History Film / Head

* BellyDancer: Featured in the "Can You Dig It?" sequence.

** At the end, all four jump off the bridge and swim away with mermaids, only to wind up in the black box again, unable to escape their TV image even if they kill themselves trying.

* TimePassesMontage: The "As We Go Along" sequence is meant to depict the passage of the seasons. Winter is Peter walking through snow, Spring is Micky wandering in a forest, Summer is Davy in a field of flowers, and Autumn is Mike strolling on the beach.

The film was a flop, only earning back a fraction of its $750,000 budget, and was one of the factors that led to the band's demise. Audience and critical reception were both poor; it was too trippy to appeal to established fans of the band, its actual target audience being the same people who hated their TV show. Through the years, however, it was VindicatedByHistory, along with the band itself, and became a CultClassic, standing as an example of [[MindScrew pure weirdness]] matched by very few films of the era.

''Head'' is a film released in 1968, starring the TV rock group Franchise/TheMonkees, and distributed by Creator/ColumbiaPictures. It was written and produced by Creator/BobRafelson and Creator/JackNicholson, and directed by Rafelson.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Invoked by Peter in the BreakingTheFourthWall scene where he talks to Bob Rafelson after hitting the waitress.
-->"Bob, it's a movie for kids - they're not gonna dig it, man..."
** Today, it's still rated G, despite some implied drug references, cartoonish mayhem, Lord High 'n' Low's declaration that "the whole [[FreudWasRight phallic thing]] is happening!" and the "Can You Dig It?" [[BellyDancer Belly Dancers]].

''Head'' is a film released in 1968, starring the TV rock group Franchise/TheMonkees, and distributed by Creator/ColumbiaPictures. It was written and produced by Bob Rafelson and Creator/JackNicholson, and directed by Rafelson.

* BorrowingTheBeatles: Peter briefly whistles "Strawberry Fields Forever", a character asks Micky "Are you still paying tribute to Music/RingoStarr?", and Peter listens to a lecture from a swami who's a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

''Head'' is a film released in 1968, starring TV rock group Franchise/TheMonkees, and distributed by Creator/ColumbiaPictures. It was written and produced by Bob Rafelson and Creator/JackNicholson, and directed by Rafelson.

** A few to Music/TheBeatles. Mr. & Mrs. Ace asks The Monkees if they're "Still paying tribute to Music/RingoStarr," and Peter whistles "Strawberry Fields Forever" in the restroom scene.

* UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar: Several actual clips from the war are featured, as well as a scene with the Monkees as soldiers in battle.

[[caption-width-right:350: [[AccidentalInnuendo "From the guys who gave you ''Head''..."]] ]]

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The Swami (played by Abraham Sofaer) is clearly modeled on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharishi_Mahesh_Yogi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]] (one of a handful of references to Music/TheBeatles in the film).

** Jack Nicholson wrote the screenplay for Creator/RogerCorman's ''Film/TheTrip1967'' before he worked on ''Head'', and there are some definite commonalities in the two films, to the extent that ''Head'' plays almost like a parody of ''The Trip'' at times.

* IntentionallyAwkwardTitle: Rumor has it that ''Head'' was titled as such so that when Rafelson and Nicholson released their next film ''Film/EasyRider'', it could be promoted as being "from the guys who gave you ''Head''". Also an obvious drug reference. "Head" also happens to be a technical term for the start of a scene or a roll of film.

* IntentionallyAwkwardTitle: Rumor has it that ''Head'' was titled as such so that when Rafelson and Nicholson released their next film ''Film/EasyRider'', it could be promoted as being "from the guys who gave you ''Head''". Also an obvious drug reference.

* TheCameo: Several: Creator/AnnetteFunicello, Music/FrankZappa, Creator/DennisHopper, Sonny Liston, Toni ("Mickey") Basil, Ray Nitschke, a young Creator/TeriGarr, Creator/VictorMature, Carol Doda and even Creator/JackNicholson himself. Although Nicholson and Hopper are cases of [[invoked]] RetroactiveRecognition as they were only [[CreatorCameo producers of the movie]] and weren't yet famous actors.

* CultSoundtrack: Since the soundtrack album was more easily available than the film for a long time, it could be considered this. The extensive use of soundbites from the film was very innovative for its era, and "Porpoise Song" has acquired a life outside of the film, with several [[CoverVersion Cover Versions]], and featured in ''Film/VanillaSky'' and ''Series/MadMen'' too.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The Swami (played by Abraham Sofaer) is clearly modeled on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharishi_Mahesh_Yogi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]] (one of a handful of references to Music/TheBeatles in the film).

* StartsWithASuicide: The film starts off [[BookEnds (and ENDS)]] with Micky Dolenz jumping off a bridge...which arguably makes the whole film his [[DyingDream near-death hallucination]].