Reviews (2)

THE best movie, ever!!
WHY ISN'T THIS OUT ON DVD????? Uncle Meat is a work of genius that has stood the test of time - a brilliant dissection of the commercial music industry and art in general. The film offers great comedy, surreal footage and awesome avant garde musical performances. Frank Zappa is a genius! The best part is you can watch this again and again and never get bored, every time you discover something new. This has to be my favorite movie of all time. Highly recommended. Apple-O

For hardcore Zappa fans ONLY
Man, I'm a pretty big Zappa fan, but this isn't the easiest movie to sit through. If you've seen 200 Motels, you have a basic idea of what to expect from Zappa the film-maker. However, while 200 Motels was bizarre, Uncle Meat is just plain inane. The movie follows no direction at all. Scenes of people talking about unrelated things are just stitched together to make the movie. The one thing that makes the movie worth seeing is the performance of the concert that appears on the "Ahead Of Their Time" CD. Even that isn't really enough to encourage anyone to pay anything over [dollar amount] for the movie. [...] ... Read more

Reviews (29)

For Zappa fans only (and the eternally curious!)
This 1971 film shot on videotape is simply a showcase for Frank Zappa's twisted humour and unique brand of hybrid music. It has neither plot, logic nor coherence, but is basically a series of musical numbers (combining rock, orchestral and opera styles) and comedy skits tied together by the theme of how "touring can make you crazy".

Augmented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, and the Mothers of Invention, Zappa provides the viewer with some inspired lunacy, great video effects and some highly memorable songs. If the music tickles your fancy, then the soundtrack, recently released for the first time on CD by Rykodisc/MGM, is also a must-have.

Recommended only for those with a high tolerance for Zappa's audio/ visual madness, this is nonetheless a truly satisfying psychedelic ride through the mind of the drug-addled, sex-obsessed musician.

Definitely not for young children though, as the movie contains sexual references, coarse language, nudity and what can be considered as drug-related material.

An unforgettable viewing experience...
First of all, the one thing that a lot of people miss about Zappa was that he was a master "resource" utilizer. - - He knew what he wanted his projects to look and sound like, and was great enough of an artist/producer to find/discipline people capable of delivering his vision - - So the big question : Despite his notorious reputation for his mixture of music and oddball stage antics, given a REAL big budget to make a real big motion picture, could he pull something off ? - - The answer... UNBELIEVABLY FRIGGIN' YES ! ! ! - - The film captures the MOTHERS in their prime circa the antics of FLO & EDDIE... the bizarre stage routines of his group are MELTED together by a great theme... that TOURING can make you crazy... though surreal, beyond the paranoia and psychadelic wierdness, the backstage politics of a band touring on the road, the stresses between the leader and bandmembers... and yes, the neverending quest for the ultimate BJ come through in the form of a BRILLIANT opera, featuring a full symphonic orchestra and some surprizing guest appearences... including Ringo Starr as frank zappa. - - The music is great... the images are great... and the performances (musical, now and then sexual, and stagewise) are a brilliant and mindtripping experience... This film is DEFINITELY something to watch over and over into and really get into... especially (of course) if you're a Zappa nut - - just don't get too psyched, otherwise you might find yourself singing the words to LONESOME COWBOY BURT outloud on the bus on the way to wherever...

It was just bad
One day i was looking through the cult classic section of my video rental store and I found one movie that I have not yet seen. That movie was of course none other than 200 Motels. I thought Frank Zappa and a movie= fun drug induced imagery and ridiculous dialouge about a little Jewish princess.
I was horribly mistaking. The movie was painful to watch. It had no plot and nothing to do with a band going on tour. It was completely unfunny except for one part where Captain Beefheart's hat phonetically spells out f**k in the cyrillic alphabet.
I watched this movie with my uncle who had been a pretty serious stoner back in the day when Zappa and Beefheart were still touring; he was a fan of both of these musicians. Even he continued to ask about the whereabouts of the plot or the too easily forgotten entity: entertainement.
I was sober when I watched this movie and I would expect that that is not the best way to see it. Probably some acid or at least weed would be needed to make this movie at all tolerable.
Zappa should have stayed with his ridiculous music.

