The first-time director, Doug Pray, doesn't linger long on anything, but the movie is so crisply and intelligently edited that you never feel you're being rushed through it.

Hype! is a smart look at an important musical event that featured a lot of great music almost as a by-product.

The film makers themselves don't seem to understand the deep cultural resonances created by this hype. Worse, they endorse the selfishness of the Seattle-ites who, apparently, want all this good stuff for themselves.

The pièce de résistance is the footage of Nirvana in a dingy bar, performing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the very first time.