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What a pile of s**te that was.  Today it seemed our college teacher couldn't be bothered to come up with any kind of real lesson so we had to watch Head, and take note of any apparent 'lifestyle values' presented in the film.  The film, for those of you fortunate enough to have not seen it, is the Monkees' attempt to rebrand themselves by making a contrived surreal psychadelic movie, which consists of a string of almost unconnected, completely plotless scenes starring those ever-so-funny Monkees.  Half the class walked out and went home after about an hour, and of those who stayed, noone noticed the film end.

Pete

the book "Easy Riders & Raging Bulls" goes into detail as to why this film ever even got made, ha ha.

(GASP!!!)

Foul demons!! Your filthy lies reveal your weak cheeseless minds.

Head is one of my all-time favorite movies. Period. I watch Head at least once a year every year and have done so since I was ten. It's freakin' brilliant. I've seen it a hundred times and I still see something new with each viewing.

And it IS a perfect time capsule.

There's no accounting for taste, which is why today's youth is generally broke.

Just for blaspheming against Head, I hope your teacher forces you to sit through 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee ("From the people who gave you 'Head."). Now THAT thing is garbage. Head isn't. Head is a way of life.

"And I'd like a glass of cold gravy with a hair in it, please."

I liked the Monkee's music, and I liked their show (once.  Long, Long ago.)  But I have no desire to see any of their movies.  I've lived my life Head less and I intend to keep it that way.

Or...something like that.
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Cullen, who ain't anyone's steppin' stone.

I liked the show, but the tiny bit I saw of the film was too weird for its own good.

I admit it freely: I am a Monkees fetishist. But my fetish began with Head. I caught Head during a Cinemax 60's film festival when I was in middle school before the 80's Monkees comeback, and it just blew my mind. Sure, it confused me, but yet it commanded my attention. I taped it in 1984 and that is still the copy I watch today. I credit that film for permanently changing my movie tastes for the better.

That was the first movie I ever saw that LOOKED like how I THINK when my mind wanders. In the way Dali's paintings resemble dreams.

I have even seen Head on a big scene.

And as MOVIE FANS, gosh people, Head is so RICH with film culture. It's not just about its own decade, but it's a summary of the language of film from the six decades that preceded it.

You don't need drugs if you've got Head in your life.

Head is a sacred film to me. You can say what you want. I'll just use it as an opportunity to express more undying love. Feel free to laugh at me. I know I'm right.

"Leisure: the inevitable byproduct of our civilization. A new world whose only preoccupation will be how to amuse itself. The tragedy of your times, my young friends, is that you may get exactly what you want."

And Jeepers -- how can y'all reject a flick with both ZAPPA and TIM CARREY!!!

"...and of those who stayed, noone noticed the film end."

Which is the real difference in "lifestyle values!" Back before video, such a movie was never meant to be actually watched--audiences were supposed to use it to get dates into a darkened theatre for some good old-fashioned snogging*. Yet, when weirdos (such as we) began paying attention, the unintentional art of the B-Movie was realized. Still like snoggin'* though, don't get me wrong.

Teacher's still a lazy arse, though. But that's common in college.

*(Oh crickey, he's usin' that foreigner slang again. Call the FBI!)

That's Head Heresy!! You are assuming, Squishy, Head is a "B" movie, and it is not. Unless "B" stands for "Beautiful" or "Brilliant." No, I've seen it as it was intended to be shown. It plays just fine in a theater. Neither snogging nor sn****ring required.

It bombed when it came out. It pretty much ruined whatever was left of The Monkees. It was designed to ruin The Monkees -- their suicide. The few theatres that ran it on opening weekend slapped a restricted rating on it, which kept out the kids. And the arthouse heads wouldn't see a film starring The Monkees. It played in most theatres for about three days then was yanked.

Head started to gain a cult following in the late seventies at art theatres and midnight showings; it also became a fave in Europe. And it's perfectly appropriate for a college classroom. Cripes, all I ever got stuck watching in college was "The Subject Was Roses." Head covers eastern philosophy (trendy in the late 60's), drug culture, homosexuality, the anti-war movement, materialism, commerical exploitation, sports gambling, blue collar living, 'rednecks,' suicide, groupies, hippies, anti-police sentiments derived from the war protests, high-end hollywood, "free love," lots of anti-establishment issues. Much much more.

It features (pardon my spelling) Victor Mature, Annette Funnicello, Sonny Liston, Ursula Andress, Jack Nickolson, Terri Garr, Toni Basil -- you get clips of Ronald Reagan (running in California), Bela Lugosi ... the list of names is endless.

"Nobody. Not nobody. Makes fun of no cripples." Or Head. Not without a rambling post from me.

Whew. I couldn't go to bed thinking the world hated Head.

Luckily, I discovered that my current favorite print zine wrote a perfect web review of the film that just echoes my feelings exactly.

http://members.aol.com/shockcin/head.html

I may be insane, but I am not alone.

I thought it was an alright little movie; Nice turn-your-brain-off fodder, and far better than a Monkees movie has the right to be. Plus, in addition to the list of stars already mentioned, watch for a brief glimpse of the man, the legend, the meatball... TOR JOHNSON!

Frank Zappa's in it? Sorry, I was pretty young when I saw the bit I did, plus I can't find it. Now I know he's in it, I may try to find it!

