Zappa 2020

Zappa

Critics Consensus

As rich and complex as its subject's best work, Zappa honors the life and career of a musical legend without falling into hagiography.

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Movie Info

With unfettered access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage, ZAPPA explores the private life behind the mammoth musical career that never shied away from the political turbulence of its time. Alex Winter’s assembly features appearances by Frank’s widow Gail Zappa and several of Frank’s musical collaborators including Mike Keneally, Ian Underwood, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood, Ray White and others.

Genre:

documentary, music
Original Language:

English
Director:

Alex Winter
Producer:

Jade Allen, Devorah DeVries, John Frizzell, Alex Winter, Ahmet Zappa, Glen Zipper
Release Date (Theaters):

Nov 23, 2020 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Nov 27, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA):

$14.4K
Runtime:

2h 9m
Production Co:

Trouper Productions, Zipper Bros Films

Cast & Crew

Frank Zappa
Subject

Gail Zappa
Self

Ahmet Zappa
Self

Mike Keneally
Self

Steve Vai
Self

Ian Underwood
Self

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Zappa

All Critics (52) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (2)

Winter's doc can't hold a candle to any of the musician's best songs or climactic symphonies... The good news is that Winter seems to have recognized that from the start, and made a certain peace with the low ceiling of his film's conventional structure.

December 12, 2020 | Rating: B- | Full Review…

David Ehrlich
indieWire
Frank Zappa hates this film.

December 1, 2020 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Raoul Hernandez
Austin Chronicle
This compelling, entertaining and no-B.S. documentary, directed by Alex Winter and produced by Frank's son Ahmet, gives a full picture of the Italian American musical iconoclast.

November 30, 2020 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

Thelma Adams
AARP Movies for Grownups
Captures its subject's spirit without tipping into mere hero worship.

November 28, 2020 | Full Review…

John DeFore
Hollywood Reporter
A complex and surprisingly satisfying portrait of an artist who defiantly marched to the beat of a different drummer (or two).

November 27, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Peter Sobczynski
RogerEbert.com
"Zappa" foregrounds the laudable and often astonishing aspects of the man's work and personality.

November 26, 2020 | Full Review…

Glenn Kenny
New York Times
An often fascinating career retrospective chronicling the unlikeliest of American rock stars, a living, breathing contradiction in every aspect of his 52 too-short years on Earth.

December 25, 2020 | Rating: B | Full Review…

Al Alexander
The Patriot Ledger
Zappa touches on so many aspects of Frank Zappa's too-short life and career that, by the end, one realizes that although a greatest hits collection is an entertaining overview, Zappa really deserves a box set.

December 19, 2020 | Full Review…

Loren King
Newport This Week (RI)
The definitive biopic doc long awaited by Zappa fans.

December 15, 2020 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Zappa suggests even to the wary not-quite-fan that there's available material enough to fascinate in a film two or three times that length.

December 12, 2020 | Full Review…

Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
I miss Frank...a lot.

December 10, 2020 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Bob Grimm
Coachella Valley Independent
A very accomplished director, [Alex] Winter honors Zappa with every frame.

December 5, 2020 | Full Review…

Michael Calleri
Niagara Gazette