When I met Peter Tork, I told him Head was one of my favourite movies. Without missing a beat, he shoots back with "You have a deranged mind, my friend".
Peter plays the part of him getting slammed by the football player so automatically. The expression on his face, and him really getting clobbered. It is perfect. Priceless. I always enjoy watching that sequence. RIP Peter. Love you, man.
I saw "Head" as a kid with my 2 sisters at a local army base in1968. We loved the Monkees TV show. The movie was so unlike the series, though, that we were thoroughly confused & disappointed. Oh, we laughed, found the songs tunefully captivating, & no doubt were mesmerized by the psychedelic imagery, but we didn't understand it, as it has no plot, at least one that's not revealed until the end of the film. Truly, it was ahead of its time. I've watched the film a few times over the years since, & like it because it IS so different. Even today, 5 decades later, it's stands out as unique, has some really cool songs, & remains both fun & fascinating, plus it captures the group as a whole on film for the last time. In 1968, the Monkees were on the cutting-edge totally!
You had to be a "Head" to understand it. If you were a "Head" you smoked pot. Thats what "Head" meant, that liberated your thinking and consciousness in your "head," by using pot, taking LSD or pscilocybin mushrooms. Most of us were artists and musicians.
@@satanlaffing Most of us saw it stoned, it made total sense. If you're a "Boomer" like me, the time that movie was made WAS a "horror show." We were napalming women and children and babies, we had NO right and no reason to be in Viet Nam. At home, blacks were being murdered wholesale by crooked police, anyone 18 or older was being drafted to go kill people we knew nothing about, and the far right were shouting that "commies" were everywhere. "Head" touched on all of that. It was only maybe a year or two later, I was forced to enlist in the US Navy or be drafted straight into the Marines. Marines went straight to "Nam" from boot camp; many never came back. But we did NOT have a politcal party trying to install a Russian asset as an American dictator, so, we still have internal forces trying to kill off Democracy here, so things aren't all that great now, but at least we don't have an active war for resources going on right now, and we are helping Ukraine survive at least....I guess Humanity is never going to wake up....
True story: I rented this movie from Blockbuster/Hollywood Video or some similar type video store in the late 90's and apparently returned it late. The next time I went to rent a movie I was standing at the checkout counter with a long line behind me and the person who was ringing me up said "Oh it looks like you have a late fee" I was like "I do?" They said "Yes, it was on a movie called Head" She said that trying not to grin and there were a few chuckles coming from behind me as well. Back then many video stores also had a beaded section where titles like Head meant something else. Not sure if this store had that section but man was I embarrassed. I just managed a nervous laugh and said "It was a Monkees movie!"
@@LifeOnLombok It was wonderful Micky lived up to his reputation of being the nicest one out of all The Monkees. The only thing that was sad was Micky apologizing if we asked us to repeat a question and showing us his hearing aid. Other than that it was a wonderful amazing event.
@@davidbreen6335 I was very fortunate to meet Micky years ago in Canada when I was a teen. He was very nice, very smiley. I didn't realize he wears a hearing aid now. Not surprising though with decades of loud concerts and in-studio creating music. I appreciate his ability to keep going. I really like his version of Shiny Happy People that he recently put out. What do you think? 😊
My band in the 90’s was called Head, as tribute to the movie. We played Porpoise Song occasionally. It was always fun to be introduced with, “Ladies and Gentleman, I proudly give you Head!”
As a kid, my brother, me and a couple of cousins sought shade from the Oz heat in a Queensland cinema showing "Head". It was part of a double feature along with "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". We were all Monkees fans and weren't quite prepared for what was in store for us. We laughed from the moment we saw Micky lose his cool with the coke machine and as it got blown up. We didn't really have a clue what was going on, most of the film went right over our heads. As I matured and with subsequent viewings, I was able to understand and appreciate the subtexts of the film. It was probably too full on for Monkees fans and the general public when it was first released. To me the film deconstructed the band's manufactured image in a creative and at times, brutal way. It was an act of self-sabotage, albeit subconsciously. Nevertheless, I love the film with all its eccentricities. The film is all over the place but there are some great moments of societal critiques, indictment of the Vietnam War and withering use of satire. The soundtrack is fantastic and showcases all of the guys' talents, from Peter's "Do I Have to do This All Over Again?", Mike's "Circle Sky", Davy's "Daddy's Song" and of course, Micky's sublime "As We Go Along". Thanks for posting this, it's always interesting to discover what went on behind the scenes and the viewpoints of the players involved. RIP Mike, thanks for the musical legacy you've left for us all.
Jack is a truly unique talent. Anything...and i mean ANYTHING that dude says can be Oscar worthy! As for Head, it was the intro to the Monkees i never realized was the Monkees! I remember putting that record on from my dad's collection and thinking this is the strangest and most awesome music ive ever heard. It wasnt until 2 years ago that i realized it was the band that did it cuz that record was lost for 30+ years. I am SO glad i rediscovered this, because its like a missing puzzle piece to my life that was finally found decades later!❤
For me the thing that worked for Head was it had a dream - like quality. If you disregarded the need for a plot and just remembered how dreams can be disjointed, wild, and unusual then it could work.
