Head (1968)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Bob Rafelson

Writers:

Bob Rafelson (written by) and
Jack Nicholson (written by)

Release Date:

20 November 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Fantasy

Tagline:

What is HEAD all about? Only John Brockman's shrink knows for sure!

Plot:

The Monkees are tossed about in a psychedelic, surrealist, plotless, circular bit of fun fluff.

Plot Keywords:

The Monkees | Psychedelic | Box | Cult Favorite | Ice Cream Cone

Cast

Peter Tork	...	Peter
Davy Jones	...	Davy (as David Jones)
Micky Dolenz	...	Micky
Michael Nesmith	...	Mike
Annette Funicello	...	Minnie
Timothy Carey	...	Lord High 'n Low
Logan Ramsey	...	Off. Faye Lapid
Abraham Sofaer	...	Swami
Vito Scotti	...	I. Vitteloni
Charles Macaulay	...	Inspector Shrink
T.C. Jones	...	Mr. and Mrs. Ace
Charles Irving	...	Mayor Feedback
William Bagdad	...	Black Sheik
Percy Helton	...	Heraldic Messenger
Sonny Liston	...	Extra

Also Known As:

Changes (USA) (working title)
DASturb (USA) (working title)
Untitled (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

86 min | USA:110 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | UK:PG | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Bahamas

Company:

Raybert Productions

Trivia:

Peter Tork whistles the chorus to "Strawberry Fields Forever" by The Beatles when entering a restroom.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As the Black Sheik rides across the desert sand, it's obvious from the already present hoofprints that we're not looking at the first take.

Quotes:

Inspector Shrink: The tragedy of *your* time, my young friends, is that you may get exactly what you want.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

Soundtrack:

Kunstlerleben (Artist's Life), Op.316

May be plot less, but it is certainly not without meaning and is very intelligently put together

The cinema of the 60s was as much as time of revolution as the politics and the music. Filmmakers were daring to make avant-garde films discussing taboo subjects only permitted before in exploitation films. Starting with both "Breathless" and underground American cinema (such as Kenneth Anger), films became more and more experimental. All of this accumulated when Hollywood realized they had mass commercial appeal with "Easy Rider". One of the best (and most surprising) outputs of this era was also one of the least successful initially. "Head" was made when The Monkees career was seriously waning, which is what damned one of the best psychedelic films ever made.

The plot? Well, there really isn't one, as many have said. It involves The Monkees going from one surreal scenario to the next one. However, these sequences are all obviously LSD-tinged and basically mock how The Monkees were sick of being confined to their light pre-fab reputation. Its a shame that the film found no audience. The teeny boppers who loved them had moved onto a new fad as they always do. The psychedelic / Haight-Ashbury crowd to whom the film was garnered would never be caught dead at a Monkees movie. Its all their loss. This film may be plot less, but it is certainly not without meaning and is very intelligently put together. The crew later made both "Easy Rider" and "Five Easy Pieces". The film was later revived at a 1973 Raybert retrospective and it gained a very positive response, which granted it the cult following it had deserved for a long time. Ironically, The Monkees would fall victim to the same commercialism they protested in this film with their later 80s reunion. (10/10)