I was an enormous fan of Frank Zappa, mostly for his musical brilliance, but also for his acerbic, shredding wit that he often used to carve up those he felt were idiots and/or phonies. He could dazzle you with a blazing guitar, make you laugh at his dark lyrics, and make you smile while he went at it with a politician or a political pundit. Throughout it all, he rarely cracked a smile. Instead, he frequently put on a stern face or displayed that mischievous, knowing look.
Thorsten Schütte's documentary on Zappa, "Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words," is a compilation of interviews of the man himself, his concert footage, and his life around the political arena. The concert footage omits most of Zappa's most famous songs, which personally disappointed me, but it manages to enable you to experience the almost absurd environment of a typical Zappa performance.
Zappa's first time being seen by a large audience was on The Steve Allen Show, in March of 1963, when he was 22 years old and looking like he might have been a member of The Four Seasons. He was on stage with two bicycles, a bow for a cello and drum sticks, which he used to play a bicycle concerto for two. Yes, Allen had him on as a joke, and the results might not be something you consider music, but the seriousness of Zappa as a potential artist manages to come through.
Movie title | Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words |
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Release year | 2016 |
MPAA Rating | R |
Our rating | |
Summary | Documentary on Frank Zappa will leave you liking and respecting him, even if you were never a fan. |