SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

Alistair Olson After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Michael Chantiri I saw this film about a year ago. I remember liking it on first viewing but I didn't love it until the fourth viewing. So what is "Head" about. The Monkees commit career suicide by jumping off a bridge and the scenes that follow show us in abstract ways why The Monkees chose to commit suicide. Pretty simple right? not really. These sequences can be hard to decipher but that makes it more re watchable and open to multiple interpretations. Some are just entertaining as well as thought provoking such as Mickys desert scene. I think it's one of the best things The Monkees ever did and because they took the risk, we now have a underrated gem. The movie thematically and from a filmmaking perspective is so artistic and gorgeous. The movie is very hip for the time and perfectly captures the counterculture of that era.Sure, it might of not been the movie The Monkees should of made for the benefit of their careers but it was the right movie to be made for the time and for The Monkees to fire back at the media for calling them fake etc.I actually did this movie as my related text for some of my English essays in my final year of schooling this year which I'm pretty proud of.I would highly recommend this to see how bizarre but awesome this film is.

thelifeofmeaning The Monkees had a few songs that could be described as protest songs, like "Last Train to Clarksville" or "Circle Sky", songs that were clearly against the Vietnam war. This movie compiles in my opinion the best Monkees songs. Classics like "The Porpoise Song", "As we Go Along", "Daddy's Song", and a lot of other great classics. However, as the Monkees' protest songs are mainly against war, this film seems to be a protest film in itself, one of the first of its time in 1968. Not just a protest against Vietnam as always, but a protest against how they thought their creativity was ruined by their increasingly silly television show where they all met (This is why they keep getting trapped in that black box throughout the movie in case you didn't know). The Monkees were involved in this project from beginning to end, but they must have been pretty angry when they found out that only Jack Nicholson and Bob Rafaelson were getting screen credits for writing this psychedelic masterpiece, even though there really isn't that much in terms of a proper script. In the end, however, you may be thinking that I'm thinking too much into this film, and that it's just a bit of fun fluff in a surreal little package, and they may be true, but I will never care to know. I do know one thing though."Hey Hey we are the Monkees You know we love to please A manufactured image With no philosophiesThe money's in, we're made of tin, we're here to give you more."

HonourableJudgeReinhold A little while back, a friend of mine and I were talking about music. Our focus was on groups from the sixties. We touched on The Yardbirds, The Doors, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, all the essentials. But then, The Monkees were somehow mentioned and my friend was quick to dismiss them. He said something to the effect of "they were just a manufactured group whose only motive was to make money." This was some time ago, and I didn't really know much about the Monkees, and this information really turned me off of them. To quote my friend again, "they tried to cash in on the success of the Beatles except they didn't have a fraction of their talent." About a year later, Head came into my possession. Remembering my conversation with my friend, I was a bit skeptical of the film's quality. When I finally gave it a chance with an open mind, I was shocked by almost every aspect of this sixties gem.Head is a film that definitely stays true to the word "experimental." There is no linear plot, no consistent style, and it provides a great example for genre bending. A case can be made in calling it a comedy, drama, war film, musical, documentary, political satire, or really any type of film. All of these categories are thrown into a blender to create something very unique, if not strange. But I feel the films greatest strength is its ability to be self-aware. It was made knowing who the stars were and anticipating that there were people like my friend ready to critique the band. The result is a surprising examination of the band's commercial image, and it pokes a lot of fun at the Monkees being constantly referred to as a piece of fluff. This film literally makes them as small as dandruff in Victor Mature's hair.They are aware that their popularity is fleeting and despite their desire to be taken seriously as musicians, there is no escaping their polished commercial image and inevitable decline. It must be said that the Monkees do a great job playing themselves. I never did see the TV show that came before the film but on screen they have a great chemistry with each other and all of them are very natural performers.Each band member has their chance to shine in many key scenes. They parody how they are perceived by the media and let their true personalities shine through. I really identified with Peter Tork; they make reference to his character on the television show and point out, "you're always the dummy, Peter." In the film, Tork is portrayed to be much more contemplative and deep thinking which really seems to fit his demeanor more. There is nothing to latch on to except, I believe, the film's attitude. It is key that the material doesn't take itself too seriously. It sprinkles interesting ideas and sometimes shocking imagery throughout the film, but the Monkees are having so much damn fun on the screen that it never feels preachy or overly philosophical.One of my favorite scenes, for example, shows the band playing a Mike Nesmith penned song, Circle Sky. It is a fantastic song and performance by the Monkees, but interspersed with the live performance is disturbing footage from Vietnam. At some point during the performance you can't tell if the crowd is screaming for the band or screaming in horror from the Vietnam scenes. This was Bob Rafelson's first film and it is a great start to a great career. For Rafelson, this was more of a film school project than anything. He had the rare opportunity to make any kind of film he wanted with any sort of content that he wanted.There are carefully structured long takes and relaxing musical interludes in some places and to counterbalance there are very quick cuts and fast paced scenes in other places. There are absolutely no boundaries and it makes for quite an experience for a first time viewer and it holds up very well to repeated viewings. To quote the Monkees themselves "you say we're manufactured. To that we all agree. So make your choice and we'll rejoice in never being free!" So what if the group was handpicked from a mile long list of actors, that doesn't change the fact that they had lots of charisma and were (and still are) genuinely talented people. This film gave me a whole new respect for each member of the Monkees. One thing I forgot to mention is that the camera crew is visible frequently throughout the film. Rafelson himself constantly pops up reminding you you're only watching a movie, don't take it too seriously. You're free to walk away with a message or just shrug your shoulders and say, "huh, that was weird."

