Classic Albums: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') Over-Nite Sensation

May 1, 2007

0h 50m

★ 6.5

Overview

This episode focuses on Zappa's early 70s albums, Overnight Sensation (1973) and Apostrophy (') (1974). Together they encapsulate Zappa's extraordinary musical diversity and were also the 2 most commercially successful albums that he released in his prolific career. Included are interviews, musical demonstrations, rare archive & home movie footage, plus live performances to tell the story behind the conception and recording of these groundbreaking albums. Extras include additional interviews and demonstrations not included in the broadcast version, 2 full performances from the Roxy in 1973 and Saturday Night Live in 1976, and new full live performance done specially for these Classic Albums.

Genres

Music

Documentary

Production Companies

Isis Production

Eagle Rock Entertainment

Classic Albums: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') Over-Nite Sensation Trailers

Cast

Self (archive footage)

Frank Zappa

Self

Dweezil Zappa

Self

Gail Zappa

Self

Billy Bob Thornton

Self

Ruth Underwood

Self

George Duke

Self

Ian Underwood

Self

Napoleon Murphy Brock

Self

Warren Cuccurullo

Self

Moon Unit Zappa

Self

David Fricke

Self

Steve Vai

Martin Scorsese’s electrifying concert documentary captures The Rolling Stones live at New York’s Beacon Theatre during their A Bigger Bang tour. Filmed over two nights in 2006 with an all-star team of cinematographers, the film combines dynamic performances with archival footage and rare glimpses behind the scenes, offering a vibrant portrait of the band’s enduring energy and legacy.

7.0

Die Deutschmeister

Aug 11, 1955

Young Stanzi who is visiting Vienna helps a young corporal and musician to become famous for his marching song "Die Deutschmeister".

6.0

Spaceways

Jan 1, 1968

A music documentary made with Sun Ra.

6.0

The Rocker

Aug 20, 2008

In the 1980s, a drummer is abandoned by his band just before they become rock superstars. Twenty years later, the drummer sees his second chance at stardom arise when he is asked to perform with his teenage nephew's high school rock band.

6.7

Dig!

May 14, 2004

A documentary on the once promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. The friendship between respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor, escalated into bitter rivalry as the Dandy Warhols garnered major international success while the Brian Jonestown Massacre imploded in a haze of drugs.

3.8

60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero

Dec 22, 2011

An anthology of one-minute films created by 51 international filmmakers on the theme of the death of cinema. Intended as an ode to 35mm, the film was screened one time only on a purpose-built 20x12 meter public cinema screen in the Port of Tallinn, Estonia, on 22 December 2011. A special projector was constructed for the event which allowed the actual filmstrip to be burnt at the same time as the film was shown.

7.1

You, the Living

Sep 21, 2007

In the Swedish city of Lethe, people from different walks of life take part in a series of short, deadpan vignettes that rush past. Some are just seconds long, none longer than a couple of minutes. A young woman remembers a fantasy honeymoon with a rock guitarist. A man awakes from a dream about bomber planes. A businessman boasts about success while being robbed by a pickpocket, and so on. The absurdist collection is accompanied by Dixieland jazz and similar music.

0.0

András Schiff plays Bach

Jan 31, 2011

Surely Bach’s French Suites, which he composed during his years at Cöthen (1717–1723), are among the finest inducements to practise that any teacher has ever made to a pupil. In this case Bach wrote them for his young wife, Anna Magdalena. The over-riding impression left by these suites is one of endearing tunefulness. Clavier-Übung II is a later collection of didactic keyboard pieces. It comprises two greatly contrasted works: the Italian Concerto and the Overture in the French Style. These performances admirably demonstrate the thoughtful and persuasive approach that András Schiff adopts when performing Bach. Recorded live at the Bachfest 2010, Protestant Reformed Church of Leipzig, 11 June 2010 Repertoire J.S. Bach: French Suites Nos. 1–6, Overture in the French Style in B minor, Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971

7.4

Once

Mar 23, 2007

A vacuum repairman moonlights as a street musician and hopes for his big break. One day a Czech immigrant, who earns a living selling flowers, approaches him with the news that she is also an aspiring singer-songwriter. The pair decide to collaborate, and the songs that they compose reflect the story of their blossoming love.

5.8

Congo

Jan 1, 1972

An experimental ethnographic documentary that criticizes the colonizer view of anthropology.

10.0

The Fire and the Rose

Jan 1, 1990

A documentary on the life and work of the composer Sofia Gubaidulina.

0.0

Don't Buy the Liverwurst

Apr 25, 2025

Washed-up novelty musician Reuben Gimbel wants to resurrect his career after his agent dies.

0.0

Chance, History, Art...

Aug 25, 1980

Anne Bean, John McKeon, Stuart Brisley, Rita Donagh, Jamie Reid and Jimmy Boyle are interviewed about their artistic practice and the legacy of Surrealism on their work.

10.0

Plague Mass

Apr 1, 1991

A conceptual live concert by Diamanda Galás, "Plague Mass" continues the themes of the suffering and misery of the infected found in her "Masque of the Red Death" trilogy.

5.0

The Great Waltz

Nov 1, 1972

A musical based on the life and music of Johann Strauss, Jr.

6.8

Sweet and Lowdown

Dec 3, 1999

In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.

4.0

Rock N' Roll

Nov 16, 2007

Chandramouli, an international drummer, goes to Chennai to help his friend in his new project. However, his life turns upside down when he falls in love with a playback singer.

6.3

Great Balls of Fire!

Jun 30, 1989

The story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him into conflict with others in the industry, and even earned him the scorn and condemnation of the public.

6.9

Leningrad Cowboys Go America

Mar 24, 1989

The Leningrad Cowboys, a group of Siberian musicians, and their manager, travel to America seeking fame and fortune. As they cross the country, trying to get to a wedding in Mexico, they are followed by the village idiot, who wishes to join the band.

6.6

Stop for Bud

Dec 17, 1963

Stop for Bud is Jørgen Leth's first film and the first in his long collaboration with Ole John. […] they wanted to "blow up cinematic conventions and invent cinematic language from scratch". The jazz pianist Bud Powell moves around Copenhagen -- through King's Garden, along the quay at Kalkbrænderihavnen, across a waste dump. […] Bud is alone, accompanied only by his music. […] Image and sound are two different things -- that's Leth's and John's principle. Dexter Gordon, the narrator, tells stories about Powell's famous left hand. In an obituary for Powell, dated 3 August 1966, Leth wrote: "He quite willingly, or better still, unresistingly, mechanically, let himself be directed. The film attempts to depict his strange duality about his surroundings. His touch on the keys was like he was burning his fingers -- that's what it looked like, and that's how it sounded. But outside his playing, and often right in the middle of it, too, he was simply gone, not there."