Pump Up the Volume (film)
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- This article is about the film. For other uses, see Pump Up the Volume.
| Pump Up the Volume | |
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| Directed by | Allan Moyle |
| Produced by | Syd Cappe Sara Risher Nicolas Stiliadis |
| Written by | Allan Moyle |
| Starring | Christian Slater Samantha Mathis |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | August 22, 1990 |
| Running time | 105:00 |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Pump Up the Volume (1990) is a dramedy written and directed by Allan Moyle and starring Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis.
Filming locations included the Saugus High School and other locations around Saugus, California, USA. The film is currently available on DVD.
Contents |
[edit] Main cast
- Christian Slater — Mark Hunter
- Samantha Mathis — Nora Diniro
- Mimi Kennedy — Marla Hunter
- Scott Paulin — Brian Hunter
- Cheryl Pollack — Paige Woodward
- Annie Ross — Loretta Creswood
- Ahmet Zappa — Jaime
- Seth Green — Joey
- Robert Schenkkan — David Deaver
- Ellen Greene — Jan Emerson
- Andy Romano — Mr. Murdock
- Anthony Lucero — Malcolm Kaiser
[edit] Plot summary
Mark Hunter (Slater), a high school student, starts a pirate radio station which broadcasts from his bedroom in the basement of his parent's house. Mark is a loner, an outsider, whose only outlet for his teenage angst and aggression is his radio station. (His pirate station's theme song is "Everybody Knows" by Leonard Cohen.). By day, Mark is seen as a loner, hardly talking to anyone around him, by night, he expresses his outsider views about what is wrong with American society. When he speaks his mind about what is going on at his school and in the community, more and more of his fellow students tune in to hear his show. Nobody knows the true identity of "Hard Harry" or "Happy Harry Hard On", as Mark refers to himself, until Nora Diniro (Mathis) tracks him down. Eventually, the radio show causes so much trouble in the community that the FCC is called in to investigate.
[edit] Critics
Many critics dismissed it as a teenage exploitation film that was trying to pass itself off as a modern version of Radio Days. Most of the adults were portrayed as authoritarian and corrupt, and the film seemed to have all the standard conventions of a teenage exploitation film.
Other critics, such as Roger Ebert, gave generally positive reviews, citing especially the film's portrayal of progressive political activism geared towards a teenaged audience.
The film was scoffed at by many pirate radio operators and enthusiasts, however, for inaccurate portrayal of FCC enforcement, such as scenes of the FCC chairman holding a press conference to announce his arrival and federal agents patrolling in brightly marked yellow vans.
[edit] Awards
The movie won the Golden Space Needle Award at the Seattle International Film Festival, and the Audience Award at the Deauville Film Festival.
[edit] Soundtrack
Music being central to the plot of a film about a young pirate radio station DJ, the soundtrack featured a diverse lot of artists. The official soundtrack release had the following tracks:
- "Everybody Knows (Leonard Cohen)" - Concrete Blonde
- "Why Can't I Fall in Love?" - Ivan Neville
- "Stand" - Liquid Jesus
- "Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)" - Pixies
- "I've Got a Miniature Secret Camera" - Peter Murphy
- "Kick Out the Jams" - Bad Brains with Henry Rollins
- "Freedom of Speech" - Above the Law
- "Heretic' - Soundgarden
- "Titanium Expose" - Sonic Youth
- "Me and the Devil Blues" (Robert Johnson) - Cowboy Junkies
- "Tale O' The Twister' - Chagall Guevara
The soundtrack features several covers. The Cowboy Junkies' contribution to the soundtrack is a remake of a Robert Johnson song, while the Bad Brains and Henry Rollins track is a cover of the MC5 anthem. "Stand" by Liquid Jesus is a new version of the 1969 song by Sly & the Family Stone.
Peter Murphy's exclusive track was later included on a special reissue of his 1988 album, Love Hysteria, while Sonic Youth's song appeared on their 1990 release, Goo.
An earlier version of Soundgarden's "Heretic" appears on the 1985 Seattle band compilation album Deep Six. Concrete Blonde revisited "Everybody Knows" on their 2003 album, Live in Brazil. The original, upbeat version of "Wave of Mutilation" appears on Doolittle, the third studio album by Pixies.
A number of songs prominently featured in the film did not appear on the officially released soundtrack, including the original version of "Everybody Knows" by Leonard Cohen. Although Cohen's version serves as the theme song for the pirate radio program, it is the Concrete Blonde cover which appears on the soundtrack. (Cohen's version may be found on his 1988 album, I'm Your Man.) Also present in the film but absent from the soundtrack are "Dad, I'm in Jail" by Was (Not Was) (which appeared on their 1988 album What Up, Dog?), "Fast Lane" by Urban Dance Squad (which appeared on their 1990 album Mental Floss for the Globe), "Weinerschnitzel" by The Descendents (which appeared on their 1981 EP Fat), and "Love Comes in Spurts" by Richard Hell and the Voidoids.
Not as prominently featured is a legendary early track by the Beastie Boys. Although the song entitled "The Scenario" appears only briefly in Pump Up the Volume, it is notable because it never appeared in any official release, however is available on hard to find bootleg recordings. The song was cut from the Beastie's Def Jam album Licensed to Ill after being deemed too explicit. Christian Slater's character explains this when he introduces it on the air saying, "Now here's a song from my close personal buddies the Beastie Boys. A song that was so controversial they couldn't put it on their first album."
The complete song list in the order the were played in the movie
01. Everybody Knows - Leonard Cohen* 5:36
02. Love Comes In Spurts - Richard Hell* 2:03
03. Girls L.G.B.N.A.F. - Ice-T* 2:58
04. Der Weinerschnitzel - The Descendents* 0:13
05. The Scenario - Beastie Boys* 4:55
06. Me And The Devil Blues - Cowboy Junkies 5:36
07. Freedom Of Speech - Above The Law 4:16
08. Tale O' The Twister - Chagall Guevara 3:19
09. If It Be Your Will - Leonard Cohen* 3:42
10. Kick Out The Jams - Bad Brains / H. Rollins 3:05
11. Wave Of Mutilation (U.K. Surf) - The Pixies 3:01
12. Titanium Expose - Sonic Youth 6:27
13. Secret Miniature Camera - Peter Murphy 4:27
14. Why Can't I Fall In Love - Ivan Neville 4:02
15. Heretic - Soundgarden 3:49
16. Everybody Knows - Concrete Blonde 4:44
17. Dad, I'm In Jail - Was (Not Was)* 1:25
18. Fast Lane - Urban Dance Squad * 3:29
19. Stand - Liquid Jesus 4:23
* These Songs not availible on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
There is an unofficial bootleg soundtrack that features all of the songs in film, including those omitted the official soundtrack called *Pump Up The Volume (Talk Hard Edition)*. It also includes a bonus disc that has clips of Harry ranting from the movie, cut with songs from the soundtrack.
[edit] Goofs
During the scene where the highschooler hijacks the school's PA system with a home made song featuring audio snippets from the Harry Harry phone interview with the high school guidance counselor, you can hear the words "drug awareness" clearly, however during the actual interview when the guidance counselor says "drug awareness", Harry is talking at the same time, therefore this song could have not been created from the actual broadcast tape of the show.
