Been looking for films to watch with my teen boys, and this was on my list and then a lot of friends agreed it would be a winner. Definitely was, even though my kids are not at all into skateboarding by any stretch.The film is well set-up (who knew that Venice was indeed meant to echo the canals of Italy, not me) and thanks to Craig Stecyk's instincts to document so much of the history as it was happening, really has a time-travel you-are-there flair.The scene at the '75 Del Mar skateboarding contest where Z-Boys make their debut and lead by the youngest, and arguably wildest, skater is just a triumphant moment for teens in general. It's that shattering of the boring archetype that should be encourage even by those of us sitting on our archetypes.And the detailed character studies are also quite engrossing in and of themselves, that classic "sell-out" mentality versus needing to make a living and might as well as be you profiting from the revolution that quickly becomes packaged. Usually I think of this in musical notes, but skateboarding nailed it here.And surely music was involved, my wife I think was drawn to join us based upon the mix-tape soundtrack. (And it pleased one of my boys who has bumped into Bowie sadly posthumously, to spot so many slices of said Thin White Duke.). I do have to say that it was Devo's "Gut Feeling" that was used to do a lot of the heavy lifting in the DVD packaging, so there with Hendrix, Led Zep, Bowie, and Iggy are the Spud boys?!?! It is a helluva riff! E-G-C-A! The lone female skater doesn't get too much focus, but perhaps preferably for her is just tossed in with the boys. Even though I think she was the only one who won at that contest that is a key moment in the film. The swimming pool scenario, and this notion of the rich dying kid wanting to share his love of skateboarding with the ne'er-do-well stars of the burgeoning sport, again just a small but significant piece of the story. Really that sets up the almost astronaut-launch that is just delivered in the film as good as any car chase in a boilerplate action film.The tone of the filmmakers is reverential, and moments like that are mythic, but then the interviewees are largely such "dudes" (in the best possible sense...and yes even Peggy Oki) that it makes for a fascinating watch.RIP several of them since the original release. It was interesting how the film created a dark aura around Jay Adams. Was he the most pure and the most corrupt character? Well they focus on the former but hint at trouble beyond the weed (later I read something about a bar fight not sure about all the details on that).For me it was great that my boys enjoyed the film, and got an appreciation for all of the skaters, but especially Adams who would have been a kid they might have ignored (or not gotten along well with) in school, but to see his side of the story, not just the flamboyant burst at that contest....but even later his commitment to just the excitement of skateboarding just for that excitement's sake. That got their wheels spinning I think.My wheels are spinning on whether this film is taught in modern-day film courses on documentaries? Or is it too much of a labor of love from an outsider. But wait, is that the point of the film?

Once considered to be a passing fad like hula hoops and yo-yos, this documentary looks at how skateboarding was revolutionised by a small handful of teenagers in the 1970s, turning it into the highly recognised (and still popular as ever) sport of today. The documentary is directed by Stacy Peralta, one of the 70s teenagers in question, which is a plus since he spins a very passionate film, however, it is hard not to wonder what a more objective outsider would have done with the material. Much of the film consists of middle aged men reminiscing about their youth, which in itself could have made for an interesting documentary about clinging onto the past. That said, the main reason why there is so much interview footage would seem to be a dearth of surviving 70s footage, which is a shame because the rare, candid glimpses of the past revealed in the old footage is the best part of the film. Sean Penn's voice-over narration is also disappointingly dull and so infrequent that the movie might have worked better without Penn's involvement at all. For all its flaws though, 'Dogtown and Z-Boys' is certainly an informative documentary with a lot of attention dedicated to the influence of surfing on skateboarding and the sheer creativity of imaginative kids back then who saw any empty concrete or asphalt surface as a perfect platform to skate on.