@@_Peremalfait Well you got to know before hand what is going on, and in the beginning they tell you that this movie is disjointed. Granted for a mainstream audience I'm reminded of a line from a movie about dreams called "Waking Life" where a director makes a comment about two other directors talking about a movie the other made, and this film cost a million to make and he says "it's about a dream within a dream" and the other director goes "you just lost a million dollars." The film isn't going to work for everyone, but as a cult film which I heard it was, it can.
Once you embrace the chaos of the movie... lack of the (then) television style cohesiveness... and (TV Executive required) laugh track, you start to realize what a gem of a movie "Head" really was.
I love "Head!" It's so bizarre that it's charming. Now what this clip doesn't mention that the Monkees, Bob, and Jack all went to Jack's house, smoked a shitload of weed, and blurted out the first ideas that came into their heads while a tape recorder taped the entire thing. Jack and Bob wrote a script based on that tape, and thus "Head" was born!
Doesn't really matter to me what anybody thinks or says. How or why things get made or don't, it's the end product. I love the movie and the music. I understand not everyone's cup of tea. I'll admit that it is a fascinating story to hear.
The movie was good, but the music was spectacular, it was their finest moment. It was some of the best music of the 60’s, and there was not a bad song there.
Starting as a commercial enterprise, popularity came quickly to the Monkees and proved to be an empty achievement. Searching for meaning through self-awareness and true artistic creation they began to fill that void and "Head" assisted in breaking out of the broad, shallow box they had been packaged in. They found that happiness isn't achieved from riches or fame, but in seeking out the never-popular truth and discovering the strange purposes behind the formation of each individual soul. While subverting expectations and contradicting their producers, the Monkees became the very thing they were designed to not be: original - and- artists. (Again, against all odds, they released one of their best album in 2016 called "Good Times! ".)
It’s a specific taste - it’s part weirder shit from White Album, adult swim, absurdism, and Python + a healthy does of cheese. Part of the fun is not knowing what’s going to happen next
the VH1 movie about the Monkees made it out like the Monkees and Jack Nicholson wrote the screenplay for Head while over indulging on cannabis. Bob Rafelson and Nicholson writing the screenplay while on acid really helped to explain a lot.
"Head" may have died a quick box-office death, but it did not vanish from theaters. After its 1968 release, the film continued to be shown for two years - mostly drive-ins and double bills (occasionally paired with "Yellow Submarine" and "Easy Rider"), but also family matinees that capitalized on the Monkees' Saturday morning TV revival during 1969-70.
Watching Head now is awesome. It’s a time capsule. Not to mention it has some of my favorite Monkees songs in it. However, it also makes me a little angry knowing it was used to kill the Monkees. I have to wonder what would’ve happened if they would’ve made the one that “would’ve been as big a hit as Hard Days Night“.
Head was ten years ahead of its time. That was its problem. The techniques it employed were used extensively in the 1970s. The producers didn't know how to market it. IF you see the poster for it, it's just a closeup of a nerd with glasses looking at the viewer, with no context. That's it. There was no advertising for it. Kids thought it was going to be a movie version of their favorite tv show. What they got was a dark, edgy, cynical deconstruction of the Monkees, and the rest of the 60s. The young adults felt tricked when they were told the film was "edgy", and then the Monkees came on. To top it off, the Monkees wanted writing credits for the film, which is really just a collage of short disconnected scenes, and when they were refused writing credit, they boycotted the first day of filming; except for Peter. It cost the producers a tremendous amount of money, as they were renting the studio by the day. That caused Rafelson to become hostile to the group. Not a good atmosphere to make a film in. Peter Tork said that boycotting the first day of shooting was a mistake and would create that break with the producers, and he was right. Mike, Mickey and Davy felt that Peter let them down by not boycotting the shoot along with the rest of them. It was ultimately a pointless act, because the film bombed, and passed into obscurity. The film, however, is a success. It is a cynical view of the 60s and the 60s itself. Roger Ebert hated it and went into great detail denigrating the individual members of the group, which demonstrates what a pompous blowhard Ebert was, and is a better recommendation for this time capsule of the 60s than anything else I could mention.
So there's a subtle distinction between "the 60s and the 60s itself" ? Nice try, fartbrain. You used the "dark, cynical deconstruction" line earlier in your post, too. Maybe you should trademark it. Now go pound sand, Pauline Kael.
@@chiefscheider, there's a distinction between "a deconstruction of the 60s" and "the 60s itself". If you don't see a distinction, great. There's no need for name-calling of strangers on a comment board. Go do something constructive. It's 2022, seize the day!
I am one who LOVES that movie. I tell my music-minded friends that HEAD is an underrated Cult gem. Upon first watch it's hard to get what is going on. But the second time I saw it, everything feel into place. Also, the soundtrack is just terrific. "Porpoise Song", "As We Go Along", and "Can You Dig It?" are amongst The Monkees best songs.
Awesome interview and such but for the uninitiated who did not know that Micky and his colleagues made a movie called Head .... this title could be misleading.
Judging from the comments here, people either love this film or absolutely loathe it (I'm in the former category, I adore it). That proves that the film succeeded in a certain way. Over fifty years later and people still have a passionate opinion about it. That's better than being lukewarm in my opinion.
right on. I think a lot of people just don't get it, it was the Monkees deconstructing themselves to distance themselves from their manufactured pop band image, had profound social commentary, poked fun at hollywood, had their best music and some fantastic surrealism, sadly it tanked. but love it or hate it means its good art. no one has no opinion about it.
