Customer Reviews

Dogtown and Z-Boys (Special Edition)

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm not a skateboarder--I never have been. So my review of this film is from a truly "outsider" position. I'll skip making comments about the wonderful aspects of this film as a documentary about skateboarding, because to me what makes this a truly remarkable work of art has to do with being a documentary about life and truth and beauty and all that.

This movie is about hope. It paints a picture of young kids growing up in an incredibly harsh environment (the film goes out of its way to portray Venice of the early '70's in practically post-apocalyptic images) who see in the concrete wasteland nothing but ocean waves of endless promise. They craft, as artists, a new ballet amidst the rubble. They are obsessed with skating the perfect run, not necessarily to be better than their friends, but just for the sake of perfection. In this pursuit of perfection, I see hope. I see a vision of a recreated world where there are no barriers based on class or empty swimming pools surrounded by fences and patrolled by police. But there's also an irony in the hope, in that the Zephyr boys have an exclusivity about them--they are fiercely elite in their rejection of conventionality.

The story of one of the top two skateboarders, Jay Adams, provides the heart to this film. His story provides a balance to the narrative of corporate greed, which ultimately destroyed the Zephyr team (but which also made the film possible and the story relevent). He is shown as a very young and, though violent and utterly contemptous, innocent boy oozing with natural talent. He's interviewed several times as an adult who, we find out, is doing time for heroin-related charges in Hawaii. Next to the brilliance of the Jay Adams the boy, in Jay Adams the man we see a dark shell of regret and pain. His fellow riders lament the fact that Jay's life is so tragic and unfair--there's a sense of complete injustice "he should have had it all" "Jay's had the hardest life of anyone I know who's still alive" "you only get one shot at this...once it's gone it's gone." So within this movie about beauty and hope, we meet Jay Adams and see tragedy and injustice. There's an absolutely beautiful and haunting scene at the end of the Jay Adams excurses in which the beautiful young Jay, maybe 12 years old, with long sun-bleached hair, is skating in an empty pool and falls on his way down one side. His board continues through the bottom of the pool, up the other side, and straight up into the air about 10 or 15 feet. The scene is in slow motion and freezes the board mid-air. Then, there's a fade to a still of Jay at about 25 years old holding a picture of himself as a cute, innocent boy of about 7. Then another fade to Jay as a hard, broken man in his 30's, with a crew but, what seems to be a black eye and bruised nose, and tattoos running up his throat. Eyes like empty holes. This is the filmmaker's art at its finest. A scene like this says so much more than words ever could.

Some of the reviews on this film have complained that the film was too short--that it left too many questions unanswered. I couldn't disagree more. This film is all about the questions, not the answers. As a Christian, I see this film as a commentary on humanity and our longing for beauty--our hope for a future that includes a recreated world where architecture is no longer purely utilitarian, where there are no longer divisions between north Malibu and the southern beaches. Where everyone has access to a perfect wave. A future in which greed no longer robs us of our innocence, and Jay Adams is once again that strikingly charismatic and beautiful blond-headed boy writing profound poetry with his skateboard, poetry that destroys the walls of violence and drugs and elitism, that opens his soul to ours and ours to him. In the words of U2, a future "where the streets have no name." Our souls groan for a better place, and this film captures that emotion as well as any I've ever seen. This is an amazing film!

This is a documentary you must see. I saw "Dogtown and Z-Boys" a long time ago and enjoyed every minute of it and still do to this day. The soundtrack is amazing with some great music and awesome stories and history of the Z-Boys.

If you love skateboarding this is a must have to own. The Z-Boys introduced a completely different style of skateboarding and became some of the biggest influences for professional skateboarders and skateboarders in general.

So check it out and enjoy!

This doc. was F'n amazing. I wanted to turn back the clock, travel to California and become a skate rat! A MUST see for all boarders, young and old!

great film simple as that well edited great story great music and great skating watch it rent it buy it I saw it in theaters three times and have seen it dozens of times on video

I have to say this movie was quite enjoyable...and that's an understatement. I enjoyed the "punk" editing, the cool photos, and especially the soundtrack (soundtrack shoulda had all the songs!). I wished the documentary dug a little deeper into the crew's backgrounds though (i.e. family life, school [some dropped out of high school], drug use, aftermath of the '70's skateboard craze, etc.). It left me hangin' a bit; so many unanswered questions. I wanted the "low-down"! Too many skeletons I guess...all style, less substance.

Overall it's still a good film (in a flashy "video" sorta way!)...

I have to say this movie was quite enjoyable...and that's an understatement. I enjoyed the "punk-aesthetic" of the editing, the cool photos, and especially the soundtrack. I wished the documentary dug a little deeper into the crew's backgrounds though (i.e. family life, school [some dropped out of high school], drug use, aftermath of the '70's skateboard craze, etc.). It left me hangin' a bit; so many unanswered questions. Too many skeletons I guess... I wanted the "low-down". Overall it's still a good film (in a flashy "video" sorta way!)...

Style-wise, the documentary footage was too cut up and special effected for my taste. Granted, film footage from the 70's is minimal, and lots of still pictures had to be weaved in. It shouldn't be Ken Burns slow, but the fast cuts seem very MTV 90's or 00's... while the scene and music are perfectly 70's. Sean Penn's narration is a great coup - the perfect actor for this. At one point, Penn got stuck half way through a word, stopped, cleared his throat, repeated the word, and kept going. I love that no one said "do it again"... a punk aesthetic.

The Dogtown themes remind me of "Style Wars," about late 70's/early 80's New York City kids using graffiti, breakin', and rap to turn their environment into "art." (Authorities often called it "crime.") Dogtown (South Santa Monica/Venice) Z-Boys use their resources - athleticism, style, mental hunger, and physical environment - to create a new attitude... that fed/feeds energy to the world. As a Pasadena grandma would say, "Not too shabby!.... Uh... What the %@# happened to my pool!"

With so many 70's skaters covered in the film (by design - to show the scene), few of the individual stories carry much weight. Jay Adams' story was most interesting: He was the youngest and brightest skater, but at some point took a walk on the too wild side for too long. Adams' not lasting with the pro scene is portrayed as big a loss for skateboarding as Alva's ascendancy was a gain.

Overall, Dogtown is a unique "one of." That said, I prefer the 80's themed documentary "Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator." (It's technically more formal and linear.) Take the preference with a grain of salt... I'm a product of the 80's.

I didn't have the pleasure of seeing this movie until it got to cable. It immediately got my attention because it was about skateboarding and pictures of cute boys (who are now middle-aged daddies!),and touched on a brief history of the underground sport/way-of-life. The soundtrack definitely gets you "stoked" and wanting to get your own skateboard. I revived my interest in "sk8g" completely. I couldn't give it 4-stars though 'cuz it left me hangin' with a lot of questions. I think style over substance is the issue here, but overall it is an excellent movie especially if you love documentaries (like me!); I am now a confessed Dogtown addict!

P.S.
Jay Adams isn't dead and writes excellent editorials for a skate mag...

it's an intresting compelling story about the history of skateboards

This is a great movie for anyone who in interested in skateboarding or even any sports at all. This movie keeps you interested every second and when you watch you'll see.