I saw this at the drive-in in 1978, and loved it. It's one of the best rock and roll movies ever. Another reviewer mentions that this film makes you feel what that era was like, and it's the truth. All the period details are correct, and you can feel the energy of the live performances. It's a wonderful, evocative experience of a film and was criminally neglected when it was released.
Tim McIntire, while not looking much like Freed, inhabited the character so completely he made you believe he was Alan Freed. McIntire never got the respect he deserved in his acting career, and his loss in 1986 was a tremendous blow to the acting profession. I still miss him.
Some of the baddies are broadly caricatured, with no purpose other than to be ridiculous. However, they are completely obliterated by all the real performers, and the actors portraying versions of musical groups from the 1950s/1960s. This is where "American Hot Wax" shines. Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and others perform their own hits, and it's paradise to watch and listen to their performances.
This film needs to be on Bluray/DVD. Whatever musical rights that are stopping it from getting to the fans need to be ironed out. It's been forty years...the film is waiting to be discovered by new fans, and rediscovered by current fans. I'd pay a lot of money for a deluxe Bluray edition; with commentary, extras, the works. Please, get this film out today.
Tim McIntire, while not looking much like Freed, inhabited the character so completely he made you believe he was Alan Freed. McIntire never got the respect he deserved in his acting career, and his loss in 1986 was a tremendous blow to the acting profession. I still miss him.
Some of the baddies are broadly caricatured, with no purpose other than to be ridiculous. However, they are completely obliterated by all the real performers, and the actors portraying versions of musical groups from the 1950s/1960s. This is where "American Hot Wax" shines. Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and others perform their own hits, and it's paradise to watch and listen to their performances.
This film needs to be on Bluray/DVD. Whatever musical rights that are stopping it from getting to the fans need to be ironed out. It's been forty years...the film is waiting to be discovered by new fans, and rediscovered by current fans. I'd pay a lot of money for a deluxe Bluray edition; with commentary, extras, the works. Please, get this film out today.