Zappa (2020)
89%RT Audience Score: 80%
Awards & Nominations: 5 nominations
As rich and complex as its subject’s best work, Zappa honors the life and career of a musical legend without falling into hagiography
If you’re looking for a documentary that’s as wild and unpredictable as Frank Zappa’s music, then look no further than Zappa. With a pinballing assault of free association, claymation, and gleeful profanity, this film takes you on a journey inside the mind of one of America’s most iconic musicians. It’s a celebration of Zappa’s mystical aura and puzzling persona, and it’s sure to leave you feeling excited, disoriented, and maybe even a little bit enlightened. So grab some popcorn, turn up the volume, and get ready to experience the weird and wonderful world of Frank Zappa.
Production Company(ies)
Evergreen Pictures, Candescent Films, Artemis Rising Foundation
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2020
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.33 : 11.78 : 1
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Runtime:2h 9m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 23, 2020 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 27, 2020
Genre(s)
Documentary/Music
Keyword(s)
Zappa, Documentary, Music, Biography, Frank Zappa, Alex Winter, Jade Allen, Devorah DeVries, John Frizzell, Ahmet Zappa, Glen Zipper, Gail Zappa, Mike Keneally, Ian Underwood, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood, Ray White, Magnolia Pictures, English, Limited Release, Box Office, Gross USA, $14.4K, Alice Cooper, Howard Kaylan, MPAA Rating, Reviewed by Mark Kermode, Paul Byrnes, Wendy Ide, Kevin Maher, Andrew Pulver, Tim Robey, Josh Parham, Witney Seibold, Travis Johnson, Ayeen Forootan, David Bax, Graeme Tuckett
Worldwide gross: $213,633
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $243,791
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,899
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 26,586
US/Canada gross: $15,502
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $17,690
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,803
US/Canada opening weekend: $2,019
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $2,304
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,848
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Steve Vai – Self
Pamela Des Barres – Self
Howard Kaylan – Self
Gail Zappa – Self
Ruth Underwood – Self
Director(s)
Alex Winter
Writer(s)
Alex Winter
Producer(s)
Jade Allen, Devorah DeVries, John Frizzell, Alex Winter, Ahmet Zappa, Glen Zipper
Film Festivals
South by Southwest
Awards & Nominations
5 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (71) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (68) | Rotten (3)
It makes a very good case that you should be interested in Zappa’s work.
February 25, 2021
Mark Kermode
Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review
TOP CRITIC
If there is one American musician who was overdue for a comprehensive documentary, that’s Zappa — and this one doesn’t disappoint. It’s as messy as his music in parts, but that fits.
February 24, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Key to the success of the film is the editing, a pinballing assault of free association, claymation and gleeful profanity, which goes some way towards recreating what it must have been like to spend time inside Zappa’s head.
February 21, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Wendy Ide
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Winter has simply collated the resulting audio and video recordings into more than two hours of slightly sophomoric Zap-tastic musings on the pointlessness of commercial music, the need to fight the system and the tediousness of mainstream success.
February 20, 2021 | Rating: 2/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Winter has created a fascinating watch.
February 19, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Andrew Pulver
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Winter’s film deserves a lot of credit for appreciating the full, intrepid range of Zappa’s music, though penetrating the leathery mystery of his personality is perhaps a tall order.
February 18, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The style does bring a flamboyancy to the craft and creates methods that endear one to the brash yet creative persona of this particular artist.
June 5, 2022 | Rating: 7/10
Josh Parham
Next Best Picture
While perhaps erring on the side of worshipful, and not interesting in delving into Zappa’s flaws, it is, nonetheless, gripping and thorough.
September 13, 2021
Witney Seibold
Critically Acclaimed Podcast
“Legendary” is an adjective that gets thrown around a lot, often without too much justification. So too is “visionary”, come to think of it. But Frank Zappa was both: insanely talented, intimidatingly intelligent and incorrigibly iconoclastic.
July 14, 2021
Travis Johnson
Blunt Magazine
Winter never seeks to solve or understand Zappa’s singular mercurial character, and instead seeks to convey and celebrate the artist’s mystical aura and puzzling persona.
June 5, 2021
Ayeen Forootan
In Review Online
It’s exciting, wonderfully disorienting and, at times quite funny…
March 19, 2021
David Bax
Battleship Pretension
Mostly, Zappa is a terrific couple of hours, well-spent.
March 16, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Graeme Tuckett
Stuff.co.nz…
Plot
Zappa is a documentary that explores the private life and political activism of musical legend Frank Zappa, featuring appearances by his widow and musical collaborators.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The documentary features appearances by Frank Zappa’s widow Gail Zappa and several of his musical collaborators including Alice Cooper, Steve Vai, and Pamela Des Barres.
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