It's not quite that simple to me. There are two ways to evaluate films, on an artistic merit and personal enjoyment merit. In both ways I'd call "Head" very good but not perfect.
"Nobody saw it?" I DID. I saw it when it first came out. It was a cool stoner kind of movie and I liked it alot. It spit on alot of institutional BS and of course the critics hated it, a bunch of old white fat rich guys who made their living trashing artists ;-) I watched it again, last year and yeah it was kind of self indulgent but it was FUN and it was made for us "Heads," people who smoked pot and hated the war and the Republikan right right wing monsters making money killing innocent civiliians in Viet Nam. My own Dad protested to the Pentagon that kids weren't getting ANY jungle warfare training and were being slaughtered in Viet Nam. Dad was a veteran of WWII, a combat photographer at the invasion of Leyte Gulf. They went after Dad and told him they were going to court martial him or he could resign with a rank increase, and of course he he took that, was boosted to Major and we went home from France. They insisted he be drummed out of the Army at Arlington. Us kids had no idea what was happening at all. Dad wanted to retire in France not come back to rabid consumerism, pre-fab housing developments and the Pentagon war mongers. I can only dream about what life would have been if we had become French citizens. USA hasn't changed that much, far right radicalists still ruining the country and nearly had a dictator installed in an actual COUP. Our peace and love movement was destroyed on purpose by entrenched evil thats still trying to destroy Democracy. "Head" left a strong memory with me, it was right for its time, it was innovative and lead to "Easy Rider" being produced, a real classic, another movie with great music. Another slap at the "establishment" as we called it then.
IT WOULD BE GOOD IF MICKEY DOLENZ GOT TOGETHER WITH DAVID BYRNE AND TALKED ABOUT THE TALKING HEADS AND THE MONKEES MOVIE, "HEAD", AND THEN DID SOME LED ZEPPELIN COVER TUNES.
I love that movie! No matter where you go or what you do, you end up stuck back in a box. Great music, Frank Zappa, Annette Funicello's fake tear, talking cow, boxing, cute guys. "Where there is choice, there is misery."
Speaking of run on a double bill. Saw Head at independent suburb theater in 1970. The 1st feature was Dean Martin as Matt Helm "The wrecking Crew" his "Easy going spy". 2'd run maybe a dollar for two films back then. Hindsight is 20/20 band should have asked for a more cohesive theme movie not a scattershot turned into a cult favorite now. Life goes on they made enough money on reunion tours to have a nice living.
"From the Producers who gave you Head". 😆 Should've stuck with the first script. I think by the end of their 1967 tour, they wanted to shed that dressed up early days look. Beatles boots etc. If you think about it, most bands did go for the psychedelic look in 1967. Beatles, The Stones.
Head may not be better than A Hard Day's Night, but the soundtrack is better than Sgt. Pepper's. "I'd like a glass of cold gravy with a hair in it, please."
@3:27 The humour of the line "Hold it! This is for LIFE!" is a funny visual irony with the gun in his hand. I was a 19 year old sheltered Mormon when I saw Head the first time and I probably didn't 'get' it, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. Since leaving the church, I enjoy it far more.
First saw/heard of Head back in the 90's at 2:00 am, with a flu or some bug. Being in that particular altered state made it such an absolute trip. Head was the film I had been waiting for. Up to that time, was wondering why can't there be movies not relying on a story line? Why can't we have random, non-sequitur tied together with really great visuals and music, yet find some unifying theme or message at the end? Basically, I don't wish to be spoon-fed. Let me discover it for myself. Just wish there could be more like it, explored more deeply.
I love the fact that Frank Zappa's part ended with him telling Davy that the youth of America needed him and the cow said yeah. It must have been a cash cow!
@@eargasm1072 Gotta love this movie. They made it with the intention of it bombing. It's now a cult classic along with The world's greatest singer and 200 Motels.
Head was great, especially the opening where they jump off the bridge and get rescued by mermaids…. The Porpoise Song… tripping without the acid… but it helped 🤣
I kind of believe Peter Tork's take that Bob Rafelson used Head to kill the Monkees so that he could go make Easy Rider while leaving the four Monkees holding the bag for the movie's failure. He was probably sick of their star-tripping anyway. Even now, I can only watch it for minutes at a time.
@@colleenlogie334 Interesting- even back then there was behind the scenes agenda making with the (impression) Bob Rafelson was on the up and up. Concluding here that Dolenz had a central creative role in at least the movie planning. On the erosion of the two creative camps, music and movie- Peter Tork scene shows how different they really are.
I would lump this movie in with other 60s surreal films, like Casino Royal, What,s New Pussycat? Barberella, Modesty Blaze, etc. I enjoy watching clips more than the whole movie at once. That's not meant as a cricitizism.
Where did this interview originally appear? I just watched the film a week ago and it's not that bad and definitely of its time. I did try watching it years ago on the CBS Late Movie when I was around 11 and didn't like it because I didn't get it. I didn't realize there was nothing to get.
