| BIG
COMMOTION
Made in 1968, this episodic Help! inspired
Japanese mod rock film is essentially
a vehicle for the band The Spiders,
whose sound comes off as a weird hybrid
of The Beatles, The Ventures
and the The Electric Prunes.
The film starts with the Spiders tearing
away from an overrun bus depot filled
with screaming teenage fans. They make
a break for it in their 64 Ford Galaxy
500 station wagon only to have a mod girl
in a sports car crash into them. After
undergoing some bizarre treatments in
the hospital, it’s off to practice
for their big Tokyo show that night. And
from there, the films delves into weird
episodic fantasy romps involving a battlefield,
a soccer game, a wedding, a Sgt. Pepper’s
inspired moment, a Charlie Chaplin segment
and more. Mixing live concert footage,
staged backstage practice sessions, and
absurdly comic moments reminiscent of
the Monkees, Big Commotion is like no
rock film you have ever seen. The film
is in Japanese with NO English subtitles,
but the language bearer does not take
away from the sheer lunacy and absolute
love for 60’s era American music
Highly recommended!
video
source quality rating: A |
