Directed by Penelope Spheeris, The Decline of Western Civilization III is the third and final film of a trilogy of documentaries that explored the music culture in Los Angeles in its ever-evolving music scenes. The third film chronicles the underground gutter punk scene that involved the life of homeless teenagers who are considered outcasts of traditional society. The result is a riveting and exhilarating film from Penelope Spheeris.
Shot from July of 1996 to August of 1997, the film explores Los Angeles’ underground punk scene and what it had become since its inception in the late 1970s where director Penelope Spheeris had done the first film on. Yet, the scene is now a far more obscure scene in comparison to the bands from the first film while the community itself is far removed from conventional society as it’s filled with young kids who live in the streets and drink beer to survive. Especially as these kids come from broken homes or have fled these homes to be part of something where they can just enjoy punk rock and drink beer though they get harassed by the police at times.
While Spheeris does talk to a cop who is sympathetic and is trying to understand where they’re coming from though he has a job to do. The film does show that these kids have to move constantly to find somewhere to sleep where it would be in alleys, rooftops, or abandoned houses. The bands that are profiled such as Final Conflict, Litmus Green, Naked Aggression, and the Resistance are acts that aren’t interested in signing record deals but rather play gigs and make a decent living off of it. At the same time, these bands are making songs that oppose not just right-wing conservative as well organized religion or any kind of authority. It is a different kind of ambition of sorts though not too far off from what the original L.A. punk bands were doing as Keith Morris of the Circle Jerks and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea do get interviewed as they comment on how worse Los Angeles had gotten as well as why the future is bleak for these young kids.
With the aid of cinematographer Jamie Thompson, Spheeris shoots the film in different formats including video transferred into film as it adds an intimacy and realness to the look of the film. Even as Spheeris would follow these kids and buy food for them at a party in a home owned by one of the punks who had just survived an auto accident that left him nearly paralyzed. Spheeris would ask these kids if they have any ideas of what will they do in the next five and ten years as their answers are pretty much bleak considering what they have to do to survive.
Even as the film would reveal some tragic events as it relates to a couple of these kids who would die during the production of the film. With the aid of editors Ross Albert and Ann Truelove and sound editor Mike Chock, Spheeris compiles many of the interviews and events that go on as well as the atmosphere of the shows these kids go do. Even as music supervisor Stephen E. Smith would compile the music of these bands and other acts in and out of the music scene.
The Decline of Western Civilization III is an incredible film from Penelope Spheeris. It’s a film that isn’t just powerful in the scene that it explores but also very moving in the way these kids struggle to survive in a world where they don’t fit in with anything. Especially in how awful society is in its demands to conform or to play by their rules. In the end, The Decline of Western Civilization III is a magnificent film from Penelope Spheeris.
Penelope Spheeris Films: (Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales) - The Decline of Western Civilization - (Suburbia (1984 film)) - (The Boy Next Door (1985 film)) - (Hollywood Vice Squad) - (Dudes) - The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years - (Thunder and Mud) - (Wayne’s World) - (The Beverly Hillbillies (1993 film)) - (Little Rascals (1994 film)) - (Black Sheep) - (Senseless) - (Hollyweird) - (We Sold Our Souls to Rock N’ Roll) - (The Kid & I) - (Balls to the Wall)
© thevoid99 2015
Written and directed by Penelope Spheeris, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is the second part of a trilogy of documentaries that explores the music culture in Los Angeles. In this film, Spheeris covers the music scene at the Sunset Strip in the late 1980s where it was the hottest music scene at the time where glam-metal was ruling the charts as Spheeris doesn’t just interview acts from that scene who were popular at the time but also emerging bands and the scene itself. The result is a fascinating as well as eerie film from Penelope Spheeris.
