By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Stacy Peralta
Country: united_states
Year: 2002
Running time: 91
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0275309
Michael says: “I’ve been racking up the docs as the year approaches a close, and I’d meant to catch DOGTOWN & Z-BOYS in the theatre after it opened to strong, positive reviews. DOGTOWN uses amazing historical footage and an impressive soundtrack to tell the story of the Zephyr Skating team and the re-birth of skateboarding during the 1970’s.
“Born out of a troupe of boys a la Pan’s Lost Boys who hung out in ‘dogtown,’ a section of Venice Beach, CA, surfing, the Zephyr Skating team were the first to adopt the low, crouching, ‘surfer-style’ of skateboarding. They were also the first to incorporate vertical ‘boarding by using abandoned (or not-so abandoned) swimming pools in the L.A. neighborhood.
“DOGTOWN & Z-BOYS is directed by Stacy Peralta, one of the Z-boys himself, and he does a terrific job in capturing the rock & roll, rebellious attitude of the participants, as well as the importance their contribution to the state of skateboarding truly was. Stunning still photography, as well as video by Craig Stecyk (who co-wrote the doc with Peralta) is essential to the success of this film. Also strong is the soundtrack, filled with hard rock from the early ’70’s to really illustrate the rebel attitudes of the participants.
“While the adulation bestowed on the boys by their teammates bordered on self-indulgent, this film is all about how amazing these guys (and one gal) were in what they did as pioneers of the sport. It was great that all the members of the team but one (as well as the other participants) were interviewed in the present as well. This was a fun, informative documentary.” 3 1/2 cats