Scratch

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!!

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

Scratch is a documentary about DJs and their art of scratching. From that one line description of the film you would have no idea how entertaining and educational this little film is. It is a joyous and vibrant celebration of a cool subculture which is little known. It's filled with great underground hip hop music and you get to see some top DJs (e.g. DJ Q-Bert, DJ Shadow, and Mix Master Mike from the Beastie Boys) showing off their stuff. Going into the film I wasn't sure that "scratching" can really be called an art form, or that the turntable can be viewed as an instrument in its own right. Scratch completely changed my mind on these points. What these guys do with their turntables is truly amazing--it is definitely some kind of art--and the turntable, if you know how to use it, can be transformed into an instrument that you can "play," as much as a drum or a guitar. And you even get a lesson on the basics of scratching from DJ Q-Bert (e.g. how to use the fader to get different sound effects). All these DJs in their own way were inspired to take up the art of scratching after watching Herbie Hancock perform his song "Rock It" (you remember that song, don't you?) live at the Grammys. What got their attention was not Hancock himself but his DJ and his scratching. Not only is Scratch about scratching, but it does some "scratching" of its own thanks to the creative way in which this documentary is shot and edited. There are moments where clips are quickly "rewound" and then "forwarded" several times, which mirrors (in the film medium) what happens when a DJ quickly moves the record on his turntable back and forth while using his fader (that "wicka-wicka-wicka" sound). Whether you're a fan of hip hop or not, you can count on Scratch to give you a very enjoyable night at the movies. After seeing it, I had an itch to go buy a turntable of my own. And I mean this as a compliment.

I'm not a fan of scratching, but I really dug this movie. It gave me a real insight into a world I never had a clue existed; and what else is a documentary for? Funny, clever, hip - just like Pray's previous film, Hype! about the grunge music scene.

As one who is generally unfamiliar with the hip-hop scene but has tried spinning, the movie does a great job of presenting turntablism as an art form. It also did a good job emphasizing that hip-hop is meant to be fun, and it is by no means about the rough-and-tumble gangsta rappers of years past.

Despite the long list of DJ's listed on the marquis, this movie was pretty much about scratch deejay extrodinaires Q-bert and DJ Shadow, with cameos from many others including Afrika Bambaataa, Mix Master Mike, DJ Craze, and Grand Mixer DXT of "Rockit" fame. I got the feeling that the whole movie was just a compilation of interviews, and Q-bert happened to be the chattiest among them.

Director by Doug Pray - who previously did Hype! (about Seattle grunge of the early 90's) and American Pimp - put together a film that I thought was of much higher quality than the other dj movies "Groove" or "Better Living through Circuitry". However I found the stream of interviews, and lack of drama got a tad tedious, making the 87 minute-long movie seem more like two hours. (Of course it is a documentary).

The mediocrity of the interviews was nicely interrupted by quirky references to intergalactic beings; repeated cut-ins of the first MTV-ised scratch in "Rockit"; and some funky cinemetography that made the film visually interesting, and even funny. For scratch dj' in the know however, the presentation is begging for some of the nitty gritty how-to's that would make this documentary a bit more meaty.

My favorite scene? Record digging with DJ Shadow as he explored the dusty, low ceilinged basement archives of a record store. This scene added an element of reverence to the act searching out vintage beats, and helped me understand why Moby *hires* people to dig for him.

Although I was so fortunate to see the film at the Red Vic - right next door to Amoeba Records (featured in the film) - with a house that was probably full of SF's finest djs, This film is probably best watched at home - with decks at the ready. Even novices just might have the urge to walk away from the movie now and then to give scratching a try after watching how its supposed to be done.