The Big T.N.T. Show

Back in the 90s I set out to find a copy. It was explained to me copyright issues kept it being released. In early 00s I found a unauthorized DVD with both films by way of Japan. It's all performance here, very little of the stupid packaging that TV appearances cluttered the performers. And no lipsynching! I saw this at a large urban theater in 65 with girls screaming in the audience. Kinda cool memory. Now quality print on YouTube.

If, like myself, you're a nostalgic middle-ager who wants to remember what the best in mid-60's pop was like for a couple hours, or, if you're under forty or so and want to know why it was so great, Phil Spector's "Big T.N.T. Show" is the one to watch.

Taped in concert at the Hollywood Palace and hosted by then-TV teen idol David McCallum ("The Man from U.N.C.L.E."), this show is so crammed with highlights it's hard to know where to begin. There's Ray Charles rockin' the house with the ultimate "Wha'd I Say," dynamite extended sets from the Byrds and Roger Miller; Donovan at his most pseudo-psychodelic (Check out the all-but-incomprehensible intro he gives to Joan Baez), Petula Clark taking us downtown, Baez singing "There But for Fortune" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," the latter with Phil Spector at the piano, Bo Diddley knockin' 'em out as only he could. The mind reels.

But this is a film better seen than described. Unfortunately, it's unavailable on video, so catch it the next time it's on AMC. You'll be glad you did. This film, along with "Woodstock" and "The T.A.M.I. Show," form the great film trilogy of 1960's pop/rock.

While this is filmed in black and white, and producer Samuel Zarkoff is better known for horror films, this followup to the TAMI show from the same company a year earlier holds it's own with any of these early music concert films. Filmed live over 2 days this one, like TAMI brings together a lot of great music.

One of the great electric music sequences is Pet Clark going into the audience singing her hit Downtown. It is one of many great music moments. Clark upstage Joan Baez here which is natural as she is more seasoned at this point. Baez seems nervous on stage and does one song that is totally wrong for her.

The pacing and production of the film is really good. I wish both TAMI and this one had been filmed in color. After all American International was doing films like Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine in color during this time period. I am guessing tight budgets or maybe the black and white success of the Beatles Hard Days Night or the Dave Clark 5 Having A Wild Week-end could be part of the reason?

For those of us fond of 1960's music, this film is a joy to watch.

i have only seen the trailers to this movie and the T.A.M.I. show movie since i was about twelve yrs old--i remember that these were excellent concert films, with some all time world-class performances, especially by James brown, Ike and Tina, the stones, the beach boys, the byrds, Marvin Gaye, the supremes-and, as far as i can tell, all live performances, no lip-synchs!---try pulling that off w/ the divas of today-one of the reasons tom hanks' movie 'that thing you do' is so good, is that it perfectly portrays not only the look, but the feel and emotion of that era-a time when your peers wouldn't let you get away with lip-synching even if you had the nerve to try---everyone gave the best performance they could because they were inspired by, and wanted to impress, their fellow entertainers---these movies evidently are not available on video or disc---why not, and who has the rights to these movies so tied up that i cant even discover who actually owns them, much less if they will ever be released-someone is withholding on a gold mine ---could it be that legendary genius-wacko Phil spector? if anyone has any idea who or what owns these movies, please let me know, i will do what i can to get them to release these classics to video and DVD--i can be quite persuasive

I finally got to see this when it was on cable this month, and it was worth the wait! I admit, I was looking forward the most to the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, James Brown, and the Ronettes, but we watched the entire thing and we were not disappointed. James Brown (who, the story goes, was in some sort of stand-off with Mick Jagger about who the better dancer was...needless to say, he wipes the floor with Mick) was incredible. There were some acts that were slower-moving, such as Donovan, but I guess they figured the audience needed a breather. Bo Diddley is another of the highlights, especially with a trio of beautiful back-up singers/dancers...they are dressed in formal Supremes-style evening gowns and big beehives, but manage to look completely bad-ass, and one of them even plays a bass while doing her little dance routine. The Ronettes are wonderful, doing "Be My Baby" as the crowd of mods and teeny-boppers goes nuts. Ronnie Spector's voice will give anyone with a soul chills in that song, and she really looked like she was having fun, though she did write later in her autobiography that Phil Spector yelled at her afterwards for improvising and not doing the song exactly the way he had instructed her to in rehearsal, proving that Phil Spector is brilliant as far music goes, but not that wonderful of a person. Speaking of which, Phil Spector may not exactly be the poster child for sanity, but he sure knew what he was doing when he put this concert together. Speaking as a dancer who specializes in 60's dance moves, I can honestly say that the go-go dancers (who are shown in footage at the beginning, and grand finale of the film) are the most talented I've ever seen, and trust me, I've seen a lot of footage from that era.

The highlight of the movie has to be the Ike and Tina Turner segment, and that is saying a lot, considering some of the mind-blowing performances that come before it. They do a great medley and include full-length versions of "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine" among others. Even Ike appears to be having the time of his life--I don't think I've ever seen him actually smile on-stage before, but he can't keep the grin off of his face when he happily and smoothly duets with Tina. He might not be a stellar human being, but he definitely deserves credit for his musical talent and ability to entertain. Other than the very minor complaint of Tina's usually perfect fashion sense deserting her for maybe the only time in her life (she has a cute outfit but a bizarre leather 'hat' that looks like a long, deflated Jiffy-Pop Bag), the performance is flawless, and they blow the roof off of the place. Watch for the moment when she goes into the audience to involve them in the show during a slower number-she picks out a young mod guy to sing to, and his eyes are as big as saucers. When she sings, "tell me...do you wanna be my man?" he can't even answer coherently when she hold the mike up to him. The choreography and dance moves are so show-stopping and high energy (even for them) that no-one could follow them-- Spector was smart in saving them for last. The Ikettes and Tina are obviously having so much fun that their feet barely seem to touch the ground, and during the big finish "Tell the Truth", Tina moves so fast that she is literally a blur! You can see why Mick Jagger asked her to teach him how to dance. I keep meaning to re-watch the entire movie, but when I rewind, I can't make it past Ike and Tina's segment-never get tired of seeing them shake a tailfeather! I defy anyone to sit still while watching the last 15 minutes of this film.

Since this is almost impossible to find, don't miss it the next time they decide to run it on television! I only give it nine out of ten stars because it isn't in color. I hadn't been born at the time this was filmed, but watching it, I felt like I was in the audience.