The film is billed as "a movie about people who do stuff that is not normal". The material is considerably less risqué than this premise might suggest, being built around footage of a Halloween night concert at a venue in New York. This footage is interspersed with bizarre plasticine animation sequences set against musique concrete soundscapes. In addition, there are interviews with the animator Bruce Bickford, in which he tries to explain the narrative underlying some of the animation sequences. There are also some backstage interviews with Zappa's band-mates and technical crew. Gradually, the concert footage comes to dominate the film.
Look and Feel
The concert footage is shot on three 16mm cameras using luminous colour film-stock. No effort is made to keep cameras out of sight of each other. This adds to the spontaneous, slightly anarchic feel of the production, whilst allowing the three cinematographers considerable freedom to move around the stage.
The plasticine animation sequences also appear in searing luminous colour. These extensive sequences are a quirky highlight of the film. Strange, nightmarish images evolve into outlandish new images which seem random but are somehow in keeping with what went before. Bruce Bickford's outrageous imagination takes the viewer to a place which is almost beyond the surreal.
The sound quality of the concert sequences is high, with nice clear textures. The musicians are top quality and the precision of their playing is as good as anything to be found in a studio recording.
The music has some of the quirkiness and flamboyance seen in Zappa's work from the early 1970's on albums such as 'Overnite Sensation' and 'Apostrophe', though the sound has become slightly rockier. There is still a dedicated percussionist in addition to a drummer, but brass and woodwind instruments (bar the "human trombone") are not used here. Standout performances include the instrumental 'The Black Page #2' and the song 'City of Tiny Lites'.
Overall Impressions
At over two-and-a-half hours in length the movie might seem a mite long to those who are not already fans of Zappa's work, and ten minutes might usefully have been cut from the backstage footage. That said, the film is well paced, moving with a rhythm and speed that seem totally natural.
The quality of the pictures and sound is (for the most part) quite high, with Zappa's wit and invention raising the film beyond being a vanity piece. The frequent sight of other cameras filming the action adds to to the unique feel of the enterprise, and conveys a sense of the excitement of both music- and film-making. The overall mood is one of spontaneous professionalism. Zappa's band-mates are very much involved in the singing and dancing, and add considerably to the entertainment value of the film.
Anyone involved in live entertainment might want to watch this film to observe the way in which Frank Zappa could work a crowd. No viewer could fail to be impressed by the way he interacted with his audience. On several occasions groups of audience members are brought onto the stage to take part in the entertainment. Nobody is humiliated though, and everyone is clearly enjoying themselves. The involvement of audience members also adds to the collaborative feel of the movie.
Baby Snakes is a one-off concert movie, and was a deserving top prize winner at the First International Festival of Musical Films in 1981.
Rating: 4.0/5.0.
Tom Howkins - Hi, My name is Tom Howkins and I joined Suite101 in March 2010. I am keen to promote good films and good music, while warning people ...
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