Customer Reviews

Captain Beefheart: Under Review

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Most of the complaints among reviewers here are that the performances are not long enough. Well, this is a documentary, folks, and that is the way documentaries are made. Documentaries almost never contain complete performances, go watch some and see for yourself.

This is a relatively low budget documentary about a guy who is surrounded in controversy, who would not cooperate in the making of it, and whose bandmembers also did not all participate. So getting footage was not easy and getting interviews and info was limited. Combine that with the low budget, and I think the documentary makers did a very good job here!

First of all, unless you are a hard-core collector, this dvd has quite a bit of rare footage, and a lot of info and opinions I had not heard before.

It moves well, you don't get bored because they include snippets of music every so often, and yes, that is what music is for in a documentary. Okay, I agree, they could have left some of the performances a little longer, but for me it was about the Information, not the music. I have enough Beefheart music in my collection. This is a good overview of Beefheart and his rise to fame and his going into (intentional) obsurity.

I am one of the world's original Beefheart fans, having bought Trout Mask the day it came out, (okay, I know some of you were around since Safe As Milk, but still, Trout is early...), and I consider him one of the world's living musical geniuses.

I enjoyed this documentary and am glad I bought it. It's all we have unless someone comes along with more money to spend on one, and gets Don's cooperation. Unlikely.

Some day you will see a documentary about Don Van Vliet, the PAINTER, as his fame and respect in the art world grows. Chances are it won't be until after he dies. So enjoy this for now.

Meanwhile, go to youtube and beefheart dot com and find all kinds of rare footage and music.

This DVD was quite disappointing. None of the musical footage is presented in its entirety, and sometimes people are talking over the music. Also, even though a good number of Magic Band members are interviewed and a good number of anecdotes are provided, the interviews frequently contain such insights as, "It did what it did" (Elliot Ingber commenting on "Alice in Blunderland" solo).
In addition, the manner of interviewing people is really tacky: John French on a telephone in a tree, Eric Drew Feldman in a toy truck, Elliot Ingber in a parked car, Gary Lucas in bed with some weird blue nightlight. This method of marketing the Magic Band as freaks just detracts from the content of the interviews. Overall, the production is gimmicky, with annoying graphics for each band member that go on far too long. The opening image is just so tasteless, and really says it all about this DVD: the Captain's voice issuing from a doll's head.
Yet, the biggest problem is that there is simply too much talking and too little music. I found the DVD to be actually kind of boring, with many of the interview segments going on far too long.
So, I wouldn't advise anyone to buy this film, but rather to seek out a bootleg copy of the vastly superior BBC documentary "The Artist Formerly Known as Captain Beefheart" as well as a bootleg disc of actual live footage of the Captain and his Magic Bands.

Short & sweet; I was thrilled that this DVD was made and it looks very professional but with Beefheart subject matter I feel the fans deserve more. Its unfortunate that the producers spent the money to (as John French puts it) fly 1/3 across the world to interview him (in a tree) but they don't include any extras worth watching like any complete performances ( why can some one just compile the concert footage and slap it on a dvd, that what we all want anyway). Any one who is a true Beefheart fan is not one simple because of the oddity of the band and its leader, they are folks that think "out side the box", folks that appreciate art and like to have there minds stimulated. I find it disconcerting that the producers found it necessary to interview the ex Magic Band members in such corny non artistic staging (ones in a tree, ones in the back of a grocery store kiddy ride, ones in a car in a garage, the list goes on). I find this a little insulting to what Don Van Vliet is about. If Beefheart fans buy this watch it for what it is and if your some one who is wanting an introduction to the genius that is Captain Beefheart I suggest you view a copy of a wonderful documentary called "The Artist Formally Known As Captain Beefheart" which is not legitimately available in American commercial release as far as I know at this time.... Hope this helps.

You know, I got this DVD thinking maybe I'll get to see some "rare musical performances never before available on DVD" as they printed on the back cover. They only play a piece of these videos. So if you are looking to see some footage of the band performing at least 1 song in it's entirety this isn't the one for you. I did enjoy the interviews w/ past band members and their insight to the songs and albums. I only wish if they couldn't get Beefheart himself for an interview couldn't they find some old footage of him talking about some of these great albums.
This isn't a DVD that I will play often. It's a shame. I think the Captain would be disappointed w/ the DVD.