A True Video Masterpiece!!! * * * * *
Frank Zappa was a creative genius, and his "200 Motels" was a true video masterpiece! "200 Motels" tells a simple story about how touring in a rock band can seem to make you crazy. Zappa used a new medium of the early 70's, what we now call "video", and really pushed it beyond the known limits. The effects he used in this movie have often been copied, and were used to describe the weird world of touring. City after city, sandwich after sandwich, the towns all begin to look fake after awhile; the effects where used to emphasize how the struggles of touring and how all that traveling and responsibility really tweaks your brain, your ability to perceive reality. This movie was possibly the first true "music video", since it originated in video, and possibly tweaked the minds of the engineers up in the control booth. When you look at how the video was structured, well, it's all shot entirely in a studio environment. It's a story within a story, and like so many other filmmakers, Zappa was almost making fun of himself, in a lighthearted manner, much as Felini and Allen have done in some of their films. Yes, this movie is twisted, in fact just as twisted as life in America tends to get. This movie is best seen projected in a theater, and unless you have a t.v. larger than 27", I recommend you wait, because it really needs to be seen larger than life!

an excellent movie
This movie is very good. But the reason, why I didn't give it 5 stars, is that here are some cuts, which are so dumb, and annoying. I don't see Frank Zappa a lot in here. They show him sometimes when they perform. And they perform the songs live. In the soundtrack, they re-record it in studio. You can hear it, and see it, by their sweat. But I really don't understand, what the movie is all about. But you'll enjoy. It's really interesting to watch a movie, with real rock stars. And real live performances. ... Read more

Reviews (44)

Baby Snakes
Pros- 3 hours of Zappa!
Cons- Only 3 hours of Zappa...
If you're a hardcore fan or a casual listener, this DVD has something for you. The humorous songs, the wacky instrumentals, the extended guitar solos, the backstage footage, Terry's vocal performance on Punkys Whips, that girl in the front row...IT HAS EVERYTHING!!!! It even has white guys with afros playing keyboards! He looks like Disco Stu from The Simpsons! Believe that! If you like pointless clay animation by some stoned-out freak, it has that too. But most of all, it has Frank Zappa playing the role of musical genius, and that alone is worth the price of admission. If you work for Warner Bros., you might want to turn the sound down in certain parts, because BOY IS HE MAD AT YOU!!!!! Did you know Adrian Belew played in a crud band in Nashville? GET THE MOVIE AND FIND OUT HOW FRANK SAVED HIM FROM THE CRUD SCENE!!!! Also, there's panty throwing, if you're into that sort of thing. And a fat guy with a gas mask that washes a blow-up doll in a sink! How could you NOT want to see that? Ok, I'm giving away too much here. Buy the movie and all of this will make sense somehow.

Self-indulgent anyone?
Having seen large chunks of baby snakes before, namely the concert footage, i was looking forward to seeing the beast in its totality. And let's face it, the concert footage is the only reason to keep this dvd, because the rest is boring boring boring. All that Ms Pinky crapola, and the gas mask nonsense, and in fact any parts with the afro-wielding roy estrada, are serious fast forward contenders.

Then you have the wonderful Mr. Bickford with his amazing claymation creations. It's great animation but utterly directionless. It gets old real quickly.

Some highlights include Frank's soloing on black napkins muffin man and punk'y whip. The last hour of gig material is the cream of the dvd. Some parts of the concert are a bit tedious, like the poodle lecture, roy estrada, and some of the lyrics based songs like dinahmoe humm and disco boy.

We do get to see some of the fans. And some of them are a bit worrying. Especially that girl Angel, who clings onto Frank for sizeable chunks of the film. Scary.