Anyone out there remember the movie Daydream Believer? There's that scene where Nicholson is telling one of the station suits that he can write a script that can make or break the Monkees and they decide to do the latter. In other words they portray Nicholson as the station appointed villain who effectively destroyed the Monkees because the band refused to work under the contract terms and ultimately decided to end their contract. In the movie Daydream Believer it's made to look like the Monkees were screwed over by someone who they thought was on their side giving them artistic freedom.
I think I’m general it was about fame/celebrity/success and the different aspects of that, at least to me that’s kinda the theme each scene/fragment touches on.
If you don't know, you'll never know. Not everything needs explanation, it just is. Do you ask people to explain paintings to you? What does it mean to you?
I was six, HUGE monkeys fan, begged my Mom to take us to the theater to see it. I think Peter summed it up perfectly "It's a movie for kids, they're not gonna dig it man". I had no idea what the hell was going on. Didn't make ANY sense. Didn't even like the songs. Only part that remains a memory was the jumping into the water and underwater footage. I thought that was cool.
Hippy dippey ,but a good flick that reflects the Era. Worth a rewatch The bridge jump at end is interesting, as that bridge has been replaced and due for disassembly.
When I met Peter Tork, I told him Head was one of my favourite movies. Without missing a beat, he shoots back with "You have a deranged mind, my friend".
We met him too. He was so nice.
😂😂😂😂 he seems like a beautiful soul. He is sorely missed in this world
I loved his band Shoe Suede Blues. 👞😢🎶
Peter plays the part of him getting slammed by the football player so automatically. The expression on his face, and him really getting clobbered. It is perfect. Priceless. I always enjoy watching that sequence. RIP Peter. Love you, man.
No way!!! You met him!!! That’s awesome!!
Its amazing how Mickey Dolenz's hat, emphatically agrees with everything he says..
It’s a supporting hat
Ya! I was mesmerized by the brim wobbling frantically!
LOL
wow - there's footage of Nicholson talking about HEAD. Never thought I'd see this!!!
I hate him even more for destroying that movie.
neither did I!
Jack later got arrested for Putting a HEAD Sticker on a Cop's Riot Helmet!
The reason was for Bert to destroy the Bubblegum image and The Monkees! He almost did both.
@@jbjacobs9514 It was Bob and Bert's idea to destroy them Jack was used as a Stooge.
I saw "Head" as a kid with my 2 sisters at a local army base in1968. We loved the Monkees TV show. The movie was so unlike the series, though, that we were thoroughly confused & disappointed. Oh, we laughed, found the songs tunefully captivating, & no doubt were mesmerized by the psychedelic imagery, but we didn't understand it, as it has no plot, at least one that's not revealed until the end of the film. Truly, it was ahead of its time. I've watched the film a few times over the years since, & like it because it IS so different. Even today, 5 decades later, it's stands out as unique, has some really cool songs, & remains both fun & fascinating, plus it captures the group as a whole on film for the last time. In 1968, the Monkees were on the cutting-edge totally!
You had to be a "Head" to understand it. If you were a "Head" you smoked pot. Thats what "Head" meant, that liberated your thinking and consciousness in your "head," by using pot, taking LSD or pscilocybin mushrooms. Most of us were artists and musicians.
@@davestephens8033 i always said that it would make a great "midnight movie" like "Rocky Horror Picture Show".
@@satanlaffing Most of us saw it stoned, it made total sense. If you're a "Boomer" like me, the time that movie was made WAS a "horror show." We were napalming women and children and babies, we had NO right and no reason to be in Viet Nam. At home, blacks were being murdered wholesale by crooked police, anyone 18 or older was being drafted to go kill people we knew nothing about, and the far right were shouting that "commies" were everywhere. "Head" touched on all of that. It was only maybe a year or two later, I was forced to enlist in the US Navy or be drafted straight into the Marines. Marines went straight to "Nam" from boot camp; many never came back. But we did NOT have a politcal party trying to install a Russian asset as an American dictator, so, we still have internal forces trying to kill off Democracy here, so things aren't all that great now, but at least we don't have an active war for resources going on right now, and we are helping Ukraine survive at least....I guess Humanity is never going to wake up....
Fuckin love The Monkees...
So sad to hear the news of Mike. Rest in Power, Mike, Peter and Davy
I like The Monkees but this movie SUCKS.
They made some great music but that movie is incomprehensible
True story: I rented this movie from Blockbuster/Hollywood Video or some similar type video store in the late 90's and apparently returned it late. The next time I went to rent a movie I was standing at the checkout counter with a long line behind me and the person who was ringing me up said "Oh it looks like you have a late fee" I was like "I do?" They said "Yes, it was on a movie called Head" She said that trying not to grin and there were a few chuckles coming from behind me as well. Back then many video stores also had a beaded section where titles like Head meant something else. Not sure if this store had that section but man was I embarrassed. I just managed a nervous laugh and said "It was a Monkees movie!"
That just confused everyone even more. They thought you had rented ape-pòrn.
Can not tell you how much I love this movie
HEAD is an INCREDIBLE film! The music is amazing and the innuendos are SO clever! I own several copies...and copies of the soundtrack!
I got to see Head on the big screen a few years ago and Micky Dolenz was there to do a meet and greet and give a lecture about the movie.
@davidbreen6335 That's really cool! I would love to see it on the big screen.