Shot in late 1987 to early 1988, the film explores the heavy metal music scene at the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles where several bands are trying to get signed and become rock stars while older and more established acts are interviewed to talk about the ups and downs of the world of rock stardom. At the same time, fans and wannabe musicians are interviewed where they express their dreams of stardom as well as the world of heavy metal culture where it’s often misunderstood and ridiculed. Even as their treatment of women is shown in not a very good light at times though the women themselves do get interviewed as some prove to be very engaging while others show that they’re not very smart.
Director Penelope Spheeris manages to cultivate a lot of what is going on as it pertains to the culture where bands like Faster Pussycat, Lizzy Borden, Seduce, London, and Odin were among these new bands trying to get signed where Faster Pussycat would be the only band of the four to have some success as they were portrayed as guys who are driven but also realistic as opposed to the other bands. Even some of wannabe musicians when they’re asked what if they don’t make it. They tend to brush off the answer claiming they will as it plays to not just the lack of realism they have about their goals but also show how delusional they are despite their determination to succeed. At the same time, the bands that are profiled such as London and Odin both come across as arrogant where the former do claim they’re not role models though they also come across as buffoons.
The film would feature an interview with a woman who is part of a movement that is trying to get rid of heavy metal as she claims the malocchio/devil horns hand gesture as Satanic and claims it’s about the numbers 666. It’s a moment that doesn’t just show how idiotic not just these authority figures are but also the sense of ignorance about those who have very little clue abut the culture of metal. Even as some of the older musicians like Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, and Alice Cooper provide some commentary about that ignorance as they would tell their own stories about how they feel to be imitated and such though they are among the intelligent individuals in the film as does Dave Mustaine and Dave Ellifson of Megadeth who would perform for the film.
With the aid of cinematographer Jeff Zimmerman and sound recordists Ara Ashjian and Gregory Cheever, Spheeris captures not just the energy of the scene but also some of the sleazy elements of it. Especially in its portrayal to women where women would have to wear sleazy clothes to get into a club co-owned by future MTV Headbanger’s Ball host Riki Rachtman as well as a much older club owner who holds an annual contest to see who is the darling of the club. Unfortunately, some of these women don’t put themselves in a good light as many of them don’t sound very smart. At the same time, there’s moments where Spheeris wants to be serious yet Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of Kiss put themselves in very tacky settings. Simmons at a lingerie store and Stanley on his bed with three women on him as they have this arrogance about not doing drugs while Simmons says he gets laid and the Pope doesn’t.
While Tyler, Perry, and Cooper each provide their own insights about their addictions in the past, the interview with Ozzy Osbourne at someone else’s kitchen reveal not just the downside of stardom but also what he’s gained as he also states that rehab sucks. Then there’s the sequence with Chris Holmes where he is in his pool on a chair with his mother watching as he is carrying vodka bottles as he would pour it all over himself. With the aid of editor Earl Ghaffari, Spheeris would keep things straightforward while creating unique narrative strands to tie the stories together.
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is a phenomenal film from Penelope Spheeris. Not only is it a compelling look into the world of heavy metal culture in the late 1980s but also the attributes that would lead to the downfall of glam metal. Even as it showcases a scene where everyone is trying to make it by doing what everyone else is doing with ambitions that they will never achieve. In the end, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is a riveting film from Penelope Spheeris.
Penelope Spheeris Films: (Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales) - The Decline of Western Civilization - (Suburbia (1984 film)) - (The Boy Next Door (1985 film)) - (Hollywood Vice Squad) - (Dudes) - (Thunder and Mud) - (Wayne’s World) - (The Beverly Hillbillies (1993 film)) - (Little Rascals (1994 film)) - (Black Sheep) - The Decline of Western Civilization Part III - (Senseless) - (Hollyweird) - (We Sold Our Souls to Rock N’ Roll) - (The Kid & I) - (Balls to the Wall)
© thevoid99 2015
Written and directed by Penelope Spheeris, The Decline of Western Civilization is a film that documents the Los Angeles punk rock scene from 1979 to 1980. The film explores not just the bands of that scene that include the Germs, the Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Fear, X, and other acts but also the people in the scene and their disdain for the authority and the upper-class in Los Angeles. The result is one of the most compelling and fierce films about the world of punk rock.
