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American Pop

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For the musical term, seeAmerican pop.

American Pop
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRalph Bakshi
Written byRonni Kern
Produced byRalph Bakshi
Martin Ransohoff
StarringRon Thompson
Lisa Jane Persky
Jeffrey Lippa
Richard Singer
Marya Small
Edited byDavid Ramirez
Music byLee Holdridge
Production
company
Bakshi Productions
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • February 13, 1981(1981-02-13)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[1]
Box office$6 million[2]

American Popis a 1981 Americanadult animatedepicjukebox musicaldrama filmstarringRon Thompsonand produced and directed byRalph Bakshi.[3]It was the fourth animated feature film to be presented inDolbysound. The film tells the story of four generations of animmigrantfamily of musicians whose careers parallel the history of Americanpopular musicin the 20th century.[4]

The majority of the film's animation was completed throughrotoscoping,[3]a process in which live actors are filmed and the subsequent footage is used for animators to draw over.[5]However, the film also uses a variety of other media including water-colors, live-action shots, andarchival footage.[6]

Plot

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InImperial Russiaduring the late 1890s, arabbi's wife and her young son Zalmie escape to America while the rabbi iskilled by the Cossacks.Shortly after their arrival inNew York City,Zalmie is recruited by Louie, a performer at aburlesquehouse, to hand out chorus slips (sheets of paper with song chorus lyrics, used to enable audience members to sing along[7]). As Zalmie grows into adolescence, he spends more time with Louie backstage atburlesque shows.When Zalmie's mother dies in theTriangle Shirtwaist Factory fire,he begins working with Louie full-time at a small theatre. Though Zalmie aspires to be a singer, he is beginning to enter puberty and his changing voice becomes a significant obstacle. WhenWorld War Istrikes, Zalmie travels the globe performing for the troops as the bottom half of apantomime horseand sustains a wound to his throat during aGermanair raid,which ends his singing career.

When Zalmie returns to New York, he briefly continues performing as a clown, and falls in love with a stripper named Bella, vowing to make her a famous singer and getting involved with mobsters in order to do so. After Zalmie impregnates her, he uses money from mob Boss Nicky Palumbo to pay for their wedding. Bella achieves modest success, but she is killed after opening a package containing a bomb intended for Zalmie. Their son, Benny, who is already anintrovertedchild, focuses all of his efforts into becoming a talented jazz pianist. Benny marries Palumbo's daughter at Zalmie's request and enlists to fight inWorld War IIseeking redemption for his family, despite pleas from his father. Benny is killed inNazi Germanywhen he stops to play on an abandoned piano and is caught off-guard by aNazisoldier; Benny begins to playLili Marleenand the Nazi closes his eyes in bliss, but when the song ends, the Nazi pauses only to thank Benny before riddling him and the piano with gunfire. Benny's wife and son, named Tony, now live in a suburbanLong Islandtown, and they watch as Zalmie testifies against Palumbo on television, calling him a rat.

A teenage Tony steals his stepfather's car and drives across the country for four weeks, ending up inKansas,where he spends the day washing dishes at a diner and spends the night with a waitress. In California, Tony takes another job dishwashing, but soon grows tired of it and quits. A six-piece rock group invites him to write songs for them after hearing him playing a harmonica under their doorstep. The band becomes successful but slowly starts to decompose because of theheroinaddictions of female lead singer Frankie Heart and Tony himself. Tony becomes addicted to drugs after being hospitalized from falling off a stage while on acid at one of Frankie's shows. Frankie and the band's drummer, Johnny Webb, marry but divorce after two weeks, and Frankie begins an affair with Tony. In Kansas, the band is set to perform afterJimi Hendrix,but Frankie overdoses backstage. Meanwhile, Tony meets a blonde, blue-eyed boy, Little Pete, whom Tony realizes is his son, conceived the night he spent with the waitress.

Tony moves back to New York City accompanied by Pete, where he becomes heavily involved with drug dealing. Pete makes a small amount of money playing the acoustic guitar, but Tony takes any money that Pete earns to buy drugs for himself. One day, Tony and Pete argue over the latter's guitar, where Pete implies that he knows Tony is his father. After he tells the story of his own father, Tony gives Benny's harmonica to Pete, then takes Pete's guitar to pawn it, telling Pete to wait on the city bench they're at. The next morning, a man approaches Pete and gives him a small package of drugs to sell and the pawn slip for his guitar and tells Pete that Tony said goodbye to him. After years of selling drugs to rock bands, Pete refuses to sell the band members any more cocaine unless they are willing to listen to his music. Playing "Night Moves",his talent stuns both the band and the management and they agree to record and hire him on the spot. Eventually, Pete performs in concert with the band to roaring cheers from the crowd.

Cast

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Production

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Following the production struggles ofThe Lord of the Rings,Ralph Bakshidecided that it was time to work on something more personal.[8]He pitchedAmerican PoptoColumbia PicturespresidentDan Melnick.Bakshi wanted to produce a film with an extensive soundtrack of songs which would be given an entirely new context in juxtaposition to the visuals in a film.[8]While the film does not reflect Bakshi's own experiences, its themes were strongly influenced by individuals he had encountered in Brownsville.[8]The film's crew included character layout and design artist Louise Zingarelli, Vita,Barry E. Jackson,and Marcia Adams, each of whom brought their own personal touch to the film.[8]Bakshi once again used rotoscoping, in an attempt to capture the range of emotions and movement required for the film's story. According to Bakshi, "Rotoscoping is terrible for subtleties, so it was tough to get facial performances to match the stage ones."[8]

