Maybe watch Detroit Blueprint for Techno before calling it something like 'What We Started'. Pretty sure UR, Inner City and Juan Atkins should be credited with that title.
33 Reviews
Misleading title
spin_orbit20 February 2021
Edm is not underground
akissketo8 November 2020
Good
sumantoakatoto29 August 2020
A Stellar & Moving journey within Electronic Dance Music. Finally!!!
abe-4114 March 2018
This film , the first one that touched my heart capturing Electronic Dance Music from the root to present day! Sit in with first generation DJs and DJs of today as they clash & unite in this epic tale of DJ/ Dance culture. I felt as if I was on a DJ booth road trip. Great work to the Directors Bert Marcus & Cyrus Saidi for the deep "Dance" dive!!! This film is for everyone & insightful for those seeking to explore a movement that exports celebration.
Converted
patearnlin15 January 2018
I didn't know much about this kind of music before I saw What We Started, but I was super inspired by the film and have now purchased tickets to my first electronic dance music event! I learned so much by watching the film and felt really invigorated by the music.
Starts strong...
eo_guy11 May 2019
What begins as a thorough journey from the early days of house music loses its way somewhere after rave culture. The doc struggles to bridge the late 90s to modern electronic music, leaving the entire 1990s house/pop crossover movement behind, skipping eurodance and somehow landing at David Guetta swinging at crossover hits without acknowledging acts like Daft Punk and perhaps Prodigy? I found the narrative choices confusing and bland as the filmmakers tried to bridge the old (Carl Cox) with the new (Martin Garrix) by spending too much time with Martin and not enough time on telling the bigger story. I guess what it comes down to is that electronic dance music is a huge genre that rarely gets proper respect. Only the book "The Underground is Massive" came close to doing it right, and it's a much better place to spend your time.
Best Dance Music Film Ever Made
Jimi2024 December 2017
I've been a successful DJ in the scene for
Over a decade and have seen most of the major
Dance music Films made trying to cover the truth...this film
Hands down is the best movie ever made about
Dance music! Rather you are a dance music lover
or completely unfamiliar with the scene "What
We Started" will give you a very accurate look
Into the world of Dance while entertaining you
From start to finish. Highly recommend this!
Must See!
amandagarglyes11 January 2018
I went to a director's screening of WHAT WE STARTED and it is a must see. In particular, I absolutely loved getting to know the characters. Martin Garrix is so different than my initial impression of him! He is so sweet, deep and humble. I also loved hearing Carl Cox's story and I might try to sneak into the March premiere, so that I can meet him. He seems truly amazing. I love all kinds of music, but never knew a ton about this genre, so I found it to be really educational, too, which was a great surprise (since I expected mostly upbeat, entertainment, which this has, but it has more than just that)!
Very cool
tomjenning16123 March 2018
I attended the premiere of this movie last nigh and it was very cool. As someone who used to go to underground parties in the 90s, the movie really took me back (and seeing some of the guys in person that used to play at the parties that I went to as also awesome). I haven't kept up with dance music as much recently, so I learned a lot and was genuinely entertained throughout. I am really impressed by Martin Garrix. What a talent.
No female voices AT ALL. What a joke.
desmondhannah18 April 2021
Every single voice commenting on the scene was male, except for some DJs' mum. What a sorry state of affairs in an industry that needs to really boost the involvement of talented woman and create equality in the electronic music scene. Couldn't the producers have found one of the many talented women in the scene? Annie Mac anyone? I think a formal apology is required on behalf of the makers of this program.
Great Film
joshua-m-siegel23 December 2017
I saw a sneak peak of this film a few weeks ago, and it was great. I think it's a groundbreaking film -- nothing else that's been made about EDM does what this movie does. Goes behind the scenes into the careers of two of the most prolific artists in the field and also dives into the evolution of the genre in an super interesting a beautifully shot and edited way. I hear it's coming out in March 2018 in theaters and highly recommend this film.
Go see it
stephanie-hilliard116 January 2018
Two thumbs up
juneszahdi8 April 2018
A strange film
lucy_mcneill1 August 2021
I've just finished watching and more than anything, I just feel a bit confused. Some of the stuff on the early days of Chicago House and Detroit Techno was ok (but pretty basic if you know anything at all about the history of dance music). But other than that - what was this actually telling us? That dance music has changed, that it's become more commercial? Maybe it's aimed at a younger audience who don't know this stuff - if so this would make some sense. But to someone who loves this music, I didn't learn anything new. And then it takes a turn going into Carl Cox's family history, and almost plays out like he's preparing for some sort of farewell tour, even though he isn't? Some of the talking heads were random too. Ed Sheeran appears and clearly knows nothing about dance music. And I know it's minor, but some of the historic club footage was edited together with music from completely different eras! At least make an effort to be accurate.
10/10
cassie-6120923 March 2018
I loved this movie!
malearose3 June 2018
I would recommend this movie to anyone. It is beautifully shot and executed. Immediately draws you in and tells you the story of how EDM music eveolved and where it is going. This movie makes you crave dancing on the beach in Ibiza, because it makes you feel the energy that this world encapsulates. I don't want to ruin anything, but the end gave me chills, because you become deeply invested in a few of the main DJs the film follows. I loved the ride this film took me on.
