X
- 1981
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 36 m
- 1981
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 36 m
Summary The story of four generations of a Russian Jewish immigrant family of musicians whose careers parallel the history of American popular music in the 20th century.
Directed By: Ralph Bakshi
Written By: Ronni Kern
- 1981
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 36 m
- 1981
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 36 m
American Pop
57
7.3
Where to Watch
Summary The story of four generations of a Russian Jewish immigrant family of musicians whose careers parallel the history of American popular music in the 20th century.
Directed By: Ralph Bakshi
Written By: Ronni Kern
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
57
50% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
38% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
57
50% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
13% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
38% Negative
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
American Pop is a dazzling display of talent, nerve, ideas (old and new), passion and a marvelously free sensibility. The man may well be a genius, though that sort of pronouncement will have to wait on time.
It's a bit unnerving to realize that an entire life can be summed up so well in 20 minutes and that four generations can be fit into a mere 96 minutes without feeling cramped, but that's what's so beautiful about stories like this, too.
The occasional use of real people on old film is jarring. But cumulatively, the effect is the strength of American pop to convey American mythology. [6 March 1981, p.15]
That American Pop is a work of anti-nostalgia does not make it any less banal than the sunny trip-down-memory-lane formulas it mocks. For all his very real skills as an animator, Bakshi's limitations as an artist are all too clear in American Pop. There's something perversely small-minded about a saga of pop music that resolutely refuses to convey any sense of the joy of making music. Bakshi's ears hear only the downbeats. [16 March 1981, p.94]
Ralph Bakshi's half-baked epic American Pop exposes the banality of his pop mentality. The creator of "Lord of the Rings' and "Fritz the Cat" surpasses himself: American Pop is undeniably his sorriest spectacle yet. [6 March 1981, p.C11]
The daring ceases to be exploratory and turns, spitting and screaming, on itself. When
Bakshi shows us an animated replay of the infamous 1968 pistol execution
of a suspected Viet Cong sympathizer, he imparts to the event the grinning
slapstick of a Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote confrontation. It's as good a
place to walk out of American Pop as any. [6 March 1981]
Low production values, an artless script, and an unconvincing view of history don't add up to much in the way of entertainment.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 User Ratings
7.3
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
17% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
17% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 User Ratings
7.3
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
17% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
17% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
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