Scratch

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)

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!!

I'm sort of target audience for this documentary film and I was looking forward to it as I knew a good handful of the names listed as involved but at the same time my knowledge of the subject only goes as far as "I know what I like and I like this", rather than some encyclopedia of names and dates. As such I was looking forward to the film filling me in with this a bit – which is good because this is what it does, a bit.

I say a bit because the 90 minute film is not really a documentary in the sense that it is totally fact based and all about informing – it is not. It does still have talking heads, a timeline and a structured way of looking at the subject in chapters of a sort, but it didn't actually inform too much beyond the basics. This will limit the appeal of the film a little bit as those that know their stuff in this regard may take exception at some of the people not included in the film and also some of the things stated as facts to do with origins etc. What the film does do well though is to try and translate why the viewer should care about this subject and to a point the film seems designed to make some inroads into the view that scratching is just noise, that it isn't music and doesn't "count" (whatever that means) and that it isn't worth their time. It does this by having a lot of footage from live events and contests which really capture the talent of those involved and show how it works in reality.

This footage is mostly very good with plenty to be impressed by and the film constructs around them using talking heads in the normal fashion. These interviews are not the most informative but people speak with passion and are natural in a way that helps. I also liked that the film was able to show the multi-cultural and multi-racial nature of the scene, rather than just saying it. The direction is good and the film is edited together well with good pace and scene selection – the visual scratching thing didn't do much for me personally, but it wasn't overly used.

Scratch isn't a great documentary in the traditional sense, but it works very well with the subject using the interviews to explain and structure while using live footage to show (not just say) why this is something that deserves your attention.

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.

Scratch is the story of scratch music's evolution from its birth in the late seventies/ early eighties to its ever growing musical status in modern day culture. Scratch tells the story of the music with the help of some of the most important scratch pioneers of the last 20 years, such as Babu (of Dilated Peoples and Beat Junkies), DJ Q-Bert and Afrika Bambaataa amongst others. These interviews give us an incite about how the music was born and its growth. We also get helpful tips on the art of scratching from Q-Bert and Mix Master Mike (from The Beastie Boys).

I am interested in a lot of genres of music, jazz, rock, indie etc. but I have never invested much interest in scratching, sure I have all the classic rap albums, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem etc. and I have recently got into new hip-hop (a musical genre that uses DJs a lot) such as Dilated Peoples (who's performance in the film made my day), Blackalicious and Jurassic 5 (also featured), but I still had no idea of the art of scratching (or turntablism as it's referred to here), so I went into this movie no sure what to expect.

This movie is very similar to a lot of the documentaries that have been appearing in the last few years from America, such as Baadasssss Cinema (the story of blacksploitation films), The Backyard and Beyond the Mat (both about the growing popularity of wrestling). But the documentary it seemed to have the most in common with was American Pimp (the story of surprise, surprise American pimps). It was almost the same documentary, sharp editing, grainy camera work, loud soundtrack, sharp dialogue and the DJ's taking over the part of the flamboyant, over the top and eccentric pimps and matching them for madness on every level. And I was justified in my beliefs when I read in the credits that the film was produced by the two directors of American Pimp, Allen and Albert Hughes (who also directed Dead Presidents and From Hell) and later found out that the director of Scratch, Doug Pray was also the editor of American Pimp (he also edited Scratch).

It's not surprising that it is edited by the director as the editing is an important part of the movie and helps the music get noticed a lot more. He almost makes the footage like the music, rewinding it slowing it down, speeding it up and all sorts of other techniques, which although brilliant do give you a bit of a headache after an hour or so.

But apart from the moderate headache this is a very good movie that I thing will really change your opinion on scratching if you aren't a fan. And if you are a fan then this is a must see. Good direction, superb editing and an interesting subject matter, go and see it if you get the chance.

7 out of 10