Pump up the Volume (1990) is perhaps one of the most inspiring films that ever found their way to the celluloid forum. Upon viewing the film for the first time as a ten-years-old kid back when it was released in cinemas, I remember feeling profoundly moved by the main lead and the events his character sets in motion. This genuine masterpiece doesn't only teach us about leadership and the ability of one individual to make a difference in the world; it is also a triumph of the human spirit in general and of the youth over decadent grown-up ideas specifically.

The story presents us Mark Hunter (a then young and extremely talented Christian Slater),a teenage high school student that moves with his parents from the big city to the suburbs, when his father gets a new job as an educational consultant for a middle-America region. The days are the early nineties, when internet was probably considered radical science fiction at best, and Mark finds himself all of a sudden pretty lonely in the new school. Luckily, his parents buy him a ham radio in order to keep connected with his friends back east, and Mark finds a unique way of passing time by transmitting his thoughts about the suburbs and the lousy life of 1990 teenagers, using his ham radio as a local broadcast device. Upon gaining fame and listeners, Hunter adopts a pseudonym, one "Happy Harry Hard On" which brings messages of freedom of speech and thought to his fellow classmates at school. When stumbling upon information concerning illegal steps his school has taken regarding problematic students, things start to get out of control. As Mark, he tries to keep a low profile and doesn't blend in with the ongoing events, but as Harry he feels he must take a stand and speak up his thoughts and ideas. But can a voice be heard without its owner taking responsibility to its actions?

The notions and ideas which arise upon viewing Pump up the Volume are intriguing and fresh until this very day, 16 years after its initial release. For the younger ones, it teaches how to stand up for what you believe in and try to right society's wrongs. For grown-ups, it serves an interesting conflict about the bounders of democracy and the part the media plays in each and every one of our lives. Look out for Samantha Mathis's powerful role as Nora DeNiro, Hunter's female admirer, and one of the only people around him that know he's behind the controversial broadcasts. Also look out for a very very young Seth Green (Austin Powers, Without a Paddle) as one of the students that helps spread Harry's tapes across the school.

On a personal note, I have to say that I hold credit to this movie for a lot of who I am in my grown-up life. The film taught me I could use my words to make a difference, and for the past ten years I've been doing just that as a journalist and newspaper editor here in central Israel. For that I will always be thankful to the makers of Pump up the Volume, and I suspect it'll stay my all-time favorite for years and years to come! Naturally, I rank this one a must-see film, with a 10 out of 10 rating.

Almost from the outset, I couldn't find very much that was credible about this movie. It starts with Christian Slater portraying a disaffected teen who has difficulty adjusting to high school in Arizona having moved from the East Coast. Okay, I'll grant some separation anxiety from his friends back home, but Slater's character is a good looking, fashionably dressed enough teen who shouldn't have had any trouble making new friends or introducing himself to girls in his class. That he couldn't even look one in the eye defied any kind of logic that I can come up with.

Then there's the social milieu at Hubert Humphrey High School. It appeared that EVEYONE going to school was ready to plunge into anarchy after listening to Hard Harry's (Slater) pirate radio broadcasts. That's just not reality. I know the movie was trying to make a point about teenage angst and alienation, but even so, there would have been some responsible students somewhere in those corridors who wouldn't go along with Harry's broadcasts to defy all forms of authority.

And finally, there was Mark/Harry's home life. Didn't his parents hear him screaming downstairs during his radio outbursts? And I won't even get into how easy it would have been to discover who was doing those shows if a fellow student like Nora (Samantha Mathis) was able to figure it out. Okay, so it's almost three decades since this movie came out, but I can't imagine how authorities would have been that clueless to scope out Harry's location and put an end to his nonsense sooner than they did. A recent incident at a local high school near me that threatened the safety of students resulted in three neighboring school lock-downs within a half hour.

Mark Hunter (Christian Slater) is a loner and a quiet nobody during the day in an Arizona high school. During the night, he's the popular anonymous pirate radio DJ Hard Harry. His father moved the family from New York to become the youngest school commissioner. Jan Emerson (Ellen Greene) is Mark's beloved English teacher. Nora Diniro (Samantha Mathis) works to uncover Hard Harry's true identity. Hard Harry fails to talk down suicidal student Malcolm Kaiser who ends up killing himself. Soon principal Creswood, the police, the media and even the FCC are after the mystery DJ.

This is a great title to a terrific teen rebel movie. Slater has the power and the pure energy. This and "Heathers" are two of the best high school movies with a darker edge. It is in line with a long tradition of movies similar to "Rebel Without a Cause". Samantha Mathis has enough dark edge to match him. This hits the teenage angst right on target. It also has an eclectic mix of music.