Baby Snakes (1979)

Director:

Frank Zappa

Writer:

Frank Zappa (writer)

Release Date:

21 December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Documentary | Comedy | Music

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.

Plot Keywords:

New York | Painted Face | Adult Animation | Face Paint | Concert Film

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)

Runtime:

166 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

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.

Quotes:

Frank Zappa: [referring to a stuffed animal's ass] We're gonna call this part "Burbank".

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mangiati vivi! (1980)

Soundtrack:

I Have Been In You

good if you like Zappa concert footage

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.