Rating: 
Summary: To Stef
Review: #1 You probabaly listen to Captain & Tenniel (as far as the nice music) #2 You were probably born 2 years after Frank died. #3 This is for people that know what he did for music. So I would sugest going back to listing to Anne Murrey,or whatever i't was, before you became a music critic.(I dont even think, you watched it.)By the way I saw this in video form about 20 years ago.
Rating: 
Summary: I Wish I Was Older
Review: ....then I might have been able to see this concert. Thank God it was taped, and I'm still able to somewhat experience what everone in the audience did on Halloween. Zappa was a showman for sure. Not only a musical genius, but his interaction with an audience is fantastic. He lets people come up on stage, sing, participate in his goofy improvised roleplays. He truly loved his fans and loved performing for them. How many artists do this now? This dvd is intended only for Zappa fans. It's long.....very long(I watched it in installments). To some, it would be 100% torture; I understand and respect that. I would feel the same watching a 3 hour Korn performance(or the Texas Chainsaw remake). Sure, all the footage may not be necessary, and you might be likely to skip some, but Zappa had a tendency to overdo things when it came to film(Uncle Meat was very long as well). If you're a Zappa fan though, try to see this once at least to get a glimpse of the man in action. If you're not a Zappa fan, there's no reason whatsoever to review this dvd and trash it(I wouldn't review a Korn dvd. What's the point? You're trying to preach to the fans!), so shut up. And remember, nobody likes you.
Rating:
Summary: BayBee Sna-a-a-a-a-ykes!
Review: 1977 NYC Halloween.
Zappa, Bozzio, Belew, O'Hearn, Bald-Headed John, Tommy Mars, New Yorks Finest Crazy Persons (audience)...
This film premiered in New York City on Dec. 21, 1979 (FZ's birthday) and ran continuous around-the-clock showings. Now YOU can have this wonderful concert movie to view in your very own teenage room!
Bring the band on down behind me boys...
There was only one Frank Zappa. This movie is a front-row seat to one of the best tours (after Ruth, Nappy & Duke era) that Frank put together and all the special magic of Halloween in NYC make it the best experience you could encounter with the great man!
"Don't throw stuff on the stage." -FZ
Rating:
Summary: Great stuff!!!! An Easy FIVE star as ever.
Review: About the packaging of this DVD. Gail Zappa and the ZFT did a fantastic job. The whole Secret/Top Seceret type of theme, complete with the little envelope full of clippings from newspapers and articles from the show really spice up the otherwise fantastic DVD. This attention to detail is JUST the type of thing that FZ used to do when he issued his music. I used to read every little thing, all the comments... if you buy any of the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore series CD's he comments on just about every song in the liner notes. Gail should be given a pat on the back just for the packaging alone.. FZ would be proud. (I have to note that EMI has just released DOES HUMOR BELONG IN MUSIC DVD-- and the packaging is non existant... just a DVD... without anything else... really crappy -see my review of that)Now onto the DVD content: There are some of the reviewers out there that for whatever reason didn't like the extra stuff on this DVD. I am NOT one of those. I totally enjoy Roy Estrada doing the silly things with the blow up doll... yes it was silly, strange and not normal.. but hey, wasn't that the theme of this whole film in the first place? Anyone who coudn't enjoy the back to back greatness of FZ's guitar playing on this just doesn't really like FZ's playing... I enjoyed the claymation and the interviews that FZ had with Bickford as he explained the process of the plot... very entertaining. In short, if you are also into the wierdness of FZ and those he associated with, then you will enjoy this movie.. if you are only into the music and the music's wierdness, then you may have parts that you do not like. I however, enjoyed it all and really thought the parts that were not music was really fun to watch. Watching FZ orchestrate, by pointing to his band members, is just astonishing. Terry Bozzio is just amazing... how he just pounded the drums with no mercy with as much authority as someone like a Bruford or Ehart. Great stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: Great film, bad transfer
Review: After WAY too many years of waiting, we are finally treated to the first Zappa film to be released on DVD in the US! Baby Snakes is a great choice to start with and would have been my first pick too. This is the long (~2.5 hours), unedited version with lots of live footage from the 1977 legendary Halloween show at the Palladium in NYC supplemented with backstage footage, claymation footage by Bruce Bickford and more. Even some historic moments make it to the film such as footage of future Zappa guitarist (but then a mere die-hard fan) Warren Cuccurullo backstage with Zappa praising Zappa to the camera. Later Zappa tells Warren that he'd be willing to audition him for the band. Although I am happy this is now available, there are a few problems with the DVD that dropped my rating to a three from a five. First, there is no real decent bonus material on the DVD. We are offered only trailers, promos, etc. Infinitely more importantly, the film transfer to DVD is just bad. There is no reason for a transfer like this considering the enormous advances made in this regard. The tools to do this job right are available. The Who's "The Kids Are Alright" is an excellent example of a wonderful, effective restoration and transfer. Unfortunately, the picture on the Baby Snakes DVD is really showing its age. It looks fuzzy, dirty and the colors are washed out. From the beginning titles we see dust and scratches on the film that leads to footage that is blurred and faded. Overall, this is a brilliant film sadly presented via a hack print seemingly just thrown onto a DVD. This bad presentation is a disservice to the important, unique work of Zappa and only makes the film seem dated and cheap. The result will certainly be less effective at reviving the interest of old fans let alone drawing in new ones. Despite this disappointment by the Zappa family, it's still a must have.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't play on Sony Playstation.....
Review: Despite the "PS2 Compatible" printing on the DVD jacket, this DVD does not play on the PS2.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't play on Sony Playstation.....
Review: Despite the "PS2 Compatible" printing on the DVD jacket, this DVD does not ply on the PS2.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't play on Sony Playstation.....
Review: Despite the "PS2 Compatible" printing on the DVD jacket, this DVD does not play on the PS2.
Rating:
Summary: tehnically & entertainingly superb audience experience
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Conceptual Genius
Review: Every musician should own this video or see it at least five times. The musicality is genius, and is one of the best lineups Zappa has ever employed. The performances are intricately insane, and the claymation is obviously the work of synthetically induced psychedalia. Even though Zappa didn't do drugs, he employed an artist for the exploratory animation that clearly was...and just like Zappa, humorous. Baby Snakes is simply a masterpiece!
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