A few words about the band. Excellent musicians one and all. But I found most of them annoying in the back stage tomfoolery. Terry Bozzio hams it up a lot, making funny faces and talking crap. adrian belew plays to the camera a bit too, and tommy mars. We don't see very much of Ed Mann and Peter Wolf, so we give them the benefit of the doubt. Patrick o hearn likewise. Roy Estrada however....

So if i had to change some things about baby snakes:
-sack roy estrada.
-more guitar soloing
-more instrumental music
-easy on the bruce bickford
-more shots of band in rehearsal
-more bandmember solos
-less onstage talky talky
-less of the sexual songs, which we've heard too many times and which become a bit boring
-maybe an interview with fz at some point, to give some focus

Picture quality-average.
Sound Quality-good if you have the equipment, but i've heard better.

But let's face it. This dvd is essential. It is by FRank Zappa.

(unless you're lukewarm about him, in which case-avoid!!)

5 stars by default
I basically agree with a lot of what theslime, the person who wrote the spotlight review, had to say. There are long segments of Baby Snakes that I regularly fast-forward. There is way too much backstage nonsense, only a tiny fraction of which is the least bit interesting. The animation is very stream of consciousness and I was bored with it at first but have grown to really appreciate what this guy was doing. However, what I want, and what everyone wants, and what Zappa should have known that everyone would want, is more concert footage! Get rid of the rest of it for all I care.

The footage that we do see and hear is extremely worthwhile. In fact, Baby Snakes might be the only legitamite release to contain any good live Zappa on film. Some of the tunes are not my favorite. I don't care about seeing a live version of Bobby Brown Goes Down or I Have Been in You. I would have liked to have heard more instrumentals. However, Baby Snakes is a long movie and there is plenty of great material as well as some charged performances by the young band (obviously having the time of their lives.) Some of my favorites include: City of Tiny Lights, Black Page #2, Punky's Whips (Bozzio's "Punky" is oscar-worthy), King Kong/Pound for a Brown (will Bozzio explode at the climax of his solo?), Black Napkins, Muffin Man, San Bernadino...There is plenty here to make up for the gratuitous filler.

This is the best live Zappa footage that I have seen and therefore it automatically gets the five stars.

tehnically & entertainingly superb audience experience
Dweezil and friends have acheived a great good deed in bringing Frank's big feature film to Zappa fans around the world, via state of the art application of DVD technology.

The whole film looks great, the actual performance is always fine and frequently truly astounding. I value that we get to know Frank as a consummate showman with sincere respect for his comrades and for his audience (that's us).

The 5.1 soundtrack gives the most realistic rendition of live concert sound you could ever hope for. The accompanying portfolio of info instead of a standard DVD booklet is a nice touch.

Moreover I am in awe of the effort put into this film by everyone - from Frank, the band and crew, through to Dweezil & co with their fastidious restoration. Well done.

Stef is a humorless retard
I saw this film at its original release in NYC 1979. If you don't get Zappa, then shut up and go away. It's supposed to be silly and then hammer you with impossible music.
Maybe Brittany Spears or Madonna will have a DVD more suitable for the tastes of creatures like Stef. ... Read more

Reviews (44)

Baby Snakes
Pros- 3 hours of Zappa!
Cons- Only 3 hours of Zappa...
If you're a hardcore fan or a casual listener, this DVD has something for you. The humorous songs, the wacky instrumentals, the extended guitar solos, the backstage footage, Terry's vocal performance on Punkys Whips, that girl in the front row...IT HAS EVERYTHING!!!! It even has white guys with afros playing keyboards! He looks like Disco Stu from The Simpsons! Believe that! If you like pointless clay animation by some stoned-out freak, it has that too. But most of all, it has Frank Zappa playing the role of musical genius, and that alone is worth the price of admission. If you work for Warner Bros., you might want to turn the sound down in certain parts, because BOY IS HE MAD AT YOU!!!!! Did you know Adrian Belew played in a crud band in Nashville? GET THE MOVIE AND FIND OUT HOW FRANK SAVED HIM FROM THE CRUD SCENE!!!! Also, there's panty throwing, if you're into that sort of thing. And a fat guy with a gas mask that washes a blow-up doll in a sink! How could you NOT want to see that? Ok, I'm giving away too much here. Buy the movie and all of this will make sense somehow.