...although it is subtitled "A Critical Review". Skip over the pompous British critics and enjoy the too-short music clips. But it's always refreshing to hear John French. He always has some new stories about his years with Don. Worth a look, but hold out for the John Peel BBC documentary mentioned in other reviews.

What keeps this from being a great documentary is simply some poor editing decisions. Throughout the almost two hours-long program, the viewer is teased by scenes of Capt. Beefheart and His Magic Band performing - odd promos, concert snippets, and TV performances from the A&M Sessions/Safe as Milk era, all the way to Ice Cream for Crow time. But every time one of these cool-looking clips appears on the screen, and just as you're settling in to enjoy it, someone starts talking over it and the camera cuts away to an interview segment. Ouch. But the interviews themselves are quite enjoyable. Various members of the Magic Band, Beefheart's biographer, music journalists Alan Clayson and Nigel Williamson, et al, all offer interesting insights into the career of the Captain. The musicians are upfront in describing both how wonderful and how impossible it could be to work with Beefheart, the analysts don't mind telling you awful they thought some of the records were, while also wildly praising some of the other records. If the performances had been left to play through, and had there been just a little less talk, I would be giving this 5 stars. I'm not sorry I bought it, but boy do I wish I could see some of those performances in full.

I feel I had to redo this review since I found myself watching this twice. The main problem is like many people said and the first thing I thought when I saw this DVD was, they show classic performance footage but have talking over it or show only half of the footage. Major disappointment because you get the feeling this could very well be the last word on Captain Beefheart. Any old footage will go into a vault and stay there. It is true that younger generations (hell I'm 24 myself) will continue to discover Beefheart but as the older people who were there move further away from the experience so much material is going to get lost forever. Makes ME want to get up and do something about it. Me and a friend had an idea of tracking down Don himself to see what he's up to but have heard many times that its not a good idea. Don's had 20 plus years to come back to say something or at least write some liner notes. Its heart breaking he doesn't hold his musical legacy with any regard whatsoever.

This DVD, despite its obvious flaws is exactly what it says it is, a critical review. Band members and a handful of music critics tell a basic story of Captain Beefheart and His (the) Magic Band and its pretty interesting stuff. If you give it a chance you'll find it pretty rewarding and far more interesting than any crap you'll see on TV. My only thing is there is just one side to it most, I was dismayed to hear bad words about Clear Spot and Spotlight Kid, two of Beefhearts most refined albums. The two BAD albums are rightfully torn apart and the last 3 albums are great no matter what is said on this DVD. But it is what it says it is, a critical overview. It just could have used some more perspective of say some modern critics or more recent musicians, hell, talk to Tom Waits, or Mike Watt for that matter. I feel alot of the critics are just too negative. Anyways, read the other reviews and decide for yourself if you think its worth spending money on, I bought this two years ago and hated it, the last week I watched it twice and found it interesting and entertaining but not ultimately satisfying.

While others have harped about there not being long enough concert clips, we enjoyed the clips and the general flow of this documentary. If the makers were to show us all the footage of every concert, then there would be no time left for the documentary. It would merely be a concert DVD. And if that's what you're looking for, by all means, put up your petitions to the powers that be.

But we loved learning more about the magic band members and seeing how time has ravaged or been good to them. Their tales of behind-the-scenes goings-on were very interesting. We also loved finding out where the next interviewee would be perched/lurking/hiding/sipping...

I recommend this DVD to all Beefheart fans and collectors. It's just fun.

This DVD is a review of Beefheart's career, album by album. For what it is, it's very good. No, it isn't a concert, nor does it purport to be. The rare live clips are excellent and hopefully someday they can be compiled, uniterrupted into a DVD collection. Look at this as an audio book with snippets of tasty music. There is so little available on Beefheart on DVD if you don't have access to BBC documentaries or bootleg live films. So the 2 hour length didn't bore me at all. It just made me want to listen to Clear Spot and find a record player to crank up my copy of Lick My Decals Off, Baby! The only thing the critics missed was how much of an influence the guitar on Alice in Blunderland had on Tom Verlaine and Television.

This could have been a great dvd. The band interviews are interesting. I agree with the other reviewers that it would have been nice to have the performances shown (or available in the extras) in full. The Brit critics are unintentionally funny. But what is missing is an interview with Beefheart himself.