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| Directors: Frank Zappa, Charles Swenson
Actors: Dick Barber, Theodore Bikel, Jimmy Carl Black, George Duke, Aynsley Dunbar
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Buy Used: $18.94
Used (15) Collectible (1) from $18.94
Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 231
Format: Color, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 630196392X
UPC: 027616042330
EAN: 9786301963923
ASIN: 630196392X
Theatrical Release Date: November 10, 1971
Release Date: March 17, 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 41
 Worth the Wait January 21, 2000
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've waited for three years (out of my 19) to find this video. I finally did and it is genius. It is thought provoking and the music is amazing. LONG LIVE FZ
FRANK ZAPPA! February 12, 2000
morgasmo (canada)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
anything by frank is great, although this wasn't as wonderful as i expected, there is no way i can give a 4 to good old frank!
 Zappa fans only... eveyone else, avoid it like the plague! December 5, 2001
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
Man, I'm a big Zappa fan, but this was quite a disappointment for me. Zappa was good at many things, but making movies wasn't one of them. Don't watch this and expect it to make any sense at all. One of the things that bothered me the most about this movie is the fact that Frank's appearances are pretty much limited to the band performances. Instead, Ringo Starr plays Zappa's part, which basically involves him following the band around with a tape recorder. The cinematography gives me a headache too. On the bright side, the music *is* good, and we do get to see the band play a few songs. I guess my biggest problem with the movie is that I can't watch it without thinking about what it could have been. If you are new to Zappa, DO NOT start out with this movie as it could very easily turn you off from Zappa. Start with the albums.
Conceptual Continuity January 25, 2002
D A Beckham (Misery, Missouri)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
200 Motels fits neatly in Zappa's concept that everything is related. Using members of the Mothers from different time periods and following a storyline that places characters in amd out of space (one character is talking to one group of mothers, then suddenly we are shifted to another location where the conversation is being continued in a completely different context with other band members). This is Zappa at his most audacious. Music is not easily digestible 3:30 songs with memorable hooks, this is Zappa playing with the Orchestra. Frank himself rarely appears on screen, allowing Ringo Starr to fill in his part. With Beatle Ringo, Turtles Flo & Eddie, and Who Drummer Keith Moon making appearances on and off throughout the film, what we have is Zappa's dream/nightmare of what it is like to spend a year on the road, where every town looks the same. Sets are relegated to cardboard cut-outs to increase the uniformity, and Zappa also pays tribute to Kubrick, with appearances of 2001's monolith and Clockwork Orange's pig-masks. This is the first film shot on video, then transfered to film stock, which allows for quicker editing and electronic image manipulation. Rated R for nudity, language and beer drinking (Remember, Zappa was anti-drug)
A True Video Masterpiece!!! * * * * * February 8, 2004
J. Mars (Tulsa/OK/USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Frank Zappa was a creative genius, and his "200 Motels" was a true video masterpiece! "200 Motels" tells a simple story about how touring in a rock band can seem to make you crazy. Zappa used a new medium of the early 70's, what we now call "video", and really pushed it beyond the known limits. The effects he used in this movie have often been copied, and were used to describe the weird world of touring. City after city, sandwich after sandwich, the towns all begin to look fake after awhile; the effects where used to emphasize how the struggles of touring and how all that traveling and responsibility really tweaks your brain, your ability to perceive reality. This movie was possibly the first true "music video", since it originated in video, and possibly tweaked the minds of the engineers up in the control booth. When you look at how the video was structured, well, it's all shot entirely in a studio environment. It's a story within a story, and like so many other filmmakers, Zappa was almost making fun of himself, in a lighthearted manner, much as Felini and Allen have done in some of their films. Yes, this movie is twisted, in fact just as twisted as life in America tends to get. This movie is best seen projected in a theater, and unless you have a t.v. larger than 27", I recommend you wait, because it really needs to be seen larger than life!
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