Self-indulgent anyone?
Having seen large chunks of baby snakes before, namely the concert footage, i was looking forward to seeing the beast in its totality. And let's face it, the concert footage is the only reason to keep this dvd, because the rest is boring boring boring. All that Ms Pinky crapola, and the gas mask nonsense, and in fact any parts with the afro-wielding roy estrada, are serious fast forward contenders.

Then you have the wonderful Mr. Bickford with his amazing claymation creations. It's great animation but utterly directionless. It gets old real quickly.

Some highlights include Frank's soloing on black napkins muffin man and punk'y whip. The last hour of gig material is the cream of the dvd. Some parts of the concert are a bit tedious, like the poodle lecture, roy estrada, and some of the lyrics based songs like dinahmoe humm and disco boy.

We do get to see some of the fans. And some of them are a bit worrying. Especially that girl Angel, who clings onto Frank for sizeable chunks of the film. Scary.

A few words about the band. Excellent musicians one and all. But I found most of them annoying in the back stage tomfoolery. Terry Bozzio hams it up a lot, making funny faces and talking crap. adrian belew plays to the camera a bit too, and tommy mars. We don't see very much of Ed Mann and Peter Wolf, so we give them the benefit of the doubt. Patrick o hearn likewise. Roy Estrada however....

So if i had to change some things about baby snakes:
-sack roy estrada.
-more guitar soloing
-more instrumental music
-easy on the bruce bickford
-more shots of band in rehearsal
-more bandmember solos
-less onstage talky talky
-less of the sexual songs, which we've heard too many times and which become a bit boring
-maybe an interview with fz at some point, to give some focus

Picture quality-average.
Sound Quality-good if you have the equipment, but i've heard better.

But let's face it. This dvd is essential. It is by FRank Zappa.

(unless you're lukewarm about him, in which case-avoid!!)

5 stars by default
I basically agree with a lot of what theslime, the person who wrote the spotlight review, had to say. There are long segments of Baby Snakes that I regularly fast-forward. There is way too much backstage nonsense, only a tiny fraction of which is the least bit interesting. The animation is very stream of consciousness and I was bored with it at first but have grown to really appreciate what this guy was doing. However, what I want, and what everyone wants, and what Zappa should have known that everyone would want, is more concert footage! Get rid of the rest of it for all I care.

The footage that we do see and hear is extremely worthwhile. In fact, Baby Snakes might be the only legitamite release to contain any good live Zappa on film. Some of the tunes are not my favorite. I don't care about seeing a live version of Bobby Brown Goes Down or I Have Been in You. I would have liked to have heard more instrumentals. However, Baby Snakes is a long movie and there is plenty of great material as well as some charged performances by the young band (obviously having the time of their lives.) Some of my favorites include: City of Tiny Lights, Black Page #2, Punky's Whips (Bozzio's "Punky" is oscar-worthy), King Kong/Pound for a Brown (will Bozzio explode at the climax of his solo?), Black Napkins, Muffin Man, San Bernadino...There is plenty here to make up for the gratuitous filler.

This is the best live Zappa footage that I have seen and therefore it automatically gets the five stars.

tehnically & entertainingly superb audience experience
Dweezil and friends have acheived a great good deed in bringing Frank's big feature film to Zappa fans around the world, via state of the art application of DVD technology.

The whole film looks great, the actual performance is always fine and frequently truly astounding. I value that we get to know Frank as a consummate showman with sincere respect for his comrades and for his audience (that's us).

The 5.1 soundtrack gives the most realistic rendition of live concert sound you could ever hope for. The accompanying portfolio of info instead of a standard DVD booklet is a nice touch.

