Big Time (1988 film)

Big Time is a 1988 American musical film centered on singer Tom Waits.
Filming took place in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California and features songs from the albums "Swordfishtrombones", "Rain Dogs" and "Franks Wild Years".
Critical response.
Jon Pareles wrote a negative review in "The New York Times", saying even fans of Waits would find it "frustrating and off-putting" and that it "turns Mr. Waits's performance into a freak show." Richard Harrington wrote a negative review in "The Washington Post", describing the film as "More an indulgence than a concert" and the songs as "often intriguing" but "only rarely [...] listenable". Jeffrey M. Anderson, in a mixed review for "Combustible Celluloid", described the film as "a treat" for fans of Tom Waits and "one hell of a show." Time Out magazine called it a "magnificent movie" and "A concert film unlike any other". TV Guide gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, calling it "more performance than music" and a "work that demands to be taken on its own terms."
Formats.
"Big Time" was issued on LaserDisc, VHS and Betamax in Japan, but was only issued on VHS in North America. No official DVD or Blu-ray edition has yet been released. It was made available for streaming on the Amazon Prime platform on September 1, 2020.