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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Very interesting, 15 January 2005
Author: jlon from Dublin

DVD review.

The story behind Hip Hop DJing.

Feature documentary tracing the roots of scratch DJing, the development of turntablism (what a word!), the competitions, and the faces behind those crazy DJ names. Like scratching records this movie went off in many directions and cut from one story to another. Many famous faces appear with the televised performance of Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" seeming to be the inspiration for today's scratch masters. The best scene had DJ Shadow walking through a music store cellar amid 100,000s of records. Another good scene was at the music fair where several stuffy formally-trained (and narrowed minded)musicians scoffed at producing music from turntables. What I liked about this movie was how the different generations of DJs improved on the science of cutting up records. But what are those dots on the turntable's platter for? Scratch is a very interesting music documentary.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Fantastic, 11 February 2004

Author: cannibal_cat from Edinburgh, Scotland

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)

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
You don't have to like the music to dig the film., 17 February 2002

Author: WeHaveSixFeet from Montreal

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.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
"wicka wicka wicka", 5 July 2001

Author: shaft21 (shaft21@hotmail.com) from Minneapolis, MN

-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.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Now, who's the king of digging?, 17 March 2007

Author: Camera Obscura from Leiden, The Dutch Mountains

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

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
It made me itch for a turntable of my own., 1 April 2002

Author: Sean Choi (sean_choi) from Santa Barbara, Ca

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.

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Excellent documentary on the history of modern day Turntablism, 21 August 2002

Author: Chris Andrews (fraew) from Christchurch, New Zealand

Wonderfully funny, awe-inspiring feature on the pioneers of turntablism. DJ Shadow and Q-Bert are amazing in this terrific documentary. Check out just about every major DJ crediting their getting in to scratch thanks to Herbie Hancock's post-bop classic 'Rockit', and archival footage of some of the most complex and mind-blowing turntable routines of all time.

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must see for novice djs, but could be more meaty, 3 June 2002
Author: Nima_Alur from San Francisco, CA

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.

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Scratching and more, 3 June 2002
Author: DJ Patrick Scientific (patrick@lastreet.com) from Baltimore, MD. USA

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.

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if you don't know, now you know, 19 April 2002

Author: Homer-8 from frisco, ca

This film is essentially for those who have had little or no introduction to hip-hop, specifically turntableism, as was the case with the director before he started this film. It was cool to have it focus on the bay more than expected, because NY is always getting all the credit, but comin from the bay the Q-Bert worship is a little out of control. This film didn't introduce anything new to me, but it did change my opinion in that going into it I was sketchy about the prospect of giving the tables the distinction of being a bona fide instrument. This film ought to convince anyone that it's right up there with the viola and clavichord.

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