Moreover I am in awe of the effort put into this film by everyone - from Frank, the band and crew, through to Dweezil & co with their fastidious restoration. Well done.

Stef is a humorless retard
I saw this film at its original release in NYC 1979. If you don't get Zappa, then shut up and go away. It's supposed to be silly and then hammer you with impossible music.
Maybe Brittany Spears or Madonna will have a DVD more suitable for the tastes of creatures like Stef. ... Read more

Reviews (44)

Baby Snakes
Pros- 3 hours of Zappa!
Cons- Only 3 hours of Zappa...
If you're a hardcore fan or a casual listener, this DVD has something for you. The humorous songs, the wacky instrumentals, the extended guitar solos, the backstage footage, Terry's vocal performance on Punkys Whips, that girl in the front row...IT HAS EVERYTHING!!!! It even has white guys with afros playing keyboards! He looks like Disco Stu from The Simpsons! Believe that! If you like pointless clay animation by some stoned-out freak, it has that too. But most of all, it has Frank Zappa playing the role of musical genius, and that alone is worth the price of admission. If you work for Warner Bros., you might want to turn the sound down in certain parts, because BOY IS HE MAD AT YOU!!!!! Did you know Adrian Belew played in a crud band in Nashville? GET THE MOVIE AND FIND OUT HOW FRANK SAVED HIM FROM THE CRUD SCENE!!!! Also, there's panty throwing, if you're into that sort of thing. And a fat guy with a gas mask that washes a blow-up doll in a sink! How could you NOT want to see that? Ok, I'm giving away too much here. Buy the movie and all of this will make sense somehow.

Self-indulgent anyone?
Having seen large chunks of baby snakes before, namely the concert footage, i was looking forward to seeing the beast in its totality. And let's face it, the concert footage is the only reason to keep this dvd, because the rest is boring boring boring. All that Ms Pinky crapola, and the gas mask nonsense, and in fact any parts with the afro-wielding roy estrada, are serious fast forward contenders.

Then you have the wonderful Mr. Bickford with his amazing claymation creations. It's great animation but utterly directionless. It gets old real quickly.

Some highlights include Frank's soloing on black napkins muffin man and punk'y whip. The last hour of gig material is the cream of the dvd. Some parts of the concert are a bit tedious, like the poodle lecture, roy estrada, and some of the lyrics based songs like dinahmoe humm and disco boy.

We do get to see some of the fans. And some of them are a bit worrying. Especially that girl Angel, who clings onto Frank for sizeable chunks of the film. Scary.

A few words about the band. Excellent musicians one and all. But I found most of them annoying in the back stage tomfoolery. Terry Bozzio hams it up a lot, making funny faces and talking crap. adrian belew plays to the camera a bit too, and tommy mars. We don't see very much of Ed Mann and Peter Wolf, so we give them the benefit of the doubt. Patrick o hearn likewise. Roy Estrada however....

So if i had to change some things about baby snakes:
-sack roy estrada.
-more guitar soloing
-more instrumental music
-easy on the bruce bickford
-more shots of band in rehearsal
-more bandmember solos
-less onstage talky talky
-less of the sexual songs, which we've heard too many times and which become a bit boring
-maybe an interview with fz at some point, to give some focus

Picture quality-average.
Sound Quality-good if you have the equipment, but i've heard better.

But let's face it. This dvd is essential. It is by FRank Zappa.

(unless you're lukewarm about him, in which case-avoid!!)

5 stars by default
I basically agree with a lot of what theslime, the person who wrote the spotlight review, had to say. There are long segments of Baby Snakes that I regularly fast-forward. There is way too much backstage nonsense, only a tiny fraction of which is the least bit interesting. The animation is very stream of consciousness and I was bored with it at first but have grown to really appreciate what this guy was doing. However, what I want, and what everyone wants, and what Zappa should have known that everyone would want, is more concert footage! Get rid of the rest of it for all I care.