One of my all-time favorite docs is unconventional (as the subjects focused on) in its approach (as Sean Penn is narrating he coughs, and director Peralta left it in there) and snobbishly grants an elitism to its stars who were groundbreaking influences in the popular skateboarding thriving today, giving birth to what populates the X-games and skateparks globally now. From broken or dysfunctional home lives and families, a group of surfing kids and teens gathered together as a collective in a poor area in California near the beach (Venice and Santa Monica), mentored by surf-board makers/marketers forming the "Zephyr team", they would emerge as pioneers who demolished the traditional methods quite passé as they derived from the "fallen collapse of skateboarding" in the 60s and brought new moves/style to the sport. Revolutionaries with lots of ego, attitude, personalities, and edginess, these kids would soon move into their own individual paths (some to fame, others to obscurity), leaving behind the Zephyr team which saw the company end prematurely. Dogtown and Z-Boys has great music, some delightful archival footage and photos that bring vitality and energy to an era that lives on in the adults who once were those innovating, skilled boarders/surfers during the 70s, and lively interview subjects grandly reliving the past and acknowledging how it felt and what they were like at the time. Most tragic is Jay Adams' story as he was considered the most talented among the group and because of drugs, the skateboarding skill was squandered and he never benefited from what he contributed to the sport. Stacy Peralta being a part of that whole scene and having nurtured the sport on the skateboard and talent who followed after him has a keen insight on the subject and area where the Zephyr team honed their craft. The Dogbowl, Zephyr's first competition, and the pool invasions during California's major drought where the skateboarders snuck in to homes and took to their back yard pools all are significant highlights. A detailed history of Venice and Santa Monica, surf/skateboard culture, the kids who would later define a brand new way to look at skateboarding, and the 70s for which the subjects existed enrich the documentary. I totally dig pretty much everything about it. The approach Peralta incorporates is rather similar to who and what he is documenting: messing with film (speeding it up or backwards, disrupting a flow of information by applying a new chapter just as an interview is ending, or leading montages whenever he sees fit) and/or flooding the doc with lots of interviewees and images/action in rapid succession. But this film always stays on point: these people are highly regarded and appreciated. Alva, Adams, and Peralta are the skateboarders with the most focus, while the Zephyr founders and those fortunate enough to be a part of this amazing experience get their just do to a lesser extent. The back slapping is constant so if you don't like seeing these people comment on how awesome each other are, Dogtown and Z-Boys might just annoy/bother you.

Dogtown and Z-Boys is a documentary about the Zephyr Skateboarding Team, and their influence on skateboarding. It also focuses on the history of skateboarding. It was directed by Stacy Peralta, a member of the original Zephyr Team, and was written by Stacy Peralta and Craig Stecyk, another member of the team. The documentary stars the members of the Zephyr Team and is narrated by Sean Penn.The documentary talks about the beginning of skateboarding, and how it evolved from surfing. It discusses skateboarding's popularity in the late 60s and the 70s, its decline in the 80s and its 'rebirth' in the 90s. Skateboarding was introduced in Dogtown, the nickname of the poor side of Santa Monica, California. The Zephyr Team originated from the Zephyr Surf Shop, which manufactured the first modern skateboards. The documentary mainly consists of the original Zephyr Team members talking about the past in the Zephyr Team, the competitions they won, and their popularity and prestige. It focuses on three particular members of the team; Peralta, Tony Alva, and Jay Adams, three virtuosos of skateboarding, and probably the best three members of the team.The interviews in the documentary were usually voices over archival footage from Dogtown in the late 60s and 70s. Very rarely to you actually see the people being interviewed, but when you do, they are shown in black and white, while the archival footage was in colour. I think Stacy Peralta used this technique to show that the documentary was about the past (i.e. the Glory Days of the Zephyr Team) and not the present. The documentary is very fast paced, in that we often see clips of impressive skateboarding over up-beat music of the era (such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie), and the interviews tend to be quick and to the point. Knowing nothing about skateboarding (i.e. not even knowing how to ride one straight along the ground) I was very surprised that I found this documentary so interesting. The reason is that this doco was more about the Zephyr Team than the actual sport of skateboarding, so while I couldn't relate to skateboarding, I could relate to the boys in the team. Because it was made by actual members of the team, it gives it a little more depth and authenticity.All in all, I would have to say this is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. It gave me a whole new insight, not just into the Zephyr Team, but into skateboarding as a whole. For those who love skateboarding, I can only imagine how it must be even more interesting. Seven and a half stars out of ten.