Other Titles • Dogtown and Z-Boys • Dogtown and Z-Boys - The Birth of Extreme
Synopses for Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)
1.
In the early 1970s, a group of young surfers from a tough neighborhood south of Santa Monica took up skateboards and offhandedly changed the world. At least it appears so after watching Dogtown and Z-Boys, a documentary about how twelve "Z-Boys" (including one girl) resuscitated a dead sport and created a lifestyle that spread infectiously to become a worldwide counterculture phenomenon, namely high-flying "vert" (i.e. vertical) skateboarding and punk rock abandon. Director Stacy Peralta, one of the original Z-Boys, and Craig Steyck, the photographer whose publicity first made them famous, would have you believe that with empty pools as their springboard, the clan single-handedly carved a niche that grew into what is now referred to as "extreme sports" (snowboarding seems particularly implicated). Degrees of accuracy aside, the hoard of original footage Peralta and Steyck have access to makes for an engaging portrait of "accidental revolutionaries" whose mythology as expressed by themselves (all but one of the original crew give extensive interviews) and those they influenced (including Henry Rollins, Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, and Sean Penn, who narrates) is far more entertaining than any evenhanded version could ever hope to be. --Fionn Meade
2.
In the late 1960s, a group of burnt out teenagers from broken homes ambled together and began to surf along Venice, California's Pacific Ocean Park pier, a ghostly shell of a former amusement park nicknamed "Dogtown." United by their attention to style and willingness to take risks, this group of unruly boys were handpicked and nurtured by maverick surfboard designer Jeff Ho, who christened them the Zephyr surf team (or Z-boys). Originally taking up skateboarding as a distraction for the non-surfing hours, the team ended up revolutionizing what was to become an internationally popular sport, using emptied out pools to create a surf-inspired style that was fluid and vertical and ultimately made them legends.
In this fine, frenetic documentary, director Stacy Peralta (one of the most famous Z-boys) tells the inspiring story of himself and his team. Through interviews, archival film footage, and stunningly beautiful still photographs taken by the Z-boys photographers Craig Stecyk and Glen E. Friedman, Peralta delves into both the large and small of the story--from the personal details of skaters' lives to their lasting impact upon a sport that became a culture. The soundtrack--an expertly chosen mix of classic punk rock and heavy metal including The Stooges, Black Sabbath, and Alice Cooper--is the perfect aural complement to this story, reflecting the rebellious attitude that fueled the boys.
3.
The Birth Of Extreme
Before there were X-Games, there were Z-Boys. Narrated by Sean Penn and directed by skateboarding legend Stacy Peralta, Dogtown and Z-Boys is the award winning documentary that took the Sundance Film Festival by storm. This is the story of a gang of discarded kids who virtually revolutionized skateboarding with an aggressive style, awe inspiring moves and street smarts, and, in the process, transformed youth culture forever.
Featuring historic old skool skating footage, exclusive interviews and a blistering rock soundtrack, Dogtown and Z-Boys captures the meteoric rise of the Zephyr skateboarding team from Venice's Dogtown, a tough 'locals only" beach with a legacy of outlaw surfing. Armed with a guerrilla code, the notorious Z-Boys sharpened their skills in the concrete jungle of 70s L.A. and then took it to the next level. Getting vertical in abandoned suburban swimming pools, they ignited an underground phenomenon that shaped the attitude and culture of modern day extreme sports. With rare appearances by skateboarding icons Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Tony Hawk, Dogtown and Z-Boys is a thrilling all access tour of the birth of a pop culture phenomenon.
Narrated by Sean Penn
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