randy Scouse Git, Going Down, Auntie's Municipal Court, A Girl Named St. Matthew, etc., especially, those that were the opposite of what most of their fans were into. Before I'd seen HEAD I imagined a film in which they kill themselves and fall into all kinds of surreal and off-the-wall craziness...and that's exactly the movie that I saw once I got a chance to see it, about 3 years after it came out. I totally "got it" in terms of what they wre trying to do, and was not at all surprised by it. It just seemed the natural development of their position in and reflections on the world at the time.
Having grown up with the Monkees TV show (when it was in reruns on Nickelodeon), I was initially somewhat disappointed to discover that the movie was so different from what I'd grown to expect from this group, but Head is one of those films that I've grown to appreciate way more with repeat viewings.
Head is probably my favorite movie, and the cornerstone of my being a Monkees fan. Excellent soundtrack, far out movie … I wish the TV series was more like the film.
If the Monkees had had it their way, I believe it would have been. However, they were held back by the constraints of that time, so they were forced to be more creative in the way they made their statements on TV. They either had to be extremely sneaky and slip things past the censors or water down the message so that it appeared to be nothing more than fluff. At least with some of their end-of-episode interviews, we got to see glimpses of what might have been had the Monkees been given more freedom.
Very nice synopsis of one of the most unique (and out of place) movies of all time. Its problem is that it was ten years ahead of its time, and the producers had no idea how to market it. Roger Ebert hated on it in his review (then bizarrely went on to hate on the Monkees themselves), demonstrating that he completely missed the point of it. Which, given Ebert's pompousness and overblown perception of his own intelligence, basically proved the relevance of this film and what it was lampooning. The film was deeply cynical yet hopeful at the same time, as it attempted to escape its confines; in other words, a perfect representation of the 1960s....
This blew my mind as a kid! I had been a fan of the show, too, but wasn't prepared for this fantastic visual assult! I was both bewildered & delighted when I first stumbled upon it
I first saw this as a nine-year-old in Trinidad and Tobago wayyy back in 1980. I had no idea who the Monkees were (or what the movie was about) but I sure was fascinated by it. Years later I saw it again and only after repeated viewings, did it start making sense. One of the criminally underrated films of the late 1960s.
My favorite scenes are the lead up to the birthday party, and Mike and Micky taking bets on whether or not the girl will jump off the roof and the aftermath of that. The birthday party was just wildly funny to me, because it's such a wonderfully executed hard right turn out of nowhere. The scene with Mike and Micky and the girl follows the same rhythm as the show, just 5X darker
I heard the idea behind Victor Mature as the puppet master and not making his presents known till twords the end of the film was that he was supposed to represent the close eye Don Kirshner had on the groups music
I found this movie to be therapeutic it helped me put into perspective that the stresses we ignore can turn into fear, and the best way to get out of a daymare is to focus on solving ignored problems that caused it.
The big black box was also somewhat taken from reality, whenever one of them wasn't needed filming an episode of the show they had to report to this room where they could do whatever they wanted, but had to report to set when their call light blinked, apparently this room was painted black for whatever reason.
It wears me out. It's the longest music video ever. I first saw it around 1984 when The Monkeys were touring and having a big resurgence in the USA It's brilliant and it holds up today but it's a work out for me since it's such an assault of the senses. I much prefer the tv episodes when I want to see them; that were just cute and fun but this really has its place for sure. Every fan or even just every music fan should see this. I've seen it maybe 4 times and can probably recite most of it because it's hard to forget. You're review was wonderful and I liked you're naming all the great cameos. 🎉
Their most recent album sold more than a million, so I wouldn't say they had fallen out of favor. It was the movie in which they fell out of favor, even though it is a great flick
It's one of my favorite Mike Nesmith songs too, and the live version in "Head" is the best version they recorded. I wish they had put the live version on the soundtrack.
This review is outstanding! This is a totally underrated movie. I've watched it more than a few times (the last time, the night Peter Tork died) and I still hadn't put some of the pieces together the way you did. I've always regarded this movie as the ultimate time capsule.
