Head 1968

When The Monkees' TV show ended in 1968, the pre-fab four did the inconceivable - they committed career hara-kiri with the release of their feature film Head. It's a delirious cinematic trip that manages to combine flower-power experimentation and cynical stabs at corporate America. The virtually plot-free film failed to find an audience and was a commercial disaster upon first release. Jack Nicholson and director Bob Rafelson knocked out the stream-of-consciousness script (with input from the band) on a lost weekend of chemical indulgence. It must have been some good acid, because the film sparkles with wit and invention, both visually and thematically. The members perform songs by Harry Nilsson and Carole King and appear as Victor Mature's dandruff, while Frank Zappa cameos with a cow and Vietnam war footage is mixed in decades before pop culture references became de rigeur. Even in our current visually overloaded era, sometimes Head is so weird it defies description. A gorgeous new 35mm print will unfold all its psychedelic grandeur.