Rock and Rule (partially lost original soundtrack of animated film; 1983)
The theatrical poster for Rock & Rule.
Status: Partially Lost
Rock and Rule is a 1983 adult animated feature film produced by the Nelvana animation studio. The film features musical talents such as Cheap Trick, Iggy Pop, and Debbie Harry. Production began in 1979. Some CGI was used in the film, and some photographic techniques were used to create special effects. Approximately 10 different animation styles were used in the creation of the film.
Plot
The film details a post-apocalyptic world where Mok, an aging, famous rock musician who wishes to keep his fame forever, goes on a search to find a "special voice that can unleash a powerful demon from another dimension to fulfill his wish of being immortalized".[1]
Production
Originally meant for a children's audience, the film was titled Drats! in its conceptual stages. With a budget of $8 million, over 300 animators were credited in the film; the movie itself nearly sent new production studio Nelvana into bankruptcy.
During production, the movie was picked up by MGM, who offered to help Nelvana market the movie to an American audience. Unfortunately, when management shifted at MGM mid-production, the new overseers were dissatisfied with the product, forcing Nelvana to change many aspects of the story and delaying its initial release. MGM also insisted that Omar, the male protagonist of the film, be entirely redubbed by a different voice actor and censored to remove some obscenities.
Release
Due to MGM's lack of advertising prior to Rock and Rule's theatrical release and its extremely limited theatrical run, the movie made a mere $30,379 at the box office and was only released theatrically in the United States and Canada.[2] Considered a loss, MGM subsequently shelved the movie entirely. Years later, the movie gained a cult following after bootleg tapes of the movie were distributed at comic conventions, and the movie was aired late at night on HBO and Showtime, as well as other Canadian broadcasting channels.
Although the movie was re-released by Unearthed Films for the film's 25th anniversary in surround sound, the master track is still somewhat muddled, and the dialogue and music are occasionally hard to hear. While Debbie Harry wished for the movie's soundtrack to be released as an album, MGM's lack of interest kept the studio from doing so. Home media releases of the film are extremely hard to find and are out of print.
Even with attempts to restore the original film, the original soundtrack is still partially lost, heard in the movie but only released in part (and slightly altered) by the artists involved. Artists Debbie Harry and Iggy Pop released their songs on their own albums as special tracks, albeit their released tracks are slightly altered.[3] While it is possible that MGM or Nelvana may have the original music, restoration studios have only located master tracks from the initial release of the film in theaters. The existence of the original soundtrack is unknown, as it was never released on vinyl or CD.
On February 26th, 2015, Garrett Gilchrist made a post on the forum Orange Cow. Garrett states that when the film came out, film critics were given cassettes of demo and final versions of a fraction of the soundtrack. While he did not list the owner, how they found it, or what it looked like, there is a link to the cassette rips, remaster attempts, and scans of various collateral. While the songs are in varying quality, and the rip itself is below acceptable (somewhere around 100kpbs), it does give us a final listen into what these songs in their entirety sounded like. [4]
Please note: Some links may be broken depending on what country you are located in due to copyright.
| Song | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
| "Angel's Song" by Debbie Harry | Contained on a promotional cassette given to the press. Also was re-written and rereleased as "Maybe for Sure" (1989). | Found |
| "Send Love Through" by Debbie Harry and Robin Zander | Reconstructions exist that removes many sound effects, but not all of them. Master possibly destroyed. | Partially Found |
| "Invocation Song" by Debbie Harry | Contained on a promotional cassette given to the press. | Found |
| "Pain and Suffering" by Iggy Pop | Released officially by Iggy Pop in 2019. | Found |
| "My Name is Mok" by Lou Reed | Found in low quality on different sources, but was remastered to nearly master tape quality. | Found |
| "Triumph" by Lou Reed | Contained on a promotional cassette given to the press. | Found |
| "Born to Raise Hell" by Cheap Trick | Released officially by Cheap Trick in 1996. | Found |
| "I'm the Man" by Cheap Trick | Released officially by Cheap Trick in 1996. | Found |
| "Ohm Sweet Ohm" by Cheap Trick | Released officially by Cheap Trick in 1996. | Found |
| "Dance Dance Dance" by Earth Wind & Fire | Released officially by Earth Wind & Fire in 2012. | Found |
| "Hot Dogs & Sushi" by Melleny Brown | Full song possibly destroyed. Reconstructions exist of the 1-minute truncated version used in the film. | Partially Found |
| "Sweet Angel" by Patricia Cullen | Only used in the American theatrical version of the film. Full version has never been found and was possibly destroyed. Incomplete version is found on home media releases. | Partially Found |