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Pump Up the Volume

Pump Up the Volume

Music · Drama · 1990

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.

Movie details

Pump Up the Volume

“TALK HARD. STEAL THE AIR.”

1990 Music · Drama 1h 42m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Pump Up the Volume?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Allan Moyle

Written by

Allan Moyle

Christian Slater

Christian Slater

Mark Hunter

Samantha Mathis

Samantha Mathis

Nora Diniro

Annie Ross

Annie Ross

Loretta Creswood

Scott Paulin

Scott Paulin

Brian Hunter

Mimi Kennedy

Mimi Kennedy

Marla Hunter

Andy Romano

Andy Romano

Murdock

K

Keith Stuart Thayer

Luis Chavez

Court is in session

Put Pump Up the Volume on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.