@@LifeOnLombok It was wonderful Micky lived up to his reputation of being the nicest one out of all The Monkees. The only thing that was sad was Micky apologizing if we asked us to repeat a question and showing us his hearing aid. Other than that it was a wonderful amazing event.
@@davidbreen6335 I was very fortunate to meet Micky years ago in Canada when I was a teen. He was very nice, very smiley. I didn't realize he wears a hearing aid now. Not surprising though with decades of loud concerts and in-studio creating music. I appreciate his ability to keep going. I really like his version of Shiny Happy People that he recently put out. What do you think? 😊
My band in the 90’s was called Head, as tribute to the movie. We played Porpoise Song occasionally. It was always fun to be introduced with, “Ladies and Gentleman, I proudly give you Head!”
"The Porpoise Song", written by the great songwriters Goffin and King, is a wonderful slice of late '60s psychedelia.
As a kid, my brother, me and a couple of cousins sought shade from the Oz heat in a Queensland cinema showing "Head". It was part of a double feature along with "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". We were all Monkees fans and weren't quite prepared for what was in store for us. We laughed from the moment we saw Micky lose his cool with the coke machine and as it got blown up. We didn't really have a clue what was going on, most of the film went right over our heads.
As I matured and with subsequent viewings, I was able to understand and appreciate the subtexts of the film. It was probably too full on for Monkees fans and the general public when it was first released. To me the film deconstructed the band's manufactured image in a creative and at times, brutal way. It was an act of self-sabotage, albeit subconsciously.
Nevertheless, I love the film with all its eccentricities. The film is all over the place but there are some great moments of societal critiques, indictment of the Vietnam War and withering use of satire. The soundtrack is fantastic and showcases all of the guys' talents, from Peter's "Do I Have to do This All Over Again?", Mike's "Circle Sky", Davy's "Daddy's Song" and of course, Micky's sublime "As We Go Along".
Thanks for posting this, it's always interesting to discover what went on behind the scenes and the viewpoints of the players involved.
RIP Mike, thanks for the musical legacy you've left for us all.
Great post, Joy! Nice memory you shared and a damn good critique of the movie.
@@chiefscheider Thank you Chief. I really appreciate your kind reply.
😊
This was interesting. Thanks for sharing it. I always wondered why they strayed from their target audience with this movie.
The movie is fun to watch. The soundtrack album is great!
Jack is a truly unique talent. Anything...and i mean ANYTHING that dude says can be Oscar worthy!
As for Head, it was the intro to the Monkees i never realized was the Monkees! I remember putting that record on from my dad's collection and thinking this is the strangest and most awesome music ive ever heard. It wasnt until 2 years ago that i realized it was the band that did it cuz that record was lost for 30+ years.
I am SO glad i rediscovered this, because its like a missing puzzle piece to my life that was finally found decades later!❤
I’ve loved Head for years, but I was today years old when I realized that Jack Nicholson was involved in this. Wow. Love it even more now lol.
Jack Nicholson is in Head.
For me the thing that worked for Head was it had a dream - like quality. If you disregarded the need for a plot and just remembered how dreams can be disjointed, wild, and unusual then it could work.
@@_Peremalfait Well you got to know before hand what is going on, and in the beginning they tell you that this movie is disjointed. Granted for a mainstream audience I'm reminded of a line from a movie about dreams called "Waking Life" where a director makes a comment about two other directors talking about a movie the other made, and this film cost a million to make and he says "it's about a dream within a dream" and the other director goes "you just lost a million dollars." The film isn't going to work for everyone, but as a cult film which I heard it was, it can.
It's a Mobius Strip. It starts where it ends and ends where it starts. It's brilliant.
I loved the clothes for "Head." On point even for today!
So cool! I've never heard Nicholson talk about his Monkees experiences!
Once you embrace the chaos of the movie... lack of the (then) television style cohesiveness... and (TV Executive required) laugh track, you start to realize what a gem of a movie "Head" really was.
RIP Davy, Peter, and Mike.
and Bert 😌
@@chiefscheider also RIP to Frank Zappa, Sonny Liston, Annette Funnicello, Victor Mature, & Abraham Soafer (The Guru) all who co-starred in "Head"
I love "Head!" It's so bizarre that it's charming. Now what this clip doesn't mention that the Monkees, Bob, and Jack all went to Jack's house, smoked a shitload of weed, and blurted out the first ideas that came into their heads while a tape recorder taped the entire thing. Jack and Bob wrote a script based on that tape, and thus "Head" was born!
that was the way i always heard it was written too (and why the monkees were pissed when they didn't get a writing credit)
That movie was brilliant
Head ALBUM was an unappreciated masterpiece.Sorry to learn movie was co-opted...
I saw Head at the age of 10.
It went way over my head.
Best RUclips video title ever.
I love this movie!! It's a great commentary on the war and the boys' relationship with their fame.
I've seen it several times. It gets better with repeated viewings IMO
Doesn't really matter to me what anybody thinks or says. How or why things get made or don't, it's the end product. I love the movie and the music. I understand not everyone's cup of tea. I'll admit that it is a fascinating story to hear.
Head is a brilliant movie.
Imagine if you know nothing about the Monkees and this title comes up in your feed
Holy moly, you NEVER see Nicholson interviewed for these things! Obviously because of his friendship with Rafelson.
