Cutting Crew — Between A Rock And A Hard Place

JUL 01 1989 · 12:00

Cutting Crew — Between A Rock And A Hard Place (1989) Director: Alex Proyas Era: Late MTV New Wave / AOR Twilight (1989) - Peak late-80s melodic rock era; period when polished British AOR was losing commercial ground to emerging urban and alternative sounds, captured in the band's own commentary on industry friction. High curatorial value as a preserved artifact of the Cutting Crew's The Scattering campaign — a historically documented commercial disappointment that has since gained critical reappraisal. The video's moody, low-brightness aesthetic (41.87/255 brightness, 34.58 saturation) and rapid editorial rhythm (82 scene changes, 2.83s avg shot length) make it a quantifiably distinct document of late-80s transitional MTV production. Its likely association with Alex Proyas — who would go on to direct The Crow and Dark City — adds significant director-study value for researchers of music video auteurship. Context: Released in 1989 as the lead single from Cutting Crew's second album The Scattering, this video arrived at a pivotal cultural inflection point. The Scattering was released on 16 May 1989 in Canada and the USA on Virgin Records after a management-related delay that cost the band significant commercial momentum. The single failed to reach the Top 40 (charting at US #77, CA #54, UK #66). Nick Van Eede later stated the song was 'a slightly veiled' critique of US record industry obstruction, referencing blocked album releases. By 1989, the sonic and visual language of polished British AOR was being supplanted by urban acts like Soul II Soul and Neneh Cherry, and the band's own label was pivoting accordingly. The video's dark, muted, warm palette and fast editorial rhythm reflect both Proyas-era MTV production values and the band's commercial twilight. Director notes: Alex Proyas is confirmed director of the Cutting Crew 'The Scattering' music video (1989) per IMDb (imdb.com/title/tt10415724/) and FilmAffinity (filmaffinity.com/en/film228027.html), both sourcing him as director of that same album-campaign video. IMVDb lists 'Between A Rock And A Hard Place' (1988/89) in Cutting Crew's video catalogue but does not assign a director credit for this specific clip. Given Proyas's documented involvement with the Cutting Crew / The Scattering campaign and his active MTV video work during this exact period, attribution to Proyas for this video is plausible but not independently confirmed for this title specifically. Confidence is set to 'likely' per MTV REWIND Protocol. No specific production details for this individual clip are verifiable from available sources.