Fair do's Abby, each to their own opinion and all that jazz.  My mind is very cheeseful but Head is one cult movie I didn't enjoy.  It may have numerous subtexts, and make political statements, but I found no entertainment value in it, and am generally not gonna spend time looking for them in a film that bores me halfway to a coma.

The world dosen't hate Head, just most of it. But then the same goes for most of the films I like as well. I do have a cheeseful brain, at least more than the average bear.

"There's no accounting for taste, which is why today's youth is generally broke."

I can't argue there.

Pete the Foul Demon

Not only did it star Jack Nicholson, he also wrote and produced it.
The director was Bob Rafelson, his first theatrical film, who, he also wrote, produced, and appears in it, along with Nicholson.
Some of the other people appearing it, besides the ones named, are B-movie actors: Timothy Carey, Abraham Sofaer, Vito Scotti, Percy Helton, and Tiger Joe Marsh.
If it received a "Restricted" rating to keep out kids, someone didn't tell the movie theater, where I saw it, when it was first released.
For me, two of the funniest moments in the film, was the blowing up of the Coke machine and the bra commercial. Both bits, which I later heard, were deleted from the film, after complaints from Coca Cola and the bra company.
Enjoy!

Nah, unless those scenes were deleted in Rhino's recent DVD (which I don't own) both the Coke and the invisible man Bra commercial are still in there. The coke machine scene is a classic scene -- can't go without it. They had permission from Coke to use Coke's name -- coke just didn't know exactly what they planned to do.

"Things go better with coca-cola ... things go better with coke."

Thump.

Just chiming in to say I love this flick for the fun psychedelic time capsule it is. I watch from time to time, and always enjoy it.

I haven't taken to it at the level dear sweet Abby has, but I will stand up and defend it to a point. Rafaelson and Nicholson trying to bury the Monkees with this film, and the boys trying to reinvent themselves with it at the same time makes for an interesting view of a pop culture artifact. The soundtrack is excellent, esecially the expanded edition with alternate versions of several songs (the live "Circle Sky" is fantastic) as well a bizarre radio ad.

Watch the flick as part of a double feature with "Wild In The Streets" for an excellent sample of Hollywood's take on psychedelia.

Hmmm, sounds pretty impressive really. I might watch it again but I can't find it.

Luke: it's available at Amazon.

HEAD ON DVD AT AMAZON (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6305038694/badmoviesorg/104-5370722-5567113)

Oh, and BoyScoutKevin, I forgot to say, Head actually was rated G believe it or not, but a good chunk of the theatres that opted to show it were mortified by the content and changed the rating themselves ... not an uncommon practice at that point.

"Well, let me tell you one thing son: nobody ever lends money to a man with a sense of humor."

check out some real documentaries like "Hearts and Minds," or "Roger and Me," "Mr. Death." the monkees stink like CACA!

Head isn't a documentary. AT ALL. It's not even a linear story. It's a fantasy. You have no idea what you're talking about.

But if you think "Roger and Me" is a REAL documentary, think again. I like it, but it's not a real documentary.

I hope those scenes have been included on the Rhino DVD, being the funniest scenes in the film. It is just that they were deleted, when the film was shown on television.
That it was rated G is probably why my parents let me see it. That and the fact that the theater where I saw it, didn't put its own "Restricted" rating on it. Enjoy!

Those scenes are on the Rhino DVD. And those scenes were included in all versions aired on cable TV.

you really are obsessed witht his film aren't you? so why do you think Roger and Me isn't a documentary?

Ha ha -- oh if you think I'm obsessed with 'Head,' you should see how I approach a flick like, say, 'Abby.' :)

Some of the most emotive, compelling footage in Roger and Me didn't occur while Moore filmed the plant shutdowns. It was file footage he gleaned from friends. He "created" a timeline of events that didn't exist.The questionable events occurred years (and I mean like, eight years) before the timeline of the movie. Ronald Reagan's visitation (he wasn't even president yet), the 'Me and My Buddy" auto plant amusement park; the hotel construction; those musicals. That's off the top of my head. But that's why many people look like cold-hearted jerks -- the worst hadn't happened in Flint yet when they were interviewed.

Moore admitted to dirty, deceptive editing when confronted, and basically said that if the "big guys" can be manipulative, so can he. I strongly disagree. That's like saying, "If the big guys can have no credibility, so can he." I saw Roger and Me when it came out and thought it was magnificent. When I learned that at least a third of it (its most effective third) was misleading, that really changed my outlook on Moore forever. And that means Roger and Me is propaganda; not a documentary.

I think when pressed Moore calls it a "documentary-style film" now to save his chubby butt.

A REAL documentary on the same subject made at the same time that's far better is called American Dream; about the strikes at the Hormel Meat Packing plants in the late 80's. No humor there, but a very disturbing, compelling viewing experience. It might seem boring at first but it quickly becomes a horror movie that makes you want to kick in your TV screen. And it's far more honest than Moore has EVER been with his own work.

"Not only did it star Jack Nicholson, he also wrote and produced it."

Jack Nicholson enough said!

Abby, i agree with you on American Dream, that is an EXCELLENT documentary on the abuses of the working class in an industrial society. "Harlan County U.S.A." (I think that's the title) is another great documentary on this subject matter. I've never heard anything about Moore and that whole manipulation thing. But you have to think, if a corporation ruined your home and community wouldn't you be a little p**sed at it? But I do want to look into this Moore business a little further, does he mention this in any of the books he has written? Do you plan on seeing "Bowling for Columbine?" (Moore's new documentary). on a final note i thought the Big One was real good.