I was thinking the same thing!
And he wasn't even wearing his trademark shades!
Loved the movie and the album. 💿
When you’re high on LSD, everything looks amazing.
The movie was good, but the music was spectacular, it was their finest moment. It was some of the best music of the 60’s, and there was not a bad song there.
If for nothing else... The Porpise Song makes it worth a watch.
RIP Mike RIP Peter RIP Davy
They're all waiting for Mickey dolenz to join them in heaven. From Ms. Harper Stacey.
This is the first time ever seeing Jack Nicholson in a real interview.
Check out this one from 1970 --
ruclips.net/video/Cf-7C5Z8kjs/видео.html
@@chiefscheider Cool interview. Its great that the interviewer, Bobbie Wygant is still alive at 95 years old..
I love how Micky’s hat moves as he talks. So cute! ❤
Some people say The Godfather is the best movie ever. Apparently, they have never seen Head.
Hahaha
"Are you telling me that you don't see the connection between government and laughing at people?"
Good thing Jack didn't abandon acting for screen writing...
Starting as a commercial enterprise, popularity came quickly to the Monkees and proved to be an empty achievement. Searching for meaning through self-awareness and true artistic creation they began to fill that void and "Head" assisted in breaking out of the broad, shallow box they had been packaged in.
They found that happiness isn't achieved from riches or fame, but in seeking out the never-popular truth and discovering the strange purposes behind the formation of each individual soul.
While subverting expectations and contradicting their producers, the Monkees became the very thing they were designed to not be: original - and- artists.
(Again, against all odds, they released one of their best album in 2016 called "Good Times! ".)
It’s a specific taste - it’s part weirder shit from White Album, adult swim, absurdism, and Python + a healthy does of cheese. Part of the fun is not knowing what’s going to happen next
I'm curious to know Jack's idea for the movie that would make as much as HARD DAY'S NIGHT.
the VH1 movie about the Monkees made it out like the Monkees and Jack Nicholson wrote the screenplay for Head while over indulging on cannabis. Bob Rafelson and Nicholson writing the screenplay while on acid really helped to explain a lot.
"Head" may have died a quick box-office death, but it did not vanish from theaters. After its 1968 release, the film continued to be shown for two years - mostly drive-ins and double bills (occasionally paired with "Yellow Submarine" and "Easy Rider"), but also family matinees that capitalized on the Monkees' Saturday morning TV revival during 1969-70.
Watching Head now is awesome. It’s a time capsule. Not to mention it has some of my favorite Monkees songs in it.
However, it also makes me a little angry knowing it was used to kill the Monkees. I have to wonder what would’ve happened if they would’ve made the one that “would’ve been as big a hit as Hard Days Night“.
His hat brim moving like that bothered me more than it probably should have
Head was ten years ahead of its time. That was its problem. The techniques it employed were used extensively in the 1970s.
The producers didn't know how to market it. IF you see the poster for it, it's just a closeup of a nerd with glasses looking at the viewer, with no context. That's it. There was no advertising for it. Kids thought it was going to be a movie version of their favorite tv show. What they got was a dark, edgy, cynical deconstruction of the Monkees, and the rest of the 60s. The young adults felt tricked when they were told the film was "edgy", and then the Monkees came on.
To top it off, the Monkees wanted writing credits for the film, which is really just a collage of short disconnected scenes, and when they were refused writing credit, they boycotted the first day of filming; except for Peter. It cost the producers a tremendous amount of money, as they were renting the studio by the day. That caused Rafelson to become hostile to the group. Not a good atmosphere to make a film in.
Peter Tork said that boycotting the first day of shooting was a mistake and would create that break with the producers, and he was right.
Mike, Mickey and Davy felt that Peter let them down by not boycotting the shoot along with the rest of them.
It was ultimately a pointless act, because the film bombed, and passed into obscurity.
The film, however, is a success. It is a cynical view of the 60s and the 60s itself. Roger Ebert hated it and went into great detail denigrating the individual members of the group, which demonstrates what a pompous blowhard Ebert was, and is a better recommendation for this time capsule of the 60s than anything else I could mention.
"It is a darkly cynical deconstruction of the 60s and the 60s itself."
Google "redundant" and that sentence is now one of the results 😄👍
@@chiefscheider , You might want to look up "subtle distinction" at some point.
Then again, in your case, never mind....
So there's a subtle distinction between "the 60s and the 60s itself" ?
Nice try, fartbrain. You used the "dark, cynical deconstruction" line earlier in your post, too. Maybe you should trademark it. Now go pound sand, Pauline Kael.
@@chiefscheider, there's a distinction between "a deconstruction of the 60s" and "the 60s itself". If you don't see a distinction, great. There's no need for name-calling of strangers on a comment board.
Go do something constructive. It's 2022, seize the day!
Wow, you've been pounding sand for a whole month? Nice!
Title: Micky Dolenz talks about Head.
Micky Dolenz screen/voice time: 47 seconds.
"47 seconds, you gotta be kiddin' me." -- Jack Nicholson
@@chiefscheider Hes right, click bait
Change the title. The video doesn't have really anything, barely, to do with Dolenz
Shake you self
I'm not too concerned about it, chuckles. It has a 98% likes to dislikes ratio ✌🏻
Head was like casting the Brady Bunch in Apocalypse Now.