Must see!
dsepulveda-655913 July 2018
Only a 94 min ad for Ultra
the_real_smile18 February 2022
What disappointing, this should be the history of dance? It only focuses on Martin Garrix (the young) and Carl Cox (the old ans obsolete) and their appearance on Ultra. This all is so wrong in so many ways, I do not even know where to start, there is so much they let out. Looks like Ultra has rewritten the Dance history to a single event, it is so insulting. Yes, Dance did not drop out of the sky, it has a history, but far more interesting then depicted here. You had Rock & Roll then The Sixties/ hippies, then HipHop, Rap, Break Beat and then finally House appeared, first in 3 flavors, Hardcore, Techno and Trance, from that 50+ House styles appeared like Drum & Bass (Jungle), even the Germans have their flavor of Techno called Schantz. EDM is the latest, and by my opinion, the worse style ever invented. It doesn't matter if you hear Tiesto or Garrix or Skrillex or Harris, it's all the same, exactly the same, and it's all for the big mass, and most DJ's do and cannot not mix live, they only play their prerecorded set. Sadly it is hard to find a movie that is truthful because everyone want his/her name in the history books. "30 jaar Dutch Dance bij de VPRO" it the closest we will ever get to a little inside and history of this movement. But "What We Started" is a huge disgrace and very, very insulting.
Great film
xcallmenikkix2 July 2018
This documentary was so cool to watch! As someone who does not know much about the EDM world, it was definitely an eye opener. I felt like I got to experience the greatness of the music genre through seeing the behind-the-scenes of festivals and getting an inside look into how the DJ's feel before shows.
Favorite Documentary
karinasmithen2 July 2018
For someone who is not familiar with the EDM culture I found this documentary enjoyable. This documentary doesn't only feature EDM artists but also other well known artists. It gives you an inside look on how much EDM has changed through the years and makes you excited for what's to come.
Gushing and disingenuous
steven-eagles5 April 2021
At almost the halfway point in this film I nearly gave up.....why is there no mention of the main catalyst for dance music culture, MDMA ?
The self aggrandizing of the piece was clearly making me angry but at last it finally arrived...drugs were involved!
The acceptance by the script writers that Ecstacy was even a thing was short lived, barely mentioned....it seems that getting a crowd of people to go mental to a DJ playing a record to a 4/4 boom boom boom boom was all down to musical ability and inspiration!
I'm not having it. I was there. If the drugs weren't any good ,then people couldn't be bothered to move their butt around in a meaningful way ,and that's the truth.
Rave culture was down to the quality of the pill you were dropping......and great music.....and great Dj's.....and great spirit by the organisers....and great people..... it was like the New Punk!
What followed is what followed....homogenized pop music is the same as homogenized dance music. Shocking really.
The self aggrandizing of the piece was clearly making me angry but at last it finally arrived...drugs were involved!
The acceptance by the script writers that Ecstacy was even a thing was short lived, barely mentioned....it seems that getting a crowd of people to go mental to a DJ playing a record to a 4/4 boom boom boom boom was all down to musical ability and inspiration!
I'm not having it. I was there. If the drugs weren't any good ,then people couldn't be bothered to move their butt around in a meaningful way ,and that's the truth.
Rave culture was down to the quality of the pill you were dropping......and great music.....and great Dj's.....and great spirit by the organisers....and great people..... it was like the New Punk!
What followed is what followed....homogenized pop music is the same as homogenized dance music. Shocking really.
Pretty Decent History as I Recall It
jjb-sonis22 February 2020
Having lived through and thoroughly enjoyed and loved the house and rave days of the 90s and early 2000s, I will state that this documentary did a pretty good job of telling the stories with good artists from back in the day and the newer artists of the modern scene. They did spend time interviewing the solid standards like Oakenfold, Tïesto, and one of my favorites, Carl Cox (I loved my experience at the Moonshine Over America that stopped by in my area). There were a lot of other solid DJs, artists and groups that they could have spent some time talking to to give a more complete story of what went on during the acid, house and original (as some would say, "illegal") rave, and general early EDM days, and some more of the great and newer DJs of today's scene (Orbital, RIchard James, FSOL, the Anjuna artists, the Ultimae folks, etc.); I get that they had only so much time and money to make this.
Overall, I truly enjoyed viewing this. Great interviews, great interviewees, great soundtrack, and a pretty good and very accurate story was told.
Overall, I truly enjoyed viewing this. Great interviews, great interviewees, great soundtrack, and a pretty good and very accurate story was told.
You will be hooked
akilianetc-2327728 June 2018
I'm a fan of the genre and have been for over 5 years. When watching this film, I learned a lot from the history pertaining to the early days of the genre, how the DJ's would perform in different settings, etc. I especially liked hearing the insight from the current artists topping the charts in this genre and from different generations. Overall, if you're not a EDN fan, you will be intrigued from this film, learn some history of this genre and have a better idea of why the fans of this genre are really passionate.
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