The Decline of Western Civilization [VHS]
by Penelope Spheeris
![The Decline of Western Civilization [VHS]](/images/The-Decline-of-Western-Civilization-VHS-B0000665S7-L.jpg)
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Product details
Actor: Alice Bag, Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Claude Bessey, Don BollesDirector: Penelope Spheeris
Cinematographer: Steve Conant
Producer: Penelope Spheeris
Writer: Penelope Spheeris
Editor: Charlie Mullin
Producer: Jeff Prettyman
Edition: VHS Tape
Format: NTSC
Running Time: 100 minutes
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
VHS Movie Reviews of The Decline of Western Civilization [VHS]
Movie Review: I remember when the movie came out...yea, I'm old.
Summary: 5 Stars
There was something in the air. For some reason most of us punx anticipated it coming out. Maybe Maximum Rock n Roll (the Bay Area voluntary cooperative zine that's still crankin') or, more likely, Flipside (the L.A. area punk zine that had an incredible fundraiser 12/01 at the El Rey with Fear, Agent Orange, Circle Jerks/Weirdos who did 3 incredible early Black Flag songs w/ Keith singing, Adolescents, Screamers who killed w/ just 2 guys, Minutemen and others, hot doggy!). As I recall the film was limited release. Like Another State of Mind film had to search it out at limited theatre showings. Very satisfying. All the punk rock we could chew. I liked X and Black Flag of course and Fear and the Germs. The rest were tag alongs for me but all the real thing and the sorta film that you can only wish more were done like it, telling the story just as it was, with little interviews w/ punx in the scene. I'm 54 now. Saw Fear in '08 and they killed. I stood up outta my wheelchair which I need rather than just standing thru a whole concert and held onto a railing and just acted like a fish just outta water. This film, no one ages. It's there forever. Check out the album cover of Manic Hispanic where they do a perfect imitation/tribute/cover of this album/movie cover. One of the finest imitations of something great ever. Nice to visit in the homes of the punk bands. Felt right at home. Well, actually, felt like I was glad I was livin' my middle class life with a full time job, keepin' my punk records & tapes tidy while I'd release at great punk gigs. It's captured forever here. I anxiously await easy access to this precious document. It's punk baby. Straight up. No metal, no metal/punk mix. It's from the day. Yea, punk has thrived since then, still independent, still punk bands out there. Still have day jobs and do whatever they want musically/punkly when they do it. A true attainment of our own anarchy within a non anarchistic society. Not bad really. Kept big businesses' hands off our music and scene cuz it just never did become popular, too abrasive. I'm glad. Get it when it's affordable. And don't forget the soundtrack. Another sweetness we anticipated back then. The day that album came out we were satisfied. Still am...Movie Review: nope
Summary: 1 Stars
DVD wouldn't play in my players due to scratched disc. A total waste of everything involved with this transaction. It sucks.Movie Review: Nothing matters--on Speed
Summary: 2 Stars
This film captures the high-energy nihilism of punk. One scene shows punkers joking about posing for photographs with a corpse. Life and death are meaningless, supposedly.
But we cannot live this out consistently. We know better in our better moments. Eternity is in our hearts.
That is the decline of western civilization. Can it ascend?
Movie Review: The Kids Are Alright
Summary: 5 Stars
Producer Penelope Spheeris ignores the pop culture sunglasses that obscured the true meaning of punk rock and showed the true grit from the bands and fans in this gritty 1981 documentary of the West Coast scene.
The performances and the interviews - with band members and fans - are powerful depictions of a subculture that meant so much to those involved on stage and those slam-dancing the night away.
The bands featured - including Black Flag, The Germs, X, Circle Jerks, Catholic Discipline and Fear - are the standard bearers for a West Coast musical movement which soon branched out into thrash metal and gangsta rap, along with a swaggering style that has elements in today's subculture.
There was tragedy before the film was released; Germs singer Darby Crash died from a heroin-induced suicide. The movie promotional poster featuring Crash was designed before his death.
From the rubble left by the East Coast implosion of punk came the amazing California movement. And the documentary proves that the kids are alright.
Movie Review: the end of the beginning
Summary: 5 Stars
I showed my ancient VHS copy of this film to a [much] younger friend. in fact, she is- oh, dear god- 19 years younger than me. however, since I never grew up, nor had my own kids- and still love this music- she treats me like a peer. which is sort of nice.
she loves punk rock, which to her, is a much different thing from my reference to this music. I decided to show her Decline to see what she thought. she LOVED it. she was glued to the screen, and after the movie ended, she turned to me and said 'MORE! I WANT MORE!'
yes, more. we all want some more...
this film depicts the pivot point when first-era punk was fading out, and the skankers started taking over. Darby, Exene, many others have voiced their disgust and sadness over what punk had turned into. but in a way, that's how it has to be with forces of this nature. for a time, something amazing blossoms on the surface of the third planet. it explodes, it delights, it inspires; and then, it dies.
though the Screamers and the Weirdos- probably my favorite LA bands- were not filmed here, I still treasure my copy of Decline. I love, love love the Germs. I never got to see them, and then- RIP Darby Crash. we were going to see the Darby Crash Band at the Deaf Club- I think there were even flyers for the show- when we heard the news. ha! I was decorating the Xmas tree with my mom. we had our hands full of light strings when the TV announced that Darby was dead. we both looked at each other- she loved punk, too- with total disbelief. and yet, it was just another sign that what we had loved was DEAD. 1980. punk continued, of course, but sullied by testosterone idiocy and a lack of diversity that I mourned. when something goes over-ground- the virus is weakened, and new strains infect.
Decline makes me laugh at the memories of my own leather-jacketed idealism, of drunken nights, poring over albums with my buddies, trying to decipher hidden meaning in the lyrics, marveling at the music. and it makes me sad. to watch the death of something wonderful that changed my life.
still, I'm glad it's there, for young 'uns to marvel at, and for me, to smile again at that happy beast that gave me so much joy.
Summary of The Decline of Western Civilization [VHS]
Centered on the early '80s punk movement, this remains the best of Penelope Spheeris's three attempts to chronicle the musical and angst-ridden subculture of urban Los Angeles. The film's style, like the music, is abrasive, frank, and packed with energy, as it moves swiftly from hilarious band and fan interviews to the loud, raucous shows inside seedy L.A. nightclubs. Despite its tongue-in-cheek title, Spheeris neither condemns, nor glamorizes, the movement, though she definitely has an eye for talent and thankfully plays favorites. Lesser acts like Alice Bag Band and Catholic Discipline are given minimal screen time (enough so we understand why they've been forgotten) in favor of bands that either possess off- stage charisma (Circle Jerks) or onstage potency (Fear's finale, winding their audience up with insults, is punk in its purest form). And, then there are X and Germs lead singer, Darby Crash. These two subjects comprise the majority of the film, as Spheeris hangs around their houses, captures numerous performances, and presents the movement's peak performers. While X does it mostly onstage--their mix of thrash and rockabilly are the most enjoyable of the live performances--Crash's stage is everywhere. A walking disaster, the singer candidly details--with simultaneously self-mocking humor and sadness--his drug abuse, miserable life, and the places that no longer let him play. The fact that he died shortly after production stamps Spheeris's brazen time capsule with a morbid, though appropriate, epitaph. --Dave McCoyDocumentary Video
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