I wouldn't mind seeing that. See The Brady Bunch buy the farm.
I'm in for 10g. Great movie idea.
Sounds like the story about the making of the movie Head was more interesting than the actual movie. They should make that movie.
I am one who LOVES that movie. I tell my music-minded friends that HEAD is an underrated Cult gem. Upon first watch it's hard to get what is going on. But the second time I saw it, everything feel into place. Also, the soundtrack is just terrific. "Porpoise Song", "As We Go Along", and "Can You Dig It?" are amongst The Monkees best songs.
How is it 2021 and I'm just now learning about this deep connection between Jack Nicholson and the Monkees?
I've tried watching it a few times. I've never been able to watch more than 30 minutes of it.
The 30 minute club. Very good. I think I looked at a minute of it and knew it wasn't worth watching.
You lasted longer than I did. Congrats.
Awesome interview and such but for the uninitiated who did not know that Micky and his colleagues made a movie called Head .... this title could be misleading.
Judging from the comments here, people either love this film or absolutely loathe it (I'm in the former category, I adore it). That proves that the film succeeded in a certain way. Over fifty years later and people still have a passionate opinion about it. That's better than being lukewarm in my opinion.
right on. I think a lot of people just don't get it, it was the Monkees deconstructing themselves to distance themselves from their manufactured pop band image, had profound social commentary, poked fun at hollywood, had their best music and some fantastic surrealism, sadly it tanked. but love it or hate it means its good art. no one has no opinion about it.
It's not quite that simple to me. There are two ways to evaluate films, on an artistic merit and personal enjoyment merit. In both ways I'd call "Head" very good but not perfect.
Some of those haters are really sick Fuckers who are Bieber lovers.
"Nobody saw it?" I DID. I saw it when it first came out. It was a cool stoner kind of movie and I liked it alot. It spit on alot of institutional BS and of course the critics hated it, a bunch of old white fat rich guys who made their living trashing artists ;-) I watched it again, last year and yeah it was kind of self indulgent but it was FUN and it was made for us "Heads," people who smoked pot and hated the war and the Republikan right right wing monsters making money killing innocent civiliians in Viet Nam. My own Dad protested to the Pentagon that kids weren't getting ANY jungle warfare training and were being slaughtered in Viet Nam. Dad was a veteran of WWII, a combat photographer at the invasion of Leyte Gulf. They went after Dad and told him they were going to court martial him or he could resign with a rank increase, and of course he he took that, was boosted to Major and we went home from France. They insisted he be drummed out of the Army at Arlington. Us kids had no idea what was happening at all. Dad wanted to retire in France not come back to rabid consumerism, pre-fab housing developments and the Pentagon war mongers. I can only dream about what life would have been if we had become French citizens. USA hasn't changed that much, far right radicalists still ruining the country and nearly had a dictator installed in an actual COUP. Our peace and love movement was destroyed on purpose by entrenched evil thats still trying to destroy Democracy. "Head" left a strong memory with me, it was right for its time, it was innovative and lead to "Easy Rider" being produced, a real classic, another movie with great music. Another slap at the "establishment" as we called it then.
I've never heard Jack talk about Head before!
I loved their music.
The last man standing, Mr Dolenz. Head is a great film.
I don't think I've ever seen Nicholson give an interview before.
I can hear the Werthers original in his mouth. Weird.
Thanks for sharing this! It's nice to hear what each of them thought of making Head and how it went.
YW! 👍
Liam Clancy said after Tommy Makem's death, "There is no fun in being the last one standing". Mickey is the last one standing.
Mickey was in every Monkee line-up too.
I remember seeing that movie in the theater for a friend's birthday party when I was six.
2:39 Blink or you'll miss it - Dennis Hopper crosses in the background.
I never realized how short he was. 5'7, 5'8 tops.
fyi the phrase is "blink _and_ you'll miss it" 😇
IT WOULD BE GOOD IF MICKEY DOLENZ GOT TOGETHER WITH DAVID BYRNE AND TALKED ABOUT THE TALKING HEADS AND THE MONKEES MOVIE, "HEAD", AND THEN DID SOME LED ZEPPELIN COVER TUNES.
Head was the Monkee's Magical Mystery Tour
I like it. Good movie.
I love that movie! No matter where you go or what you do, you end up stuck back in a box. Great music, Frank Zappa, Annette Funicello's fake tear, talking cow, boxing, cute guys. "Where there is choice, there is misery."
LOVE "HEAD"! Very much "of its time"
Speaking of run on a double bill. Saw Head at independent suburb theater in 1970. The 1st feature was Dean Martin as Matt Helm "The wrecking Crew" his "Easy going spy". 2'd run maybe a dollar for two films back then. Hindsight is 20/20 band should have asked for a more cohesive theme movie not a scattershot turned into a cult favorite now. Life goes on they made enough money on reunion tours to have a nice living.
That’s a heck of a double bill! Love em both.
"From the Producers who gave you Head". 😆 Should've stuck with the first script. I think by the end of their 1967 tour, they wanted to shed that dressed up early days look. Beatles boots etc. If you think about it, most bands did go for the psychedelic look in 1967. Beatles, The Stones.
Unless you already knew about 60s music and The Monkees, this title would have a whole different connotation.
