Scratch

The omission of Jazzy Jeff, the creator of the chirp and transformer scratch, raised a few eyebrows, but it's good to see he made it to the extras of the DVD after all. With SCRATCH, Doug Pray, who previously chronicled the grunge phenomenon of the '90s in HYPE (1996), made an excellent documentary about the world of the hip-hop DJ and the evolution of turntablism. His latest documentary, INFAMY (2005), explores contemporary American graffiti culture. After a couple of viewings four years ago, my DVD had been gathering dust ever since, but recently I watched it again and besides the subject material, I was surprised how well-shot and edited this documentary actually is. An immensely enjoyable soundtrack as well and not just talking heads, but lots of music, old school footage, parties, break dancing, you name it. One of the best things about the film, is that it mainly examines where the art of turntablism is today (in 2001 that is), without disregarding the pioneers of course. Good stuff.

Camera Obscura --- 8/10

OK. I just saw this film this past weekend, and as a DJ I thought it was one of the best documentaries on any aspect of Hip-Hop to date. I think everything was insightful and informative. I also felt that it got many different points of view and did not just stick to one particular region of scratching, but jumped around to other regions. This movie was good because it let the DJ's tell their story as opposed to being an opinionated editorial by the director. They had DJ's from way way back. They went to the essence of scratching and talked to the originator. I have a small knock on this film though. Although I can count many important DJ's who were not a part of this film, I felt that not having DJ Jazzy Jeff or DJ Cash Money in the film was a fairly large omission. Doing a movie on scratching and not interviewing the creators of the chirp and transformer scratch was a disappointment to me. Yet and still, I would consider this movie a huge success, and I'll admit that after I saw it, it made me go home and practice!!

-That's pretty much the whole soundtrack to this film. I just saw this baby at the Munich Film Festival and it rocked the house. Director Doug Pray is never seen in this documentary, nor I think he is even heard, but he has done a very intimate look into the lives and history of the "mixer." He has segmented his film into about eight chapters and then his motley group of enthusiastic interviews will be spiced throughout according to what they are talking about. I was never big into "scratching" but the film does a wonderful job of keeping elementary for those who know little, and infusing in-jokes for those who are experts themselves in this area. Mix Master Mike from the Beastie Boys is in this film, but it wasn't until after the film that I could name several heavy hitters in the industry (DJ Shadow, Q- Bert, etc). The extreme fascination for turntables by these talented and quirky DJs is evident in their explanations of what their music means to them. The film also sheds some gratifying light on these guys (and one woman) to be classified as musicians. Pray doesn't let his film idle and if there exists a slow scene it is soon re-energized by hardly ever ceasing music. If nothing else, this film will increase your slang vocabulary. I have to get back to "digging", so I'll end this review. See it, it will be of interest. Good stuff man. Good stuff.

Being a huge fan of hip-hop and turntablism to begin with, I always knew I would like this film. However, I wasn't prepared for just how good the documentary actually is. It covers almost all the important aspects of the only element of hip-hop which has been there from the very start. The "story" begins in the early 70's, and follows the evolution of turntablism as an art from up until early 2000 (turntablism aficionados will point this out as significant).

The editing is nigh on perfect throughout the film. Aside from the excellent visual "scratch" techniques which they used, the rapid cutting between interviews and the stock footage is excellent, giving the film pace when it is needed. The sound editing is also very good, with some nice sweeping sounds being used to help with transitions.

The absence of a narrator was also welcome. We aren't taken by the hand through the story, and as a result the audience is able to make their own assumptions easier. Each DJ adds another side to the story, and it is so interesting to hear about the unknown stars of hip-hop, especially those who were there when hip-hop was being shunned left, right and centre by the music business.

Although there are many excellent things about this film, I do have a few gripes. The biggest of these is the absence of several notable DJs, such as Ca$hMoney and Jazzy Jeff, and also DJs from outside America, such as Scratch Perverts and DJ Noise. However, if you watch the commentary on the DVD (something which I highly recommend), producer and director go in to great depth about how they regret not being able to feature them. The deleted scenes contain many interviews with Ca$hMoney, Jazzy Jeff and the Scratch Perverts.

This is definitely the best documentary I've seen on hip-hop culture and music. It does stop short of showing the true potential of turntablism; for that I highly recommend checking out the DMC and ITF videos. However, that is a minor quibble. I highly recommend this movie, not least for the phat soundtrack, with excellent music throughout. (9/10)

This movie was well put together. It showed many facets of DJing and the DJs themselves. It is not everyday that you see "Out Of Character" interviews with most of these legendary DJs. Instead of seeing "DJs" in interviews you see "people who like being DJs" in interviews (hopefully you followed that). IE. Instead of seeing an interview with Mix Master Mike you saw an interview with Maxwell Schwartz and he explained why he likes being a DJ and being Mix Master Mike and what and who inspired and inspires him. You also get to see what the families of these DJs had to deal with as they were starting out which is quite interesting. As far as interviews go the common issue most people could have is that DJ Jazzy Jeff and DJ Cash Money from Philadelphia were not in it. Regardless, seeing Afrika Bambaataa and Jazzy Jay (The Original Jazzy Jay) and other Hip Hop originators was worth the price of the movie. You don't see or hear from these people everyday. The only other issue is more of an industry issue where there was only one female DJ interviewed but that is just a sad reflection of the Hip Hop DJ industry. There should and could have been more interviews with more female DJs...they are out there. This is a movie where a parent who remembers the good ol' days of Hip Hop would appreciate it and they would bring their children to see it. It shows that Hip Hop and the art of DJing has evolved and is not just "As it is!" I'm a house DJ and scratching is not something that is done in House music but I love this movie. Don't get it twisted I've always been a fan of Hip Hop. Great Movie. Cheers.