American Pop (1981)
Animation, Music, Drama, History • 1h 36m
Director: Ralph Bakshi
Cast: Ron Thompson, Lisa Jane Persky, Jeffrey Lippa, Frank De Kova, Roz Kelly, Mews Small, Elsa Raven, Vincent Schiavelli, Richard Moll, Lynda Wiesmeier, Lee Ving, Jerry Holland, Gene Borkan, Rick Singer, Ben Frommer, Amy Levitt, Leonard Stone, Eric Taslitz, Beatrice Colen, Hilary Beane, Phillip Simms, Marcello Krakoff, Ken Johnson, Barney Pell, Robert Strom, Gene Woodbury, Mark Levine, Ty Grimes, Peter Glindeman, Auburn Burrell, Aleshia Brevard, Ilya Baskin, M.B. West, Joey Camen, Umberto Autore Jr., Tony Autore, Johnny Brogna, Dawn Agrella, Cari Anne Warder, Don Carlson, Vance Colvig, Robert Beecher, Tony Fasce, Frank Ciaravino, Gene Krischer, D.A. Young, Spit Stix, Derf Scratch, Philo Cramer, Chester Hayes, Chuck Mitchell, Ralph Bakshi, Helen Morgan
Compare the discs
About the film
The history of American popular music runs parallel with the history of a Russian Jewish immigrant family, with each male descendant possessing different musical abilities.
Director: Ralph Bakshi
Director: Ralph Bakshi
2010 Warner Bros Blu-ray
HBO VHS Tape
2025 reprint is the exact same master as the 2010 disc
Director: Ralph Bakshi
Sandpiper Pictures Blu-ray includes theatrical trailer
Director: Dennis Hopper
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Director: David Lean
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
The 5.1 on Sony 4K Blu-ray is from the 1989 70mm mix. The original is 4-track. not on the disc.
Original Stereo mix: Columbia Pictures LaserDisc, Sony 4K Blu-ray
5.1 remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray, Sony Blu-ray
Dolby Atmos remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray
Original Stereo mix: Columbia Pictures LaserDisc, Sony 4K Blu-ray
5.1 remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray, Sony Blu-ray
Dolby Atmos remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray
Director: Satoshi Kon
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Director: Ben Stiller
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Director: Luc Besson
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · fanrestore.com (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray vs 2017 Sony 4K Blu-ray (20th annivesary) vs 2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray (Luc Besson Box Set). The first two have totally different texture.
StudioCanal: More natural looking. Better defined grain. The white balance is rather yellow/orange. Some say it is closer to the original theatrical release.
2017 Sony: More vibrant and impactful. The white balance is rather neutral. While color noise and grain can look busy because it had been sharpened and had micro-contrast boosted.
2025 Sony: Supposedly an improved version of the 2017 release? Shows around 20mbps-higher overall video bitrate. caps
2007 Sony Blu-ray or LaserDisc AC3? (TBC) https://fanrestore.com/thread-7303.html
The Atmos on the Sony release is reportedly better than StudioCanal's.
Disc info of the box set discs. This film have recieved multiple encode/versions in different regions over the years. The 2017 Germany4K Blu-ray is encoded differently than the 2017 Sony but not better. Also, the same can be said to 2024 France Gaumont 4K Blu-ray while comparing to the 2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. The StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray omits all the extras from previous releases, being barebones.
Director: Frank Capra
More Animation on Blu-ray
Director: Kenji Iwaisawa
Video format: 1080p Blu-ray
TV series
Video format: 1080p Blu-ray
Directors: David Hand & Ben Sharpsteen & William Cottrell & Larry Morey & Perce Pearce & Wilfred Jackson
Mono track is on the included Blu-ray; 4K Blu-ray missing original mono. LaserDisc probably better
Directors: Chris Appelhans & Maggie Kang
"Sing-Along Edition" not included on the Criterion 4K Blu-ray, only available on Netflix Streaming
Director: Masaaki Yuasa
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Bandai JP 4K Blu-ray
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
All 4K releases are sourced from the same mediocre transfer provided by Bandai, with various amounts of tweaks. Japanese disc presents it with the least tinkering.
The best attempt at improving it comes from the German/French releases from KSM/All the Anime, both of which use the same master with HDR regrading (original grade is SDR in HDR container), tasteful regraining and sharpening, in an attempt to breathe some life into the middling transfer, making for an arguably more pleasing viewing experience.
All earlier releases are from an even worse transfer, with significant black crush, with the exception of a Japanese TV airing, which doesn't suffer from that issue, but instead is heavily sharpened and suffers from poor encoding.
Comparisons: JPN UHD, USA UHD, FRA/GER UHD, ITA UHD (tonemapped), JPN UHD, USA UHD, FRA/GER UHD, ITA UHD, ESP UHD (PQ), All 1080p BDs, HDTV, HDTV filtered
Original matrixed stereo mix: Bandai JP 4K Blu-ray
Most discs include this track with comparable fidelity (which is excellent).
Dolby Atmos remix: Lionsgate US 4K / All the Anime FR 4K
6.1 remix (from Ghost in the Shell 2.0): KSM DE 4K / All the Anime FR 4K
All tracks on the Lionsgate US 4K replace the original ending song with the one heard on the English dub. As the Atmos track on the FR 4K is just a port, it also has this song replaced.
Japanese 4K includes English dub and subtitles.
French/German 4Ks are not English friendly, with no dub or subtitles.
French disc includes the Atmos track, but the German disc does not.
TV series
TV series
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Video format: UHD Blu-ray
2026 Japan Studio Ghibli (remastered) Blu-ray
France 4K Blu-ray announced
Remastered Blu-ray only included as a pack-in with the 4K Blu-ray. Includes English subtitles and a dub, which the 4K Blu-ray does not.
Japan Studio Ghibli 4K Blu-ray
UK StudioCanal Blu-ray for the English dub
4K Blu-ray includes the original 5.1 mix in its unaltered form, all other releases after the LaserDisc, as well as the remastered Blu-ray, had its dynamic range lowered.
For the English dub, the UK StudioCanal Blu-ray is the least limited mix.
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