Mike Kiker I love The Monkees, probably the most underrated pop group of all time. Well known for being TV darlings in the '60s, but not as well known for trying their best to shake off the image by actually playing their instruments in concert (unlike the pop stars of today, but that's for a different website), writing their own songs, supporting some major breakthroughs in music like the Moog Synthesizer, and helping give (at the time) struggling artists like Frank Zappa, Tim Buckley, and Harry Nilsson a fair shake.And for the evidence to everything I just said, look no further than 'Head', considered by many Monkees fans (including this one) and the Monkees themselves to be their crowning achievement. Yes, it is a plot less mess, but it's on purpose (or could you say "on porpoise"? Sorry had to get that joke out. Yes, it is terrible, but on porpoise. D@MN! Did it again, sorry, back to the review...) But within this plot less mess are some great shots taken at the entertainment industry, the faux spirituality that seems to run rampant with celebrities (And this was 35 years before Tom Cruise was promoting Scientology!) and the political climate of 1968. For example; the dandruff commercial, Mickey torpedoing the Coke machine, the War! cheer, the punching scene, the black box, the Swami and Peter know-nothing speeches, the Frank Zappa and Cow commentary. All present various allegorical statements on their treatment in the media, and what they've come to know in the world of fame, and are done brilliantly.As for the music and their accompanying scenes, top notch! First the Monkees' Theme parody "Ditty Diego-War Chant" is set to random television gridlock imagery. The scene for Mike Nesmith's "Circle Sky", intermingles footage of prepubescent female hormonal cacophony from a live Monkees show with the footage of war, "Porpoise Song" (written by classic songwriting team Carole King and Gerry Goffin), a song that's up there with the trippiest of pop songs, is set to solarized negative images of Mickey Dolenz and 2 mermaids, emphasizing the song's psychedelic nature. Great cover of Harry Nilsson's "Daddy's Song" set to an equally visually stunning dance number by Davy Jones and Toni Basil. "Can You Dig It?" by Peter Tork set to Middle-Eastern belly dancers. King & Goffin's serene "As We Go Along" is set to slow motion footage of The Monkees in the woods. And "Long Title: Do We Have To Do This All Over Again?" gets the best scene of all by subtly being overtaken by Mike Nesmith's grief during the trippiest of tripped out parties, only to end suddenly with Mike Nesmith berating everything, including Christmas! So, in a nutshell, expect everything you know and love about the Monkees to be shattered! But enjoy this ride, in a present state or an altered one!