As a long time Zappa fan, this movie has been on my to-watch list for decades, and I finally got around to watching it (thank you, Netflix). If you like Zappa, you need to watch this movie. If you're not a Zappa fan, this will not change that. What can I say? If I had seen it 40 years ago, I probably would have said it was the greatest movie I'd ever seen. Partly because the effects would have been more impressive back then, but mostly because I was a teenager. It doesn't have much of a plot as such. It loosely follows the exploits of a fictionalized version of the Mothers (several of the musician/actors had already been fired from the band when the movie was made). It's basically a running commentary on the music industry. That's a common theme for Frank, and he did it much better years later with the Joe's Garage series. It was recorded on videotape, and they threw ever special effects trick in the book at it that was available at the time. Given Frank's strong anti-drug stand, it's a bit ironic how often I found myself thinking "Wow, I really wish I were high for this". Particular highlights:Flo and Eddie! They clearly loved being in this movie and making music with Zappa, and it showed on their faces in every scene they were in.The London Symphony. They were at the opposite end of the spectrum. They played what was written (including the occasional barks and other noises) with stoic precision, but the looks on their faces said "I just hope the check clears".The perennially good sport Theodore Bikel. I mean seriously, who doesn't love him?In the end, I think what bothered my most about the movie was the extreme cynicism of it. Zappa was an incredibly talented guy, but he was clearly nervous about "putting himself out there", so he tended to to everything with a wink. He could have tried to make a "good" movie, but instead he made something overtly absurd, so if people didn't like it he could say "You weren't supposed to; I was being *ironic*".

Personally, I am a big Zappa fan. I read that this movie wasn't edited the way Zappa wanted and it turned out to be an entirely different movie, which I can see. It did feel incomplete and a gapped, but I still liked it. As a Zappa fan, I look deep for metaphors of philosophy in jokes and actions. I found many that were very deep to me, especially in the cartoon scene where the boy looks to the television for answers to life's questions and when Ringo Starr (playing Zappa) narrates the actions of the Mothers Of Invention. All in all, for a fan, it was entertaining and I would probably watch it again. In a non-fan's point of view, it's not at all conventional. I expected the way it was with a fan's point of view, but switching into a non-fan's point of view, it was confusing, bizarre, and random. It was perverted and deranged - far too crappy for the so-called Golden Age Of American Cinema (1970's). Even in that perspective, I felt the movie was innovative and twisted. Not bad, but extremely intriguing with an odd feeling I couldn't spot. This movie is not for everyone, but I liked it and any Zappa fan should too.

I see that this fallacy (to remain polite) is taken from the credits as they appear in the DVD booklet... Yet ANOTHER thing to be hated about this release!... Ruth Underwood (born Komanoff) is credited by Zappa in the soundtrack album as the player of the ORCHESTRA DRUM SET, and she can be seen playing it and reading her parts on a photo of the album's booklet! So every time you hear a drummer playing along in the highly complex orchestra-only pieces (and not with The Mothers' electric combo), it is she, the highly accomplished virtuoso percussionist!Yes, it is a poor film, regardless of the format, print and transfer, and I agree with most of the recent reviews here. However, the live music (band, orchestra and virtuoso soprano and bass singers) remains fantastic, even deeply moving in parts, and includes one or two major pieces otherwise unavailable so far on any official recording.

While not truly horrible, this movie is still a nearly unwatchable mess which is only barely saved by Zappa's music.This movie could only have been made in the post-psychedelic, highly experimental climate of the early 70s. It feels like a first year film school project gone horribly wrong. Every "trippy" video and editing trick is employed. It's truly an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach to film making, however, it only serves to compound the fact that there's no substance to this mess. There's no plot to speak of, rather it's more of a series of skits. The trouble is, for the most part they're unfunny and only barely entertaining. Even cameos by such luminaries as Ringo Starr and Keith Moon fail to deliver much beyond the cheap thrill of recognition.As I mentioned, this movie is only barely saved by the musical performances. That's because some of them are horrible, some are just OK, and only a select few are actually really good. This is the kind of movie you need to see on DVD so you can skip straight to the performances, because there's really no other reason to watch this movie.I guarantee you won't be able to get through this movie in one sitting. It's basically garbage, and is interesting mainly as a historical curiosity.