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Baby Snakes (1979)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Frank Zappa (writer)
Release Date:
21 December 1979 (USA)
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Genre:
Tagline:
A movie about people who do stuff that is not normal.
Plot:
Rock artist Frank Zappa hosts a concert in New York City. This movie contains tons of on-stage footage, off-stage footage, and animation.
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| full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Comments:
good if you like Zappa concert footage
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Cast
(Credited cast)| Frank Zappa | ... | Himself | |
| Ron Delsener | ... | Himself | |
| Johnny Psychotic | ... | Himself | |
| Donna U. Wanna | ... | Herself | |
| Diva Zappa | ... | Herself (as Diva) | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Adrian Belew | ... | Himself | |
| Bruce Bickford | ... | Himself | |
| Dale Bozzio | ... | Herself | |
| Terry Bozzio | ... | Himself | |
| Vinnie Colaiuta | ... | Himself | |
| Warren Cuccurullo | ... | Himself (backstage fan) | |
| Roy Estrada | ... | Himself | |
| Jennifer James | ... | Herself | |
| Phil Kaufman | ... | Himself | |
| Ed Mann | ... | Himself | |
| Tommy Mars | ... | Himself | |
| Patrick O'Hearn | ... | Himself | |
| John Smothers | ... | Himself | |
| Peter Wolf | ... | Himself (keyboards) | |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
166 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The film had particular trouble finding a distributor. Frank Zappa tried to interest Untied Artists, the company that released 200 Motels (1971). Fearing that they were about to be embroiled in the Heaven's Gate (1980) fiasco, they turned him down. Other studios followed in United Artists' footsteps, fearing that Zappa's trademark cinematic style had lost considerable appeal in post-'70s pop culture. Several European distributors told Zappa that there might be interest if it were cut from its original 168-minute running time. The film was cut to 90 minutes and still there were no takers. Even after Bruce Bickford's sequences won first prize at a French animated film competition, there was no interest. Eventually Zappa took it upon himself to distribute the film independently via his own Intercontinental Absurdities production company. The film ran 24 hours a day at the Victoria Theater in New York City and made a handsome profit.
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Quotes:
Frank Zappa:
[referring to a stuffed animal's ass] We're gonna call this part "Burbank".
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Mangiati vivi! (1980)
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Soundtrack:
I Have Been In You
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (16 total)
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Baby Snakes (1979)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| Aspect ratio? | haciendacaliente |
| Venue? | dutchie-2 |
Recommendations
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Animation section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |


Like anything else that Frank Zappa did, if you don't understand it you won't like it. And it's really easy to miss Frank's point sometimes. "Baby Snakes" is simply footage of a Zappa Halloween show cut with Bickford claymation footage. Good if you like that kinda stuff, but dreadfully dull for everyone else. The best place to start learning about Frank Zappa is from his albums, NOT from the videos.
For Zappa fans, the footage is great, and the sound quality is excellent (much better than "200 Motels"). The animation doesn't make much sense. Plus, this video has the great scene of legendary drummer Terry Bozzio singing "T*****s and Beer" in a devil mask.