NF Geria III-Produktion, 1980
starring: Catherine Mary Stewart, George Gilmour, Vladek Sheybal and Joss Ackland
written and directed by: Menahem Golan

the plot: In the far-flung future of 1994, the world is under the control of Boogalow International Music, a multinational conglomerate. Each year, BIM owner Mr. Boogalow (Sheybal) hosts the World Vision Music Festival, using it as an opportunity to recruit a new pop star for his evil empire. But even Boogalow is surprised when Bibi (Stewart) and Alphie (Gilmour), a sweet folk-rock duo from Moosejaw, Canada, win the contest. Boogalow rushes to enfold them in his world, tempting Alphie and Bibi with promises of money, fame, sex and drugs. While Bibi jumps at the chance to become an international pop star, Alphie is hesitant, experiencing a series of frightening visions just before signing the contract. He refuses to sign, and so Boogalow exiles him to a life of poverty and sadness. Meanwhile, Bibi gets wrapped up in the glamorous life, with legions of fans and hangers-on surrounding her. As Bibi’s career takes off, BIM slowly worms its way into controlling all facets of society, forcing citizens to wear a BIM mark and participate in daily exercise programs. Alphie meets up with Mr. Topps (Ackland), the leader of a hippie enclave that shuns modern society and refuses to submit to BIM’s control. As Alphie attempts to free Bibi from BIM’s clutches, Mr. Boogalow sets into motion a plan to crush Alphie, Mr. Topps and the hippies once and for all.

why it’s good: A disco sci-fi musical that somehow managed to predict the “American Idol” era through a combination of blind luck and drugged-out incompetence, “The Apple” is perhaps one of the strangest viewing experiences ever. First, there’s the music, a non-stop barrage of pop tunes that are catchy despite being utterly stupid. The movie starts with a performance of the BIM theme song (sample lyric: “Hey hey hey, BIM is the way!”) by BIM stars Dandi and Pandi (Allan Love and Grace Kennedy, who resemble a poor man’s Rod Stewart and Grace Jones). Later on, “The Apple” blasts out numbers about speed addiction (“Pumpin’ power by the hour/Speeeed!”), graphic sexual come-ons, (“Fill me up with your fire/Come do anything to me your little heart desires!”) and the titular apple. In one troubling number, Mr. Boogalow sings about his natural affinity for evil while his assistant and Pandi, both of whom are black, sing the chorus, “He really knows how to be/a master!” There are very few moments in “The Apple” that aren’t set to music—an ideal strategy, since everything else about the movie is terrible, in a laughably cheesy sort of way. The future of 1994 looks remarkably like 1974 but with more glitter and random plastic bubbles. Boogalow’s fancy future car is really just an old station wagon painted harvest gold with some plastic bubbles glued on top, and all the costumes look like leftover disco jumpsuits with leather shoulder pads. It’s a complete mess, and just when you think “The Apple” can’t get any more ridiculous, God himself arrives in a glittering, heavenly Rolls Royce for the ultimate deus ex machina ending.

why you should own it: “The Apple” is like a cinematic hangover, dredging up the worst bits of the ’70s and putting them out for a frightening musical display. MGM’s DVD of “The Apple” features a decent-looking version of the film, but is sadly lacking in extras. You should watch “The Apple” at least once, though the Video Vault recommends viewers partake of some sort of mood-altering substance beforehand to ease the viewing process.