The theatrical release of Hollywood’s polished version of the Z-boys story may have better effects than real life and a more attractive cast of characters, but I’m still partial to this documentary. I’m too young to have experienced any of the skateboarding revolution first hand, so I can’t speak for the accuracy of this documentary’s portrayal of the Santa Monica Z-boys and their influence on skating as it has evolved today, at the same time I’m certain this is closer to the truth than the current Lords of Dogtown. Iowa doesn’t have many inground pools to skate and by the time my generation took up skating, we were building half pipes in permissive parents backyards and inviting select friends to join in the fun. The Z-boys skateboarding was stylistically different from anything else going on at the time and accounts from skateboard luminaries like Tony Hawk, and Washington DC punk rock icons Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye suggest that the Z-boys did kick start much of what we see in skateboarding now. If you were a skateboarder in the 70’s, this should be a good trip down memory lane. If you are skateboarding today, or are the parent of one of the new generation of skateboarders, Dogtown and Z-boys offers a great historical perspective from guys who have been there-done that. Of course if you’re dying to see the Lords of Dogtown, buying the documentary gets you a movie pass good until July 15, 2005.
Region 1 Encoding (US and Canada only)
Sound: English (Dolby Digital 5.0)
Commentary by director and Editor
Production notes
Theatrical trailer
Extended Raw Skate Footage
Alternate Ending
By Jake
Jake blog's many places on a variety of topics, including travel, tech, baseball, and writing. You can read more of his technology articles on Delighted Robot. Jake occasionally posts about great food at Daily Munch.