Shot from December of 1979 to May of 1980, the film chronicles the punk rock scene in Los Angeles at its peak along with the emergence of the hardcore punk scene that the Circle Jerks and Black Flag would be a part of. The film doesn’t just explore the culture of punk but also the bands at the epicenter of this movement at a time when Los Angeles was transitioning out of the singer-songwriter, country-rock sound that defined the 70s. Along with bands like the Germs, X, and Fear as well as a couple of obscure acts like Alice Bag Band and Catholic Discipline, director Penelope Spheeris captures a scene that is violent, unruly, and exciting.
Among these elements are the bands where they play loud and fast with very little regard for structure or anything that is traditional though a band like X are able to show more than what they can offer within the genre. While these bands do get a following, Spheeris reveal that they don’t live comfortably as the members of Black Flag reveal that they live and rehearse in an abandoned church where vocalist Ron Reyes pays $16 for rent as he sleeps in a closet. It shows that these bands would have to spend money to promote themselves while some like Black Flag and the Germs would have difficulty getting gigs where their performances are in studios as opposed to clubs due to notoriety they’ve done at the clubs.
The film also showcases the scene itself where its audience are unruly yet these are kids who come from broken homes or feel like outcasts as they need something to let out their aggression. Spheeris, along with cinematographer Steve Contant and sound recordist Alan Kutner, would capture these moments as they’re in the mosh pits and having the camera be at the center of the action as well as on the stage. Though some of the bands encourage the violence while the most notorious is Fear and its front man Lee Ving who antagonizes the audience with anything he says. Another aspect of the scene that is shown is the Slash fanzine that is run by Catholic Discipline vocalist Claude Bessy about punk rock and the scene itself where it would later become the famed record label that would expose not just the bands in the film but also other notable alternative acts like Los Lobos, L7, Failure, and the Violent Femmes.
With the help of editor Charlie Mullin, Spheeris would capture the moments that occur offstage in the interviews with some of the bands with Germs vocalist Darby Crash being among one of the most interesting in how he would often be loaded in his performance. The interview with other band members and some fans as it’s shot in black-and-white doesn’t just reveal why they’re part of the culture but also reveal the tension they have the LAPD. Especially as it relates to these kids and their disdain for authority as the LAPD were quite brutal at the time. What Spheeris succeeds in doing is not hold anything back as she isn’t seen on camera though her voice is heard in the interviews where there are some revelations to a music scene that just wants to be different from everything else that was happening. Even if it is unruly and chaotic where it would set the stage for an emerging subculture in the history of punk that would spread all over the country for much of the 1980s.
The Decline of Western Civilization is a remarkable film from Penelope Spheeris. For anyone interested in the L.A. punk scene of the late 70s should see this as a look of that scene and the bands from that era. Especially the ones that would create a legacy and those who didn’t last long but did offer something that was important. In the end, The Decline of Western Civilization is a sensational film from Penelope Spheeris.
Penelope Spheeris Films: (Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales) - (Suburbia (1984 film)) - (The Boy Next Door (1985 film)) - (Hollywood Vice Squad) - (Dudes) - The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years - (Thunder and Mud) - (Wayne’s World) - (The Beverly Hillbillies (1993 film)) - (Little Rascals (1994 film)) - (Black Sheep) - The Decline of Western Civilization III - (Senseless) - (Hollyweird) - (We Sold Our Souls to Rock N’ Roll) - (The Kid & I) - (Balls to the Wall)
© thevoid99 2015
Directed by Xan Cassavetes, Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession is the story about the seminal cable channel that showed eclectic movies ranging from art films, mainstreams films, silent films, and B-movies as it was programmed by the obsessive film buff Jerry Harvey. The documentary is an exploration into the cable channel that founded in 1974 that was present solely in Los Angeles and nearby towns as it would end in 1989 just one year after Harvey killed himself and his second wife Deri Rudolph in a murder-suicide. It was a channel that broke a lot of ground and exposed people who loved films the chance to see films uncut, uncensored, and letterboxed whenever possible. The result is a very fascinating and engrossing documentary from Xan Cassavetes.
