The Apple (1980): Biblical Allegory, Disco Fever, and the Most Insane Musical Ever Made
- Johnny Rewind
- Apr 11
- 2 min read
By Johnny Rewind | Nostalgia Navigator
In 1980, Israeli director Menahem Golan made a disco musical set in a dystopian future 1994 where a corporation called Bigsound controls the world through pop music. He cast unknowns, commissioned an original soundtrack of approximately 20 songs, spent $8 million, and produced something so completely disconnected from normal human experience that it has to be seen to be believed. The Apple is not just a bad film. It is an act of deranged artistic ambition that somehow got fully financed and released in cinemas.
The Plot (If You Can Call It That)
Alphie and Bibi are folk singers from Canada competing at Worldvision, a future music competition. Bigsound's Mr. Boogalow wants to sign them. Bibi signs. Alphie refuses. Bibi becomes a massive star corrupted by fame while Alphie struggles in poverty. The film is a loose retelling of the Garden of Eden — Boogalow is literally the devil, his henchmen are named Dandi and Pandi, and there is an apple-shaped pendant involved. It ends with God arriving in a Rolls-Royce to rapture the virtuous into the sky. This is not a metaphor. This is what happens.
Behind the Madness
The Apple bombed catastrophically on release. Audience members at the premiere in Washington DC threw their promotional soundtrack LPs at the screen. Golan was reportedly devastated. The film vanished into obscurity until home video gave it a second life among cult cinema devotees who recognised it as one of the great accidental masterpieces of unintentional comedy. Every song is performed with complete conviction. The choreography is elaborate. The costumes are extraordinary. None of it makes any sense.
It's in the Book
The Apple gets the full Johnny Rewind treatment in VHS Fever Dreams — plot breakdown, WTF moments, drinking game, and the awards it absolutely deserves. If you've never experienced a film where God shows up at the end to solve the plot, this book is your entry point.
Be kind. Rewind. Don't take the apple.
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