The footage that we do see and hear is extremely worthwhile. In fact, Baby Snakes might be the only legitamite release to contain any good live Zappa on film. Some of the tunes are not my favorite. I don't care about seeing a live version of Bobby Brown Goes Down or I Have Been in You. I would have liked to have heard more instrumentals. However, Baby Snakes is a long movie and there is plenty of great material as well as some charged performances by the young band (obviously having the time of their lives.) Some of my favorites include: City of Tiny Lights, Black Page #2, Punky's Whips (Bozzio's "Punky" is oscar-worthy), King Kong/Pound for a Brown (will Bozzio explode at the climax of his solo?), Black Napkins, Muffin Man, San Bernadino...There is plenty here to make up for the gratuitous filler.

This is the best live Zappa footage that I have seen and therefore it automatically gets the five stars.

tehnically & entertainingly superb audience experience
Dweezil and friends have acheived a great good deed in bringing Frank's big feature film to Zappa fans around the world, via state of the art application of DVD technology.

The whole film looks great, the actual performance is always fine and frequently truly astounding. I value that we get to know Frank as a consummate showman with sincere respect for his comrades and for his audience (that's us).

The 5.1 soundtrack gives the most realistic rendition of live concert sound you could ever hope for. The accompanying portfolio of info instead of a standard DVD booklet is a nice touch.

Moreover I am in awe of the effort put into this film by everyone - from Frank, the band and crew, through to Dweezil & co with their fastidious restoration. Well done.

Stef is a humorless retard
I saw this film at its original release in NYC 1979. If you don't get Zappa, then shut up and go away. It's supposed to be silly and then hammer you with impossible music.
Maybe Brittany Spears or Madonna will have a DVD more suitable for the tastes of creatures like Stef. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Love this one
I can't believe this came out on DVD.A soundtrack in CD form would be awesome(hint)because this is great travel music.I'll keep hoping When the VHS edition went out of print it was a nightmare to get a copy. The band in this show is incredible. There is so much musical talent. The song selection is great and the band is incredibly tight. There are a few short interviews with Frank (at least on the VHS edition) but it is mostly full of uncut music. This DVD is a must for any Zappa fan especially for a starter. Each band member is outstanding in their performances. Frank had an awesome band in 1984..

Entertaining, but somewhat uninspired
I have mixed feelings about this DVD. I'm a huge Zappa fan, and I've seen him three times, including a show from this tour. I was really looking forward to seeing what I remembered to be a fantastic concert. One of the things that I enjoyed most about his concerts (and the one from this tour in particular) was when they played his more elaborate compositions. FZ conducted the band while we watched this wonderfully complex music being choreographed. It looked like organized chaos set to amazing music. It was truly memorable. I also relished Frank's searing and captivating solos.

For me, the problem with the DVD is that there's not enough of his virtuoso performances. Yeah, it's fun to see the band and hear the music, but it seems almost as if he's walking through some of the songs revue-style. He's always been humorous, but I don't remember him being so casually campy when I saw him. He practically ran through The Dangerous Kitchen and Tinseltown Rebellion.

On the other hand, there are some great solos on Cosmic Debris and Whipping Post, and of course, Zoot Allures. However, I remember many of his solos being much longer than we get to see here.

I'm not unhappy with the purchase, but I just don't think it's representative of Frank's best performances. I suspect that there's better stuff in the vaults. I just hope we see some more soon.

No laser weapons, no fog and no-overdubs
Wonderful addition to my already huge Zappa music collection. I wore out the VHS of this concert so having the DVD allows me to sleep better and stop worrying.
Frank with one of the most amazing bands I've ever heard is truly a wonder to see as well as hear. Do yourself and your senses a favor and GET THIS DVD NOW! great music and commentary, what else do you need?

Decent show, solid DVD
One of the best things about Zappa's 84 touring band was the fact that, for the most part, they appeared to have a good time on stage. Most of the band had worked with Frank for several years, which led to a more relaxed, free-form attitude on stage. This led to a lot of "secret word" shenanigans, with band members frequently changing the lyrics to (somewhat tired) songs to make the other band members laugh. For an excellent example of what I'm talking about, see the first disc of "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 3".