Before HBO, Showtime, Starz, Turner Classic Movies, and other cable channels that showed films without commercial interruption, there was a groundbreaking channel based solely in areas around Los Angeles which showcased films uncut, uncensored, and without commercials. In the late 1970s, a man named Jerry Harvey became its programmer as he would showcase a plethora of films ranging form B-movies, westerns, silent films, European art-house cinema, Italian softcore porn films, commercial fare, and all sorts of things. With the help of a few other programmers in Andrea Grossman and Tim Ryerson as well as a local critic in F.X. Feeney who would write reviews for the channel magazine, Harvey would create a programming that was beyond the idea of what can be shown.
What director Xan Cassavetes does is showcase not just the channel’s impact and contribution to the world of cinema but also how it can give films that were either lost or re-cut by studio politics the chance to be seen in a new light. Especially as it relates to films like Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard, Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1900, and Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America which were shown in their director’s cut version to great acclaim after being re-cut and botched by studios. All of which through the desire of Jerry Harvey who wanted to show these films to an audience and give them a fairer judgment. Harvey would also expose obscure directors like Stuart Cooper through Z Channel as it became a platform to showcase films that most channels would never show.
The narrative would move back-and-forth not just in Z Channel’s impact but also Harvey’s personal life that was often turbulent from the suicides of his sisters as well as his relationships with women including his first wife Vera Anderson which ended in divorce in 1984 as he would marry his landlord Deri Rudolph some time later. Feeney and friends of Harvey would talk about his eccentric behavior as well as his obsession towards cinema and showing all sorts of films as he was a workaholic. While emerging channels like HBO and Showtime would do very well nationally, they would have a hard time competing with Z Channel in Los Angeles as subscribers would stick to the channel instead of what HBO and Showtime were offering at the time. Yet, HBO and Showtime would eventually do whatever to buy whatever rights to what they can show as it would lead to the channel’s demise in the late 80s as well as all sorts of business things and some setbacks that would eventually contribute to Harvey’s death and the death of the channel.
Among the filmmakers such as Cooper who are interviewed for the documentary are Henry Jaglom, Alan Rudolph, Robert Altman, Paul Verhoeven, Penelope Spheeris, Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarantino, and Alexander Payne who would wear his old Z Channel shirt for the doc. Altman, Verhoeven, Rudolph, Spheeris, and Jaglom talk about Harvey’s contributions into raising their profile while Jarmusch, Payne, and Tarantino were among the filmmakers who were avid watchers of the channel as they talked about the films they saw. Actors like James Woods, Jacqueline Bisset, and Theresa Russell also take part in the interview as they reveal what the channel did for them while cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond praises Harvey for showing the reconstructed version of Heaven’s Gate following the critical scorn the film had received.
With the help of cinematographer John Pirozzi, editor Iain Kennedy, and sound editor Frank Gaeta, Cassavetes would show various film clips of the kind of films that were shown by the channel as well as use super-8 footage of Los Angeles to display a moment in time when the channel was in its prime with an audio recording of the words of Jerry Harvey. The film’s music by Steven Hufsteter is only presented minimally in the opening and closing credits as it is this soft, electronic-based score to play into the impact of the channel.
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession is a phenomenal film from Xan Cassavetes. It’s a documentary that explored not just the channel’s influence as well as the impact that Jerry Harvey did for cinema. It’s also a film that showcased what a channel can be under the control of a film-loving programmer that would exposes all kinds of films that will probably make an impact on someone. In the end, Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession is an incredible film from Xan Cassavetes.
© thevoid99 2014