It is so nice to see someone give the Monkees the respect they deserve! Someone who actually gets it, who appreciates what this movie and the Monkees themselves were about. Love this!
Thank you for posting this great review! You underscored the poignant moments of the film where the filmmakers and the band were attempting to make a statement and/or poke some fun at themselves - while also highlighting the great music throughout! Nice job, here! Cheers!
It's a fun movie and the format is excellent for the Monkees because what could it be? ... Help? ... no way, they wouldn't be able to get the support. Instead they pulled a Zappa and did a lumpy gravy. The Daddy's Song scene is clever.
You have to understand how they felt about their careers and how they felt about the time they were in to get the movie. I think us who have done some digging on the guys personally really understand it
The part where they show the Vietnamese Prisoner getting executed and cutting to the young girls screaming for the Monkees as they take the stage is extremely powerful
You really should. And don't start with their hits, check out their deep cuts. It's amazing how each member had such a different sound and that alone makes their albums so unique
Very good review. I think the movie still holds up after all these years. "Tragedy of your times my young friends, is that you may get exactly what you want". Brilliant line.
This was an outstanding lot of fun with a lot of subversive humor, poking everyone and everything. People ---usually younger people at the time---just thought this was soooo weird, confusing etc,, but it's actually very "tame", structurally, compared to what was going on in film, culture etc at the time. But that was its strength: It still had an overall plan, a symmetry and playfulness that gave it a leg-up over some of the more outrageous, but unappealingly pretentious, competing "trippy" films being made at the time . It was good cinema. (Thanks for pointing out Timothy Carey!) Good smart review.
When I first watched the movie Head it was really hard to understand. I felt a little dizzy. It was weird. Then I went to iTunes and bought some of the songs from the movie. Daddy's Song was my favorite scene in the film. I know all the words to Daddy's song. I let a friend of mine listen to Circle Sky, she couldn't believe it was the Monkees.
@@ogam5 I absolutely agree! I love pretty much all of Papa Nez's work but "Circle Sky" is a particular favorite of mine too. The live version in "Head" is the best.
Alex, many strong observations you made here. I agree that the film holds up to / requires repeated viewings. I first saw it during the brief theatrical run in Fall 1968, then on TV, VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray and in 2018 at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood with Michael and Micky in attendance along with Andrew Sandoval. My own capsule review is that the film makes me look inward and outward at the same time. The critiques of self and civilization resonate as strongly in 2021 as in 1968. The film's entertainment value and some of the best music created by the Monkees and collaborators has not aged. I came to appreciate just this year the key musical roles played by members of the Elektra recording group Clear Light, in the making of "Porpoise Song". It seems many people agree that record was a high point in the careers of Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Jack Nitzsche, and the Monkees' circle of musicians. . Thanks for your review!
Good review! Nice to see this get some positive exposure and good facts applied. The movie is loaded with so many metaphors, with the ending circling back to the start to indicate the group was tired of the same thing over and over again but couldn't be allowed to fly. A shame as later season 2 had some nifty ideas starting with musicians and others coming in... The Porpoise Song becomes different if "Porpoise" is pronounced as "Purpose". Most of the songs definitely are not cutesie clean kitsch. Definitely not for the kids, which was intentional as the group didn't want to do the format anymore and their ideas for a 3rd season didn't go through. Annette Funicello was a Mousketeer... 0:40 the remastering for blu-ray was otherwise fantastic, but the original dvd release didn't have that teal outline around the cabinet. The film used may be the only interpositive left, anyhow.
I have never had any desire years after its release (as an adult) to see the Monkees movie, "Head". I'm so glad however for your review of it. Great! Thank you! Yesterday I saw Rafelson's interview about it (on RU-vid) which I appreciate. Bookends to the film - it's creation, it's reception, it's value then and now. I recall decades later the band members alluding to the possibility of making a Monkees film, I suspect truer to the characters portrayed (and the actors themselves.) What didn't happen, can never happen now. What might have been - how cool to see if the Monkees made it as a band (knowing they did), if they had matured like the rest of us, with a nod to the humor, same sense of fun.