Unfortunately, that humor is in short supply on this disc. The titular humor is only evident in the songs themselves which are, admittedly, juvenile, and widely available. The attraction of a Zappa live set is the element of surprise, of the spontaneous, not just run-throughs of songs you've already heard.

The master tapes of this must exist somewhere, and I was hoping for extra footage (two nights were actually filmed). A lot of material was left out of the final movie (we get the last few seconds of "The Deathless Horsie", but we get all of "The Dangerous Kitchen". Frank, why?). However, since this was released by Virgin/EMI and not by The Zappa Family Trust, the likelihood of those performances ever making it to DVD are very slim.

The sound and video on the disc are solid.

For the price, it's worth seeing the 84 band in action. Just don't expect to see anything you haven't already heard.

Do This Better!
I'm happy that Zappa stuff is finally starting to get to DVD but disappointed by this one. Not only do they decide to put less than an hour of music from a "very long" show but then they cut into some of the songs and only have "snippets" of some of them. The cuts are done by going to two very short Zappa interview segments that would have been fabulous if presented in their entirety as bonus materials.

Don't the video masters of this show exist? Zappa was pretty good at saving things. Why not put the whole show on DVD or at least more than this sampling? My guess is that this video was meant, at the time, to be a "teaser" to get newer fans interested in Zappa's more accessible stuff and to promote the, very great, skills of his later live bands. Perhaps this is why that this is one of the first releases to DVD. If so, I was wrong to spend the money on it as I am a long LONG time fan of Zappa's who finds most of this material unchallenging and of limited interest.

It *is* great to see the band making the music and seeing Zappa being "into it" that night. I only got to attend one Zappa concert. It was the Zappa/Beefheart tour when it stopped in Cincinnati around 1976 (or about). He was just "phoning it in" that night and only played for 50 minutes.

The recording and video is well done for the time and the material is picked from songs that are MUCH better to see/hear performed live than to only listen to on CD. There is some good Zappa music on this however a main point that Zappa seems to want to get across is "musical chops are good" and he proves his point by having a number of tunes that have no real value other than the impressive skill that his band shows in performing them. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

THE best movie, ever!!
WHY ISN'T THIS OUT ON DVD????? Uncle Meat is a work of genius that has stood the test of time - a brilliant dissection of the commercial music industry and art in general. The film offers great comedy, surreal footage and awesome avant garde musical performances. Frank Zappa is a genius! The best part is you can watch this again and again and never get bored, every time you discover something new. This has to be my favorite movie of all time. Highly recommended. Apple-O

For hardcore Zappa fans ONLY
Man, I'm a pretty big Zappa fan, but this isn't the easiest movie to sit through. If you've seen 200 Motels, you have a basic idea of what to expect from Zappa the film-maker. However, while 200 Motels was bizarre, Uncle Meat is just plain inane. The movie follows no direction at all. Scenes of people talking about unrelated things are just stitched together to make the movie. The one thing that makes the movie worth seeing is the performance of the concert that appears on the "Ahead Of Their Time" CD. Even that isn't really enough to encourage anyone to pay anything over [dollar amount] for the movie. [...] ... Read more

Reviews (1)

zappa+bickford=Must Have
If you like FZ music then i dont need to write a review, you will surely know this video is a must.But for the ones who dont know anything about a great composer and the amazing Mr. Bickford:
Surreal, nightmare clay animation.You'll probably never seen something like this before.Cant compare it with jan svankmajer or the quays, this film is even more surreal.Filled with extraordinary transformations bickford's clay puppets just seem to flow all over the movie.
Why not buy this video:
You hate any kind of animation
Just want to look at a sitcom and eat popcorn
Dont like "wierd stuff"
If you dont fit on those descriptions then -----> BUY THIS VIDEO! :D ... Read more