Big Time (1988)

Director: Chris Blum

It would be reductive to call Big Time a concert movie. Tom Waits indeed performs songs from his classic albums Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs and Franks Wild Years, but he does so variously engaged in different roles - manic preacher; soulful crooner; glitzy, wisecracking comedian. Not only that, we see him as the venue's steward, listening to the gigs from outside; the opening scene even shows that he is dreaming the whole thing himself! The stage-show-collage result is utterly surreal, witty, and full of great performances - spoken word narratives such as 'Frank's Wild Years' and '9th & Hennepin' especially benefit from their embellished live renditions, while 'Time' retains its tender poignancy amongst such eccentric company as an hilarious take of 'Straight to the Top'.