# The Apple (1980 film)
**The Apple** is a 1980 science-fiction disco musical written and directed by Menahem Golan, produced by Golan and Yoram Globus for the Cannon Group, and set in a dystopian 1994 where a record producer uses pop music to control the world[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1001131-apple). A box office failure that was panned by critics on release, it later acquired a cult following as a camp classic[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/181351/the-gist-the-apple-the-gist) • [4](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-apple/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Opened 21 November 1980 in Los Angeles theaters; rated PG; 90 minutes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple) |
| Director and writer | Menahem Golan; producers Golan and Yoram Globus; production company Cannon Group[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple) |
| Budget | $5 million per a 1 August 1979 Variety report; $8 million per AMPAS production notes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple) |
| Origin | Conceived in 1977 by Coby Recht and Iris Yotvat as a Hebrew stage musical[5](https://www.tcm.com/articles/181353/insider-info-the-apple-behind-the-scenes) |
| Principal cast | Catherine Mary Stewart (Bibi), George Gilmour (Alphie), Vladek Sheybal (Mr. Boogalow), Joss Ackland (Mr. Topps/Hippie Leader), Allan Love (Dandi), Grace Kennedy (Pandi)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple) • [6](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-apple/umc.cmc.4q304g2velbdmpqmnr3b1ah3o) |
| Critical scores | 27% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (11 reviews); Metascore 39 on Metacritic (5 reviews)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1001131-apple) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-apple/) |
| Filming | Eleven weeks at studios in Berlin and locations in Europe; shot at CCC Film Studio and the ICC in West Berlin[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story is set in 1994, where Mr. Boogalow (Vladek Sheybal), head of Boogalow International Music (BIM), effectively rules the music industry through the Worldvision song contest[8](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72162/apple-the/). Young folk singers Alphie (George Gilmour) and Bibi ([Catherine Mary Stewart](https://www.edgepedia.org/catherine-mary-stewart)) leave Canada to compete in the festival. Boogalow rigs the contest for his own disco duo Dandi and Pandi (Allan Love and Grace Kennedy) to win, then offers to sign the pair; when Alphie refuses, Boogalow separates them and turns Bibi into a star, and Alphie sets out to save her even though Boogalow claims to own her and her soul[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1001131-apple) • [8](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72162/apple-the/).
Reviewers have read the plot as a music-industry version of the Faust legend and a Biblical allegory of [Adam and Eve](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-and-eve), with Boogalow as a Satan figure and a production number set in Hell[8](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72162/apple-the/) • [3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/181351/the-gist-the-apple-the-gist). The BIM society is depicted as authoritarian, with mandatory marks worn by the population and compulsory exercise routines set to the song "BIM"[8](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72162/apple-the/). Songs in the film include "Love, the Universal Melody," "Made for Me," "Where Has Love Gone," and "Child of Love"[9](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/apple1980/).
## Origin and development
The project began as a stage musical. According to [Turner Classic Movies](https://www.edgepedia.org/turner-classic-movies), it was conceived in 1977 by the Israeli creators Coby Recht and Iris Yotvat as a Hebrew musical[5](https://www.tcm.com/articles/181353/insider-info-the-apple-behind-the-scenes). The [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute)'s catalog records that the creative team of Coby and Iris Recht approached Golan with the project; Iris had written the book for a stage musical and her husband composed the music to accompany her lyrics. Golan went to London, where he worked on the screenplay and cast the film[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple). DVD Talk's account states the stage version was judged too expensive to produce, and Golan shepherded it as a film project he would direct[8](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72162/apple-the/).
Golan introduced Coby to the American composer George S. Clinton, and the two collaborated on the music[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple).
