About the film
- Directed by
- Ralph Bakshi
- Released
- February 13, 1981
- Certification
- R
- Country
- United States of America, Netherlands, South Korea, United Kingdom
- Starring
- Ron Thompson, Lisa Jane Persky, Jeffrey Lippa, Frank De Kova, Roz Kelly
More credits
- Language
- English, Hebrew, Russian, Yiddish
- Origin
- US
- Studios
- Bakshi Productions, Aspen Productions, Columbia Pictures
- Written by
- Ronni Kern
- Produced by
- Maggie Abbott, Ralph Bakshi, Martin Ransohoff, Richard R. St. Johns
- Music
- Lee Holdridge
- Also starring
- Mews Small, Elsa Raven, Vincent Schiavelli, Richard Moll, Lynda Wiesmeier
- Budget
- $1,500,000
- Box office
- $6,000,000
For 17 years, it was one of the most requested films in America. You could not legally buy it or rent it. It played on television, people taped it, dubs got passed around, but no store ever stocked it, because the studio that made it could not afford to release it.
AMERICAN POP (1981) is Ralph Bakshi's animated history of a century of American music told through four generations of one Russian Jewish family. It opens with a boy fleeing a Cossack raid that kills his father, a rabbi, and follows the bloodline through vaudeville, Prohibition, jazz, the beats, psychedelia, and finally punk, each generation inheriting the same musical gift and the same capacity for ruin.
It features music from Dylan, Hendrix, The Doors, Lou Reed, Bob Seger, Pat Benatar, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Elvis, Heart, and more.
When the songs were cleared around 1980, home video barely existed, so contracts covered theaters only. The rock stars had licensed their songs cheaply because they thought Bakshi was cool, the man who made cartoons for adults.
When video exploded, re-clearing dozens of the most expensive songs in the catalog cost more than anyone would pay. So the film sat, stranded by its own soundtrack, until 1998.
Bakshi has long expressed disdain for the Hollywood machine. Summing up his frustration with the studio system, Bakshi said this: "My good films were independent and my bad films were not."
How to see American Pop (1981)
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Source: JustWatch
Physical media
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Bakshi is a master, even if some of his satire strays uncomfortably close to the line.
A friend of mine worked with Bakshi – and a bunch of other animators – on Lord of the Rings. One of them said about the Hobbits, according to the informant, “Man! Those guys sure do like to eat a lot!”
“Kansas? Corny Kansas?” What a classic movie. Reminds me of a USA that doesn’t exist anymore.
Kansas is corny
Where you going man?
West
You’re already in California, you can’t go any farther west.
Have had it taped for 40+ years. Haven’t watched it in a long time. Don’t watch my VHS tapes very often anymore. Always thought it was pretty good…
Still have the Kodak VHS I taped this on from HBO or Cinemax or Showtime…1983-4?
Leonard Maltin in his review said that it was a real disappointment and a failing in pop culture that the culmination of all that build-up from generations past would turn out to be punk rock. That said, Bakshi opened a theme that many other animators, especially in anime, have taken upon for themselves.
Fire and ice was awesome
Our video store rented it in the early 90s
I got sneak preview tix for American Pop when I lived in Boston. I enjoyed it right up until the punk rock-looking character started playing a Bob Segar song.
Laserdisc 1998
This was a really great movie.
I saw it in the theater. One of his better projects.
The number of people who completely miss the point is mind boggling
I went and caught an afternoon showing after quitting a job I hated.
Lee Gleason what job was it? Do tell.
@ralph bashki
The pizza man is here!
HBO used to play this a lot.
I still have my VHS copy.
I seem to remember it being on cable TV. HBO, Showtime, The Movie Channel for a few years before it disappeared. I don’t really remember seeing it after 1985-86.
I had a dvd if this for awhile now
I rented this in 98 or 99 on VHS. Really cool.
I remember that one!
4k reissue pls. Rock and Rule is the best, but this might be better i havent seem it yet
in the episode of DS9 when bashir is complaining to garak about cardassiaan literature and the ” repetitive epic” , i always think of this film.
I got it on DVD.
Have it on Blu ray. I’m not a huge Bakshi fan(I find most of his work sloppy) but American Pop is one of my favorite films ever made
I remember seeing this in 1980 in Baltimore. Really good movie and loved the soundtrack
Cool movie!! It was on TCM last month.
Local video store went outta business around when it came out , got this an heavy metal on vhs, played them to shreds
I saw it at the local drive-in when it came out. It was shortly after Heavy Metal came out.
I borrowed a copy from my library, which shared it but did not rent or sell it. I liked Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic better, but it had its moments.
I remember being obsessed with this movie as a kid. I think it was on HBO. I need to introduce it to my son. Just watched Fire & Ice a couple weeks ago.
One of my favorites, even though the ending has always been wonky. Watched it again recently on YouTube.
One of my favorite DVDs!
Love this movie! Masterpiece!
They had it for rent at the Blockbuster by my place back then😜🤷🏼♂️
real Brian Burks vibes imo (collecting/reading about rare media)
I saw this on cable, cant remember what channel but I think it was Stars or Encore rather than one of the big ones. Probably in 1998. Wasn’t that impressed, but I remember a blonde in the movie being overwhelmingly gorgeous.
It was terrible for Heavy Metal movie distribution too.
Artists reps fight to make their pile of dollars higher than the pile of pennies the artist actually gets.
Damn, I wanna watch this.
Lee Jones It was pretty awesome! I was lucky to have been able to see it in the theater when it came out!
Watched the trailer. Made me decide not to.
I saw it when it came out. I was very disappointed.
I rented this from Hollywood video
It’s a very boring thing to endure. For many reasons.
I saw this a few times in the theater when it first came out. There was a cartoon Hendrix in this!
I finally found wizards on DVD and it’s my golden movie like I will die owning that film. My first copy was on vhs gifted to me by the singer of my band who’s now dead I still have the sleeve to the vhs but lost the tape. But finally after years of searching I found the DVD copy and life is complete 😂
If you don’t mind the poor quality, you can find this and many other lost gems on Archive.org.
Love this movie. What it really shows is the price you pay to be that person. Pretty fucking high and the road is littered with dead musicians who didn’t make it. RIP Janus (she’s sorta in this move and all the others who couldn’t take.