The rock bandFearappeared in the film, Fear lead singerLee Vingacted under the name Lee James Jude.[9]

ActorElya Baskinperformed in the film in an early role as a tuba player.[9]

The finale featured laser effects byLaserium.[10]

Music

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ThescoreforAmerican Popwas composed byLee Holdridge.As the result of his reputation as an innovator of adult animation, Bakshi was able to acquire the rights to an extensive soundtrack, including songs byBob Dylan,Jefferson Airplane,Janis Joplin,The Doors,George Gershwin,The Mamas & the Papas,Herbie Hancock,Lou ReedandLouis Prima,for under $1,000,000 in permissions fees.[8]Due to music clearance issues, the film was not released onhome videountil 1998.[11]

Track listing

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Side A

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  1. "Hell Is for Children"(Neil Giraldo,Pat Benatar,Roger Capps)– Pat Benatar
  2. "Summertime"–Big Brother and the Holding Company
  3. "California Dreamin'"–The Mamas & the Papas
  4. "This Train"–Peter, Paul and Mary
  5. "Somebody to Love"–Marcy Levy

Side B

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  1. "Purple Haze"–The Jimi Hendrix Experience
  2. "Take Five"–The Dave Brubeck Quartet
  3. "You Send Me"–Sam Cooke
  4. "Turn Me Loose"–Fabian Forte
  5. "People Are Strange"–The Doors

[12]

Reception and legacy

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OnRotten Tomatoes,the film has an approval rating of 65% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 5.90/10.[13]The film was a success upon its February 12, 1981, release.[8]WriterJerry Beckcalled it "one of Bakshi's best films".[11]

Slatemagazine said the film was a "rock-star epic, a cartoon movie for and about grown-ups, in both style and substance."[14]

Michael Barrier,an animation historian, describedAmerican Popas one of two films that demonstrated "that Bakshi was utterly lacking in the artistic self-discipline that might have permitted him to outgrow his limitations."[15]

In 2008, directorHype WilliamsandKanye Westpaid tribute to the film in the music video for West's single "Heartless",which featured use of rotoscoped animation and references to scenes and backgrounds from the film.[3][16]

Ain't It Cool Newshead writerHarry Knowleswrote thatAmerican Popwas his favoriteRalph Bakshifilm.[17]

On January 12, 2014, atThe Egyptian TheatreinHollywood, California,there was a special screening ofAmerican Popwith actorsRon ThompsonandMews Smallin attendance,[18]it was the first time lead actor Ron Thompson had ever introduced the film before a live audience.[19]

At theAero TheatreinSanta Monica, Californiaon March 27, 2015, there was a screening ofAmerican Popwith director Ralph Bakshi, Ron Thompson and Mews Small attending.[20]

References

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  1. ^"AFI|Catalog".
  2. ^"American Pop (1981) - Financial Information".
  3. ^abcMaçek III, J.C. (August 2, 2012)."'American Pop'... Matters: Ron Thompson, the Illustrated Man Unsung ".PopMatters.
  4. ^Lenburg, Jeff (1999).The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons.Checkmark Books. pp. 163–164.ISBN0-8160-3831-7.RetrievedJune 6,2020.
  5. ^Vespe, Eric (November 5, 2012)."What does the Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day look like, man? A soda fountain?".Ain't It Cool News.
  6. ^Canby, Vincent(February 13, 1981)."'American Pop' Grown-Up Animation ".The New York Times.RetrievedAugust 16,2011.
  7. ^Suisman, David (2009).Selling Sounds: The Commercial Revolution in American Music.Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p. 62.ISBN978-0674054684.RetrievedOctober 13,2019.
  8. ^abcdefgGibson, Jon M.; McDonnell, Chris (2008). "American Pop".Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi.Universe Publishing. pp. 148, 160, 164, 169.ISBN978-0-7893-1684-4.
  9. ^ab"American Pop".Movies & TV Dept.The New York Times.2015. Archived fromthe originalon April 3, 2015.
  10. ^American Pop Trailer - laser fx by Laserium (on official YouTube channel)
  11. ^abBeck, Jerry (2005). "American Pop".The Animated Movie Guide.Chicago Review Press. p.19.ISBN978-1-55652-591-9.
  12. ^Discogs
  13. ^"American Pop (1981)".Rotten Tomatoes.Fandango Media.RetrievedOctober 13,2023.
  14. ^Gaslin, Glenn (November 21, 2001)."Ralph Bakshi's unfairly maligned Lord of the Rings".Slate.
  15. ^Barrier, Michael.Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age.Oxford University Press US,2003.pp. 572.Retrieved on October 15, 2009.ISBN0-19-516729-5,ISBN978-0-19-516729-0.
  16. ^Kaufman, Gil (May 13, 2009)."Kris Allen's 'Heartless': The Story Behind The Cover".MTV News.Archived fromthe originalon May 15, 2009.RetrievedMay 15,2009.
  17. ^Knowles, Harry(April 25, 1999)."MIGHTY PEKING MAN among other reviews (repost)".Ain't It Cool News.
  18. ^West, Jay (January 21, 2014)."American Pop - Q&A with Actor Ron Thompson at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California on 1-12-2014".Vimeo.
  19. ^West, Jay (January 21, 2014)."EXCLUSIVE: Ralph Bakshi's AMERICAN POP – Video of Historic Q&A with Actor Ron Thompson".Beyond the Marquee.
  20. ^Milligan, Mercedes (March 4, 2015)."American Cinematheque Sets Bakshi Retrospective".Animation Magazine.
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