X
  • 2009
  • Not Rated
  • Magnolia Pictures
  • 1 h 21 m
  • 2009
  • Not Rated
  • Magnolia Pictures
  • 1 h 21 m
American Swing

Summary The year was 1977 and New York City burned. As the metropolis hurtled into bankruptcy, the city's nightlife hit unprecedented heights. In midtown, the ultra-exclusive Studio 54 was a cocaine-fueled celebrity clubhouse. Downtown, at the spartan CBGB’s, punk rockers set out to destroy everything Pop. Meanwhile, in the basement of the prest...

Written By: Jon Hart

  • 2009
  • Not Rated
  • Magnolia Pictures
  • 1 h 21 m
  • 2009
  • Not Rated
  • Magnolia Pictures
  • 1 h 21 m

American Swing

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 9 Critic Reviews
59
User Score Available after 4 ratings
tbd
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Summary The year was 1977 and New York City burned. As the metropolis hurtled into bankruptcy, the city's nightlife hit unprecedented heights. In midtown, the ultra-exclusive Studio 54 was a cocaine-fueled celebrity clubhouse. Downtown, at the spartan CBGB’s, punk rockers set out to destroy everything Pop. Meanwhile, in the basement of the prest...

Written By: Jon Hart

Top Cast

View All
View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 9 Critic Reviews
59
44% Positive
4 Reviews
56% Mixed
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 9 Critic Reviews
59
44% Positive
4 Reviews
56% Mixed
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
91
Plato's Retreat was a buffet of bodies, and the film catches the moment America could think that was tasty.
By Owen Gleiberman FULL REVIEW
75
Doesn't have a particularly well-defined point of view, but it is a succinct, entertaining and valuable record of a time that in some ways now seems as remote as the Roaring '20s.
By Lou Lumenick FULL REVIEW
70
Often engrossing and humorous.
FULL REVIEW
60
Directors Jon Hart and Matthew Kaufman don’t delve deeply enough into the psyche of club founder Larry Levenson or the culture he exploited. But they do present an entertaining snapshot of his brief reign as New York’s self-appointed King of Swing.
By Elizabeth Weitzman FULL REVIEW
50
But even a comic spin on grimace-inducing tales of the icky buffet, the "mattress room" (whatever you're imagining, that's it) and Levenson's own buffoonish image as a 10-ladies-a-night player -- "He never read a book," Al Goldstein cracks -- can't keep an unexplored sadness from slithering in amid the orgy of upbeat testimonials.
FULL REVIEW
50
Mathew Kaufman and Jon Hart's documentary is just functionally assembled, lacking the style or larger social context that distinguished similar studies like "Inside Deep Throat."
By Dennis Harvey FULL REVIEW
40
It leaves you feeling queasy.
By Stephen Holden FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

 View All
Production Company HDNet Films
Release Date Mar 27, 2009
Duration 1 h 21 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Tagline The rise and fall of 1970s New York City nightclub Plato's Retreat
Website http://www.swap-swap.com/
View All Details

Related Movies

Hoop Dreams

98
Universal Acclaim

Man with a Movie Camera

96
Universal Acclaim

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

96
Universal Acclaim

I Am Not Your Negro

95
Universal Acclaim

Woodstock

95
Universal Acclaim

Collective

95
Universal Acclaim

Amazing Grace

94
Universal Acclaim

Stop Making Sense

94
Universal Acclaim

We Were Here

94
Universal Acclaim

Faces Places

94
Universal Acclaim

David Byrne’s American Utopia

93
Universal Acclaim

Shoah: Four Sisters

93
Universal Acclaim

Our Body

93
Universal Acclaim

Sherpa

93
Universal Acclaim

The Decline of Western Civilization

93
Universal Acclaim

Brother's Keeper

93
Universal Acclaim

Crumb

93
Universal Acclaim

One More Time with Feeling

92
Universal Acclaim

Sugarcane

92
Universal Acclaim

The Act of Killing

92
Universal Acclaim

De Humani Corporis Fabrica

92
Universal Acclaim

Menus Plaisirs - Les Troisgros

92
Universal Acclaim

Related News

The 20 Best Movies Based on TV Shows

The 20 Best Movies Based on TV Shows

Jason Dietz

With the arrival of The Fall Guy in theaters, we look back at the best TV-to-movie adaptations in film history.

  • movie
The 15 Worst Movies Based on TV Shows

The 15 Worst Movies Based on TV Shows

Jason Dietz

Hollywood continually attempts to bring TV shows to the big screen--and it often turns out poorly. We look at the 15 absolute worst TV-to-film adaptations so far.

  • movie
DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

Jason Dietz

Find a list of new movie and TV releases on DVD and Blu-ray (updated weekly) as well as a calendar of upcoming releases on home video.

  • movie
2024 Movie Release Calendar

2024 Movie Release Calendar

Jason Dietz

Find a schedule of release dates for every movie coming to theaters, VOD, and streaming throughout 2024 and beyond, updated weekly.

  • movie
May 2024 Movie Preview

May 2024 Movie Preview

Keith Kimbell

Get a look at the most notable movies debuting in May, including a Mad Max prequel, a Planet of the Apes sequel, and a promising Ryan Gosling-led action-comedy.

  • movie