''Hang The DJ'' is a 1998 music

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

debut by identical twin brothers Marco and Mauro La Villa. The idea for this documentary came to them in 1992 while they were working at their uncle's pizza store on St-Laurent Boulevard in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

to help pay tuition for a degree in

Film Studies Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies. ...

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

. The brothers originally had no interest in DJs or documentaries but became interested in the scene after working late nights and meeting the regular neighborhood club crowd. Mauro has said, "we heard a lot about the gossip and conflicts of the DJ world", which gave the brothers the idea to make a documentary by following disc jockeys around the world to get a sense of what being a DJ really was. Featuring

Roger Sanchez Roger Sanchez (born June 1, 1967) is a Dominican-American house music DJ, remixer and producer. He won a Grammy Award for his remix of "Hella Good" by No Doubt in 2003, and is best known for his song " Another Chance", which was an internationa ...

Junior Vasquez Junior Vasquez (born Donald Gregory Mattern, August 24, 1949) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He has been referred to as one of the only DJs of his time to gain international attention. Career Mattern moved to New York City a ...

DJ Qbert Richard Quitevis (born October 7, 1969) known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is an American turntablist and composer. He was awarded America's Best DJ in 2010, was DMC USA Champion 1991 (solo) and achieved titles as DMC World Champion in ...

and

A-Trak Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known by his stage name A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highly ...

, the film presents the cult of DJs in the era that catapulted them into superstars from the underground. The documentary contains a mix of DJ sets from around the globe counterbalanced with commentary from fans and interviews with the DJs. The film's name comes from the lyrics of the 1986 song "Panic" by

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

, which Mauro described as "the anthem of our high school years".

Production

The film was shot over a period of two years throughout 1996 and 1997. The shooting locations encompassed many cultural hubs from around the world, including

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London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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, and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Release

Locations

''Hang the DJ'' premiered at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival in September 1998 and also screened at the

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam. Over a period of twelve days, it has screened more than 300 films and sold more than 250,000 tic ...

, the

Stockholm International Film Festival The Stockholm International Film Festival ( sv, Stockholms filmfestival, italic=no) is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November. The w ...

, the

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fest ...

and the

New Zealand International Film Festival New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

previous to its theatrical release. The film was later released in a select 13 Canadian cities and lasted four weeks in

Cineplex Odeon Cineplex Inc. (formerly Cineplex Galaxy) is a Canadian movie theatre and family entertainment centre chain headquartered in Toronto. The company was formed in 2003 via the acquisition of Loews Cineplex's Canadian operations (which included t ...

theaters through the month of January in 2001; continuing to run in select second-run cinemas until March.

Merchandise

To promote the film the La Villa brothers partnered with an array of different companies releasing an arrange of products, including posters, postcards, an Austrian-based energy drink with Power Horse and a clothing collaboration with

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...

Soundtrack

Critical reception

Hang the DJ opened to relatively positive reviews from fans. Many critics found the movie to not have a central theme and felt that the documentary tried to cover too much information without having any real outcome.

Wesley Morris Wesley Morris (born 1975) is an American film critic and podcast host. He is currently critic-at-large for ''The New York Times'', as well as co-host, with Jenna Wortham, of the ''New York Times'' podcast '' Still Processing.'' Previously, Mor ...

wrote for the

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

stating that "the film doesn't present a particularly persuasive case for any of its turntablist subjects".

Accolades

External links

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Notes

{{reflist Documentary films about electronic music and musicians Canadian musical documentary films 1998 films 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films