## Production
A 1 August 1979 Variety article reported that Golan received subsidies from the German government to film the picture in Berlin. The film was budgeted at $5 million according to that report, while AMPAS library production notes put the budget at $8 million[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple). [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) was scheduled to begin on 17 September 1979, but a 2 January 1980 Hollywood Reporter item announced completion after eleven weeks of shooting at studios in Berlin and various European locations, indicating production actually began in mid-October 1979[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple). The end credits state the film was shot in [West Berlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-berlin) at CCC Film Studio and at the ICC, the International Congress Center[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple).
**Design and casting.** Hundreds of dancers were auditioned until fifty were selected, and they spent seven weeks in rehearsals before filming began. For the film's futuristic 1994 look, Colin Arthur developed "Apple Jelly" hair dye, a product that washed out with water and which he patented, as well as all the original masks; special triangular drinking glasses, customized motor scooters, and "electric disco shoes" were designed for the film, and Clinton patented designs for futuristic musical instruments[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple). Catherine Mary Stewart, who played Bibi, made her theatrically released feature film debut in the picture, and the Peruvian singer [Yma Sumac](https://www.edgepedia.org/yma-sumac) made an uncredited cameo[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple).
## Release and reception
The film was scheduled for an April 1980 release, but an Academy Awards application noted that it opened on 21 November 1980 in various Los Angeles theaters[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple). According to IMDb, when the picture was booed midway through at the 1980 Montreal Film Festival, Golan said he left the theater and was preparing to jump from his hotel balcony when his business partner stopped him[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080380).
Contemporary reviews were negative. The AFI catalog records that the film was generally panned in the few reviews that appeared, for lack of originality, weak script, uninspired music, and poor execution[1](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple). The Washington Post's Richard Harrington called it "possibly . . . no, probably . . . no, definitely . . . the worst rock film of all time" in a 24 November 1980 review[11](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-apple/critic-reviews/). Aggregated scores remain low: 27% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 11 reviews, and a Metascore of 39 from 5 critics, though audience ratings are higher, at 45% on the Popcornmeter from more than 1,000 ratings[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1001131-apple) • [11](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-apple/critic-reviews/).
## Cult status
The film was a box office dud and, shown only sporadically in the early days of cable television, quickly lapsed into obscurity, decried as a bomb by more people than had ever seen it, according to Turner Classic Movies[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/181351/the-gist-the-apple-the-gist). It has since amassed a minor cult following. Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson described it in 2004 as a "lovably incoherent vision" that cribs from the synthetic guilty pleasures of the preceding decade, and Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club proposed it as "the ultimate midnight movie"[4](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-apple/) • [11](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-apple/critic-reviews/). Later critics have placed it alongside the other disco-musical misfires of 1980, Can't Stop the Music and Xanadu, and praised its camp qualities, including [Busby Berkeley](https://www.edgepedia.org/busby-berkeley)-style dance numbers and 1970s science-fiction fashion[4](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-apple/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1001131-apple).
A Blu-ray edition released by Kino in June 2017 restored deleted material, including the "Child of Love" and wedding scenes present on the soundtrack album, differently edited musical numbers, and unfinished visual effects in the finale[8](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72162/apple-the/) • [10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080380).
## References
1. [The Apple (1980), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/film/56362-the-apple)
2. [The Apple, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1001131-apple)
3. [The Gist (The Apple), Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/181351/the-gist-the-apple-the-gist)
4. [Review: The Apple, Slant Magazine (Eric Henderson, 2004)](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-apple/)
5. [Insider Info (The Apple) - Behind the Scenes, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/181353/insider-info-the-apple-behind-the-scenes)
6. [The Apple, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-apple/umc.cmc.4q304g2velbdmpqmnr3b1ah3o)
7. [The Apple Reviews - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-apple/)
8. [Apple, The - Blu-ray review, DVD Talk (Francis Rizzo III, 2017)](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72162/apple-the/)
9. [Apple, The - Dennis Schwartz Reviews](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/apple1980/)
10. [The Apple (1980), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080380)
11. [The Apple critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-apple/critic-reviews/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Musical and music films (individual works) › Musical films of the 1970s and 1980s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license