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The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean's American Pie

Play trailer Poster for The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean's American Pie PG Released Jul 8, 2022 1h 34m Documentary Music Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
70% Tomatometer 10 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
The story of America -- our past and our future. More than just a song or a man, this film is about a cultural moment in America's history that has followed us from the 1970s. Featuring a new generation of artists, inspired by the same values and ideas that inspired Don McLean in writing American Pie -- one of the great musical touchstones of pop music and culture.
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The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean's American Pie

Critics Reviews

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Noel Murray Los Angeles Times Somehow, the more McLean explains the song, the more wondrous it seems. Jul 22, 2022 Full Review Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times Don McLean shares his ‘American Pie’ recipe in this thorough documentary. Rated: 3/4 Jul 20, 2022 Full Review Glenn Kenny New York Times McLean, who has frequently been portrayed as a prickly figure, and worse, puts on his most ingratiating mien here. And why not. Few musicians are given such generous opportunities to be docent to their legacies. Jul 19, 2022 Full Review Robin Holabird KUNR (Reno, NV) While filmmakers emphasize a storytelling universality for the song, it still seems locked in a specific era. Aug 26, 2022 Full Review Leigh Paatsch Herald Sun (Australia) Although the song is repeated countless times across the doco, the viewer never tires of it. Rated: 3/5 Aug 12, 2022 Full Review Stephen Silver Splice Today Takes a maximalist approach to its exploration of McLean’s 1971 hit Rated: 4/5 Aug 5, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Joe D This is an amazing biography of a song. It is hard to believe that it has been 50 years since its release. The film was extremely well directed and edited, so it moved quickly and didn't leave much out. I would have liked to have had more of The Big Bopper's story told, but he was relegated to the sidelines. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Best takeaway— Teenage Bronkin’ Buck line came about because of childhood chronic bronchidas Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/23/23 Full Review Audience Member I loved it. If you're looking for an explanation of the lyrics, skip to 1:12 minutes. But if you want the whole thing, sit down for the whole ride and you won't be disappointed. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Chester This documentary- as epic as the song itself- has everything you ever wanted to know about "American Pie", fifty years later. Near the end, Don McLean clears up a few of the misconceptions about the meaning of the lyrics. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/06/22 Full Review Audience Member This film was an excellent tale of the story behind the iconic song 'American Pie'. The film does a great job at showcasing the heart behind the song, and it's ability to connect generations of people worldwide. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Who doesn't know this song ? So catchy and it has such a great vibe! I sang this song in the car many times, but I never really paid a lot of attention to its lyrics. It's always so interesting to know how a writer comes up with the lyrics for a song and it was fascinating to hear the story behind the most iconic song of Don McLean - American Pie; one thing is for sure, this song will never die!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean's American Pie

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Cast & Crew

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Mark Moormann

Director

Don McLean

Self

Garth Brooks

Self

Brian Wilson

Self

Peter Gallagher

Self

Dave Harding

Producer

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The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean's American Pie

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Movie Info

Synopsis The story of America -- our past and our future. More than just a song or a man, this film is about a cultural moment in America's history that has followed us from the 1970s. Featuring a new generation of artists, inspired by the same values and ideas that inspired Don McLean in writing American Pie -- one of the great musical touchstones of pop music and culture.
Director
Mark Moormann
Producer
Dave Harding, Spencer Proffer
Distributor
Paramount+
Production Co
Meteor 17, MTV Studios
Rating
PG
Genre
Documentary, Music
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 8, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 19, 2022
Runtime
1h 34m
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