Yeah. From the title of the video, I thought Mickey was going to discuss groupies...
Exactly what I was thinking 😊
Head may not be better than A Hard Day's Night, but the soundtrack is better than Sgt. Pepper's.
"I'd like a glass of cold gravy with a hair in it, please."
Unfortunately I wish they all could have lived to be in late 80s or 90s
@3:27 The humour of the line "Hold it! This is for LIFE!" is a funny visual irony with the gun in his hand.
I was a 19 year old sheltered Mormon when I saw Head the first time and I probably didn't 'get' it, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Since leaving the church, I enjoy it far more.
Classic film.
First saw/heard of Head back in the 90's at 2:00 am, with a flu or some bug. Being in that particular altered state made it such an absolute trip. Head was the film I had been waiting for. Up to that time, was wondering why can't there be movies not relying on a story line? Why can't we have random, non-sequitur tied together with really great visuals and music, yet find some unifying theme or message at the end? Basically, I don't wish to be spoon-fed. Let me discover it for myself. Just wish there could be more like it, explored more deeply.
Greatest. Movie. Ever.
The monkees manager wanted to kill the monkees with the movie head and succeeded
I love the fact that Frank Zappa's part ended with him telling Davy that the youth of America needed him and the cow said yeah. It must have been a cash cow!
"Monkees is the craaziest people!" 😂
@@eargasm1072 Gotta love this movie. They made it with the intention of it bombing. It's now a cult classic along with The world's greatest singer and 200 Motels.
Head was great, especially the opening where they jump off the bridge and get rescued by mermaids…. The Porpoise Song… tripping without the acid… but it helped 🤣
I love this movie the music is amazing
I’m a Monkees fan, but this movie was too strange.
I am an old Monkees fan (67 years old now) I have all the albums in the loft, including Head. I thought the film was rubbish, hard to watch.
The movie wasn’t for squares.
@@richsackett3423
🙄
@@sammyjo2852 Not for illiterate halfwits who speak in emojis, either.
@@richsackett3423
😘
I kind of believe Peter Tork's take that Bob Rafelson used Head to kill the Monkees so that he could go make Easy Rider while leaving the four Monkees holding the bag for the movie's failure. He was probably sick of their star-tripping anyway. Even now, I can only watch it for minutes at a time.
Yeah, I've always felt that way as well.
@@colleenlogie334 Interesting- even back then there was behind the scenes agenda making with the (impression) Bob Rafelson was on the up and up. Concluding here that Dolenz had a central creative role in at least the movie planning. On the erosion of the two creative camps, music and movie- Peter Tork scene shows how different they really are.
I would lump this movie in with other 60s surreal films, like Casino Royal, What,s New Pussycat? Barberella, Modesty Blaze, etc. I enjoy watching clips more than the whole movie at once. That's not meant as a cricitizism.
"Head" came out a few weeks before "Skidoo;" they would make a great double feature.
Where did this interview originally appear? I just watched the film a week ago and it's not that bad and definitely of its time. I did try watching it years ago on the CBS Late Movie when I was around 11 and didn't like it because I didn't get it. I didn't realize there was nothing to get.
It's from the documentary The BBS Story, produced by the Criterion Collection in 2010.
The film debuted in December 1968.
3:03 Nicholson wearing a Notre Dame jacket! Awesome!
Just met him at Northeast Comicon!!! So cool!
Where is the 4K release?!!
I would love that.
Anyone out there remember the movie Daydream Believer? There's that scene where Nicholson is telling one of the station suits that he can write a script that can make or break the Monkees and they decide to do the latter. In other words they portray Nicholson as the station appointed villain who effectively destroyed the Monkees because the band refused to work under the contract terms and ultimately decided to end their contract. In the movie Daydream Believer it's made to look like the Monkees were screwed over by someone who they thought was on their side giving them artistic freedom.
I just finished this film, and I'm beyond confused cause there were so many things going on with the film, like someone explain?!
I think I’m general it was about fame/celebrity/success and the different aspects of that, at least to me that’s kinda the theme each scene/fragment touches on.
If you don't know, you'll never know. Not everything needs explanation, it just is. Do you ask people to explain paintings to you? What does it mean to you?
@@kait.5437 after rewatching again and starting analyzing each segment they did , I saw a little of that and started understanding it more.
I was six, HUGE monkeys fan, begged my Mom to take us to the theater to see it. I think Peter summed it up perfectly "It's a movie for kids, they're not gonna dig it man". I had no idea what the hell was going on. Didn't make ANY sense. Didn't even like the songs. Only part that remains a memory was the jumping into the water and underwater footage. I thought that was cool.
it's pretty much their best album, anna.
Hands up, who came here because of the title? 😂
Surely you're not implying it's suggestive ... 😈
Great title!
Jack does interviews? Shocker!
Realized this is like the only interview I’ve ever seen of him
Hippy dippey ,but a good flick that reflects the Era. Worth a rewatch
The bridge jump at end is interesting, as that bridge has been replaced and due for disassembly.
The movies worth watching just to see The porpoise song and Circle sky.
Amazing.
Brilliant film. This and The Magic Christian are two of my faves discovered during my late teens in the late 80s when acid was really, really good.
Brilliant film?
You dropped too much 'L' !