Pump Up the Volume

"TALK HARD. STEAL THE AIR."

1990 1h 42m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 426

MusicDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Mark Hunter, a lonely high school student, uses his shortwave radio to moonlight as the popular pirate DJ "Hard Harry." When his show gets blamed for a teen committing suicide, the students clash with high school faculty and the authorities.

“TALK HARD. STEAL THE AIR.”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Christian Slater
Mark Hunter
Samantha Mathis
Nora Diniro
Annie Ross
Loretta Creswood
Scott Paulin
Brian Hunter
Mimi Kennedy
Marla Hunter
Andy Romano
Murdock
Keith Stuart Thayer
Luis Chavez
Cheryl Pollak
Paige Woodward

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Allan Moyle
Writers: Allan Moyle
Languages: English
Countries: Canada, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Allan Moyle, shot by Walt Lloyd. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Cliff Martinez. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Larry Bock shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis and Annie Ross carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "TALK HARD. STEAL THE AIR.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0100436 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Allan Moyle directs. Walt Lloyd behind the camera. Cliff Martinez scores. Larry Bock cuts. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

136 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
3Directed by Allan Moyle, shot by Walt Lloyd. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Cliff Martinez. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Larry Bock shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis and Annie Ross carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "TALK HARD. STEAL THE AIR.".
8IMDB entry: tt0100436 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 15 themes, including "rebellion", "high school", "suicide", "hero".
10Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Walt Lloyd
Original score: Cliff Martinez
Editing: Larry Bock
Production design: Robb Wilson King
Costume design: Michael Abbott
Makeup / hair: Michelle Bühler
Sound: Wayne Heitman
Stunt coordinator: Michael Cassidy
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $11,500,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Pump Up the Volume (1990)

Awards

Golden Space Needle

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Allan Moyle

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Filipe Manuel Neto2023-11-19
★ 6/10
A duel of generations, a school, angry teenagers and lots of rock. This is a film for young adults that takes advantage of traditional teenage rebellion and the talent of Christian Slater, a good script and a good soundtrack. It's not masterful, but it's ideal for a Saturday afternoon and has aged very well: thirty years after it was made and marketed, it's still young and fresh. The story focuses on a clandestine radio station created by an angry and angry teenager who was forced to move house and is in a place where he doesn't know anyone and doesn't even feel comfortable. The radio is an outlet, it is a means of expressing inner anger, and it is nothing truly serious, but it becomes increasingly relevant as it acquires a very loyal local audience, who listen to him as if he were a guru without even knowing it. his identity, and allows himself to be carried away by his words in a wave of riots and protests that are directed, in particular, against the management of the local high school. The story is quite good, it is well written, and the duel between the two characters (the young teenager assumed to be the radio presenter and the plenipotentiary director of the school) mirrors not only the oldest conflict of generations but also the permanent conflict between powerful and weak in society. None of this is particularly new, but the way it is served and presented was creative and wonderfully entertaining. The problem here is that it's a film for teenagers, it's too light, and it lacks secondary characters that are at least as complete and impactful as the two central characters. Christian Slater lived in his youth, the happiest days of his career, and gave us good characters in good films. With time and success, he became a star and almost a synonym of rebellion and irreverence, an apprentice of James Dean who exploded onto the screen, guaranteeing the success of his films and the influx of young people to the cinema. Time, however, would show that Slater was, in each film, playing a single character, which was the one he tried to revive in his personal life, increasingly complicated by addictions and problems with the authorities. Annie Ross, on the other hand, gives us mature, well-developed work, suitably dark and dense, never allowing Slater to feel alone in the spotlight. On a technical level, it is in the soundtrack that we find the film's strong point. The songs include hit songs by Leonard Cohen, Pixies, Ivan Neville and Cowboy Junkies, and most of them are very easy to know for anyone who lived through the 90s and 2000s, that is, everyone or almost everyone. The rest doesn't really matter: with no mistakes to regret, it doesn't exceed the average at any particular point.

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