The Monkees

DVD Features:

Additional Release Material:

• Trailers

Description by OLDIES.com:

"A Hard Days Night on acid" best describes this outrageous movie within a movie starring recording superstars The Monkees. The first in a long line of films for collaborators Jack Nicholson and director Bob Rafelson - Five Easy Pieces, The Postman Always Rings Twice - Head's unconventional, dreamlike style showcases The Monkees' musical and comedic talents honed on their popular television series. A stream-of-consciousness script lands our fab four in a WWII foxhole dodging an excitable football player, then later they are caught in a giant vacuum cleaner after being sucked out of Victor Mature's hair as flecks of dandruff, and on and on from one wild situation to another. Head is unpredictable, filled with great music, and undeniably hilarious!

Product Description:

It's a head trip, man! Director Bob Rafelson's feature film debut is based on the hit television show THE MONKEES, which Rafelson created and produced (along with Bert Schneider). Like the TV show, HEAD follows the adventures of the fictitious pop band the Monkees--four goofy, mop-topped young rockers who look suspiciously like the Beatles. Written by Rafelson and actor Jack Nicholson, the film rejects plot in favor of a psychedelic trip through a series of parodies of every major film genre, including the Western, the musical, and the war film. These stylized romps are intercut with various surreal scenes, such as the classic sequence where the Monkees are sucked up through a giant vacuum cleaner and then spewed out as bits of dandruff in Victor Mature's hair. Also thrown into the bizarre mix are clips of television commercials, classic movies, and documentary footage from Vietnam. The result is an avant-garde, kaleidoscopic collage, peppered with Monkees songs such as "Circle Sky," "Porpoise Song," and "Daddy's Song."

Plot Synopsis:

HEAD is a mind-blowing Monkee-filled pop culture excursion, courtesy of writer Jack Nicholson (yes, that Jack Nicholson) and writer-director Bob Rafelson.

Plot Keywords:

Comedy | Comedy (General) | Cult Film | Essential Cinema | Rock And Roll | Slapstick | Theatrical Release | Vintage TV

Production Notes:

• Theatrical release: November 6, 1968. During the war-movie parody, Micky Dolenz sports a gold football helmet. It is rumored that this is the same helmet Jack Nicholson wore in EASY RIDER. Co-screenwriters Rafelson and Jack Nicholson based HEAD on conversations they had with the Monkees while on a vacation. Nicholson and Rafelson can both be spotted briefly on the commissary set. "Suck it before the venom reaches my heart" is Teri Garr's first line in a motion picture.

Cast and Crew: