Harockerce What a beautiful movie!

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

dungeonstudio On viewing this movie again in the Criterion BBS Story, I've gained a new appreciation for it. I'd say it's a flawless commentary on the assembly, execution (in many literal senses) and the desires and integrity (if any?) of some or all of The Monkees in the 'system'. Highly surreal at times, but yet making perfect sense to anyone having strong opinions on 'pop stardom', 'television diffusion', and 'political/moral diversion tactics'. It's all brilliantly and subtlety interwoven in this film. It does more to justify what The Monkees were, and The Beatles weren't. Yet, if given the chance at the time - I think both bands would gladly switch their jackets for mere poops and giggles. Both bands could claim being 'groomed and doomed'. But is so interesting that one endured the 'caverns' for their status, while the other endured the 'casting offices'. And in a way, I think the later created more of a desperate bonding than the former for the two bands. The Monkees were definitely split on 'earning their bread' and 'getting their butter'. And had opinions and awareness of the world outside of their 'bubble' that they wanted to empathize and alert their fans of as well. But were caught in such a mechanism that could jeopardize their career, yet at the same time earn them credibility and expand their fan base. I think 'Head' straddles that hurdle amazingly, not only for The Monkees, but Raffleson, Nicholson, and all others involved. How to stay in a system they're trying to escape from? Take the food from the hand, and say the bite it was given was out of love? Really miraculous considering the shackles, context, period, and all the talent that was involved, and their own personal ideas and beliefs. Art for information sake? Or information with a chrome gallery frame around it? Either way, it stands as both - then and now.

gavin6942 The Monkees are tossed about in a psychedelic, surrealist, plot less, circular bit of fun fluff.The film comes from the collective that includes Jack Nicholson (who wrote the script), Bob Rafelson (who directed) and Dennis Hopper (who has a cameo). To see it play out in a surreal, psychedelic manner should be no surprise.Renata Adler commented that Head "might be a film to see if you have been smoking grass, or if you like to scream at The Monkees, or if you are interested in what interests drifting heads and hysterical high-school girls." Rather, it is more than that. The film turns all the genres on their head -- western, horror, war and more are all handled in a very different way.

Professor Klickberg For once, the qualifier "____ on acid" works here. This truly is "Hard Day's Night etc. etc.", with not only psychadelica and "grooviness" all the way, but true philosophic discourse and existential wonderment that will make you think as much as it will make you laugh.Imagine tripping to an episode of the Brady Bunch while pondering the nature of reality vs. illusion. It's all here in Head, but you must be warned: it is a trip, and as such, comes with as many lows as highs. There are certainly moments of nightmarish quality, but overall, it's worth the ride. It's just surprising that a group like the Monkees would be involved in such an undertaking, and probably a large reason this movie has never been taken more seriously or acknowledged as something truly special.Best not to learn too much about it before you see it except to know that it stars the Monkees, is co-written by Jack Nicholson (back in the day), and directed by Bob "Five Easy Pieces" Rafelson. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you rethink your entire perspective of media and the 60's, and might even scare you a few times with a sense of "the Fear" that is mixed wonderfully with beatific music that will also make you rethink the music of the Monkees (and whether or not they actually play or not is moot; it's truly great stuff). If Oliver Stone (in the 90's) and Quentin Tarantino were to get together and produce their own series of Monty Python episodes, it would end up something like this... as long as it were shot like and used the musical ques of sitcoms from the mid-60's. Enjoy... But be careful... You will be surprised.

eddiez61 Dada is an art movement that emerged following World War I, a response to the unimaginable brutality and utter destruction of Europe. Dada artists were determined to regain a sense of decency, normalcy, humanity by countering the previous years destructive insanity with their own creative insanity. They were challenging society's outdated, ineffectual, corrupt customs and beliefs by way of absurd means. If the people could be made to see the senselessness of war through the artist's outrageous, sarcastic, demented antics, then maybe war, and other hypocritically destructive behavior, could be prevented in the future. Sane, rational, intelligent means had proved futile so why not give total looniness a fair shot.And that's the deal with "Head" - a valiant, heroic, deranged declaration of peace; a flower in the rifle barrel of polite society's attitude about war. Because America still couldn't understand in simple logic just how preposterous it was to pursue such a pointless, corrupt war (How corrupt? Well, look it up and you'll read the horribly tragic history of failures of leadership, political deceit, and corporate meddling), then absolute wackiness would be the weapon of choice in fighting for the end of US involvement in Vietnam. There's profound logic and genuine sentiment behind, beneath, around and within all the vaudevillian antics on screen. Be warned: You'll laugh only long and hard enough that the real story is permitted entry. This comical Trojan Horse carries within it a potent time bomb of higher consciousness. The Monkeys were subverting their image as carefree, witless clowns, whose only concerns were fun and girls and more fun. It was an image as paper thin and as absurd as the official "story" of Vietnam that was being dumped on a naive populace every night. The national newscasts were still proudly extolling the unqualified successes of our valiant troops, while independent reports from non-mainstream media were describing a much different, much less noble situation. The US was losing, and losing badly. It had become apparent to anyone who wasn't blinded with raging patriotism that we were stuck in an impossible war. The lies our government and leaders were telling us were about to be revealed, and it would be just so hard for so many people to accept. Too hard.So yes, this is largely a bit of promotional hype further inflating that billowing parade float that was the Monkey's image, but the air it's pumping is deadly toxic. There are plenty of images and moments that catch you off guard, stun you with awful reality. Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson (who co-wrote) had some very gritty, harsh things on their minds. Some people feel that Bob was actually hoping to permanently destroy an ungrateful Monkey's career, and it seems he just may have succeed, if you consider what very little work any of the four fellows thereafter did. This dubious aspect aside, you may actually begin to think about things - as they were, and as they are, and as they probably will continue to be. Yes, it has a very serious side, and that's the funniest thing about Head.