American Pop
 | Starring: Hilary Beane, Robert Beecher, Gene Borkan, Beatrice Colen, Ben Frommer Sony Pictures, 1981, DVD Customer Rating: 39 reviews Recommend |
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The story of four generations whose lives revolve around the beat of american popular music. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/13/2008 Run time: 96 minutes Rating: R Director: Ralph Bakshi
Animator-director-screenwriter Ralph Bakshi audaciously tries to chronicle the history of 20th-century American popular music, while also placing each period into historical and social context — all in 97 minutes! Its animated, episodic narrative follows four generations of Jewish-American musicians as each painfully seeks fame through changing musical eras. Starting at the turn of the century with a piano-playing immigrant in New York, the film moves swiftly, following his offspring through such movements as Gershwin-era pop, jazz, folk music, '60s psychedelia, and punk — and only pauses for elaborate, energized musical numbers designed to showcase the work of Benny Goodman, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Lou Reed, the Jefferson Airplane, and numerous others. However, these electric set pieces provide brief dynamism in a relatively bleak film filled with hard-luck protagonists suffering through clichéd drug addiction, death, and alienation. While the film's scope is admirably ambitious, and Bakshi's stylized use of rotoscoping (tracing animation from live action) makes for fluid and often eye-popping visuals, his treatment also feels heavy handed and cuts numerous corners. And, when Baskshi ends his epic by mocking punk, and celebrating the future of rock & roll through the music of Bob Seger, one wonders whether or not he a knowledgeable grasp of his topic at all. The DVD version presents the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. — Dave McCoy
Title: American Pop
Sales Rank: 18400 in DVD
Actor: Hilary Beane, Robert Beecher, Gene Borkan, Beatrice Colen, Ben Frommer
Studio: Sony Pictures, 1998-06-17, Theatrical Release: 1981-02-13
Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC, Acpect Ratio 1.85:1
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 95 minutes
Package Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.6 inches, 0.25 pounds
- I use it for my American History Class
- I saw it in 1981 my first year of college.
I like the history in it and the music
I always tell my students "hey everyone you just heard in the video in this segment died of drugs or lost a band member"
It has great real pictures mixed in with the story and it tells an interesting story of a family coming from a pogram… More reviews
- Impressive Pop
- This is a classic. Visually stunning and engaging, it follows a family through several generations trying to make it in the entertainment industry.
In my opinion, Bakshi outdid himself with this one.
My only problem is that the final episode was too easy. It lacked the pathos of the rest of the movie. It seemed like an anticlimax.
But the music… More reviews
- An incredible dedication to American Pop music and culture
- Probably the most outrageous animated film I've seen. You are never left doubting the creative vision of the filmmakers. Some of the music seems a bit out of left field, but generally well picked. Enjoy.… More reviews
- An American classic by an American master...
- An honest look at American pop music and the roots of it's pain and suffering buried beneath the commercial glitz of mass-media marketing. I've seen the film mistakenly reviewed as a condemnation of punk music and a glorification of top forty hit makers and nothing is further from the truth. Bakshi takes us through the roots of American music and the suffering… More reviews
- Happy with product
- American pop came in a timely manner.
The item was packed well and the dvd plays wonderful.
I'm very happy with my product.
Sphinx More reviews