Head was inspired by pot and written on LSD. Jack Nicholson and the guys went to Ojai, CA to brainstorm movie ideas while smoking tons of marijuana. Jack dropped acid and listened to the tapes they made during that Session and the end result is HEAD. I just watched it last night while on mushrooms and it was pretty good in my opinion. It is delightfully surreal with zero plot and I loved it. I won't disagree that it was strange, but it was more like an art film rather than a typical motion picture.
I just found this movie out yesterday from one my friends. I'm extremely surprised I've never heard of this movie as a fan of them. It's just a strange film and that's what makes it. This is even more strange than Yellow Submarine.
I always felt that if they had stuck a laugh track on it, people would have been less dismayed. For myself, I find I liked it better after a couple of viewings.
That "Viet Cong spy" was actually a Viet Cong sniper who frequently murdered South Vietnamese police officers and their entire families. During one of these attacks, one 9-year-old boy survived. He's now a U.S. General. There was another clip of news footage with Ronald Reagan. I'm not sure what it was about, but I think he was talking about the Siege of the U.S.S. Pueblo.
The Big Victor was their main record company, RCA Victor. The "Dandruff?" sequence refers to them getting in the hair of RCA Victor and how they (Victor) eventually came to control them. The black box represents the room they went to cool off and relax between scenes during the shooting of the t.v. show and the room where they wrote the movie ideas. In one scene late in the movie you see Mickey in the box talking about them being inside the box. Otherwise, you're right: there's too much to talk about for an 8;00 video and you DO need to watch it several times to get it all! It's like "The Prisoner": the more you watch it, the more you understand what each bit is about. I've seen it at least 20 times and I'm still finding new things about it I never noticed before!
I'm rewatching (first time as a kid in the 80s) the Monkees. I'm halfway through series 1. I really want to watch this movie but don't want to ruin the monkee magic right now. Shall I wait till the end of my feel good binge?
Man... this movie is amazing. It's art. But people don't get it. In this time, musicians were trying to make a statement for the first time. They wanted to do their own thing instead of what they were told. A bunch of bands did the same with movies. Beatles, Frank Zappa, Beach Boys, The Who, etc. It wasn't for kids. It was a way for them to say we're not what we have to sing about.
I thk Michael & Peter esp wanted to leave a relevant msg & pass on some type of legacy for coming generations. I find it to be some of their bst work imho. A stone trip though & great way to make a departure. Should have left the title changes though, it is more representative, plus head sounds like a porno, jst sayin' lol, great presentation, peace!
This movie and Hey Hey it's the Monkees, the band are poking fun at their tv image. Hey Hey it's the Monkees does it in a harmless spoof fashion. Where as Head they really go for the throat to destroy the way the world saw them hence why hard core fans were turned off by this movie.
I'm not going to lie this film was definitely far from what the TV show and is definitely a scatter ball now I did find it enjoyable but this movie left me really confused like I figured who thought of the ideas of this film were high off their hindend but I did like some of the late 60s cultural things that was in the movie it made it feel like you were in 1968 now what really struck me was the monkees are mostly supposed surrounded by children friendly stuff now don't get me wrong I thought this film was intreasting seeing them kind of out of the child box but it sometimes just didn't feel like the monkees it was weird I got mix feelings for this movie. Now I liked because of the music the hippy rock culture to it but it seemed just kind of out of ordinary to see the monkees kind of take a turn of going out being mostly for a more mature audience in that time and the fact this movie was definitely a slap stick many different scenarios that I didn't really get behind which like I said I figured these guys were probably high making this film so it was just mostly for the psychedelic feel and I guess the reality behind the monkees I think
escaping from the false world they are trapped in that's been created by TV broadcasting so they can return to a life of real meaning, seems OK to me, imagine never being able to escape, the effect that would have on any individual, remember all the mind-altering drugs are taken willingly in the film, imagine being force fed them without you knowing about it, interactive TV on LSD, WOW . . . heavy man.
