Sample This (2013)
Average Rating: 7.2/10
Reviews Counted: 13
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 6.5/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 102
Movie Info
SAMPLE THIS is the true story of how unknown music producer Michael Viner brought together the greatest studio musicians of the 1970's to create an album that ultimately went nowhere... until the summer of 1973, when DJ Herc took the percussion breaks from that obscure album and extended them by playing them back to back. His beats became an anthem on the streets of the Bronx and ultimately the genre of Hip Hop, becoming one of the most sampled tracks in history and used by artists from Will
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All Critics (13) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (1)
This improbably fascinating documentary will be manna from heaven to pop culture devotees.
Top CriticThe movie provides a vivid sense of the period, as well as an intriguing backstage look at the making of improbable pop classics.
With their love of their craft and their respect for other talents, these bighearted musicians make for a warmly gratifying film to watch.
The film offers disappointingly little insight into the music itself.
Sample This contains a wealth of revelations about music and musicians with which most people are intimately familiar yet know little about.
The music is incredible, and through interviews with Rosey Grier, Afrika Bambaataa, Questlove, and a squadron of old-school studio musicians, director Dan Forrer unearths some of the hidden history of American pop.
Not nearly as moving, crowd-pleasing or powerful as Searching for Sugar Man or Standing in the Shadows of Motown, but it's nonetheless an insightful, slick and engaging music doc for fans of hip-hop.
The film is nearly as fun as the song.
For a documentary filled with such joyous, danceable beats, there's still a note of sadness playing through Sample This.
While a 90-minute movie about a song might seem ripe for thinness, Sample This is never dull. Tightly paced and packed with unbelievable twists and turns, it's a truly fun experience.
We've all danced at some time another to the rhythmic "Apache," even if we didn't know it, and this highly enjoyable doc reveals the incredibly colorful and variegated tale behind it.
It's amazing how the inquisitive eye can find one intriguing cultural thread, tug on it and then unravel a fascinating forgotten history.
As an enjoyable documentary about the history behind a surprising game-changer of a song, this film works well. But it misses the opportunity to take its material to the next level and say something bigger.
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