The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Penelope Spheeris

Release Date:

24 August 1989 (Australia)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Tagline:

It's more than music...it's a way of life.

Plot Keywords:

Second Part | Sequel | Heavy Metal | Independent Film

Cast

Steven Tyler	...	Himself
Joe Perry	...	Himself
Alice Cooper	...	Himself
Gene Simmons	...	Himself
Paul Stanley	...	Himself
Lemmy	...	Himself
Ozzy Osbourne	...	Himself
Bobby Dall	...	Himself (Poison bassist)
Bret Michaels	...	Himself (Poison vocalist)
Rikki Rockett	...	Himself (Poison drummer)
Joey Scott Harges	...	Himself
Gene Allen	...	Himself
Mychal Davis	...	Himself
J. Holmes	...	Himself
Mark Michals	...	Himself

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | USA:R

Trivia:

In a 1999 interview, director Penelope Spheeris confessed that Ozzy Osbourne's orange juice pouring scene was faked, as some viewers suspected. The particular scene of the orange juice missing the glass was filmed at a different time and inserted into the clip.

Quotes:

Jeff Young: I'm not gonna cheat the audience that way. I don't get high when I'm practicing at home alone, so why should I do it when I go up onstage?

Movie Connections:

References "Batman" (1966)

Soundtrack:

THE BRAVE

A timeless piece of rock documentary

I have read the comment of my fellow viewer and apparent Heavy Metal Connisseur, who says this film falls short of completely covering the Heavy Metal scene at the time.

But I really don't think that that's what Spheeris was trying to do. This film is so much more. Like any truly great documentary, it somehow manages to capture life, raw and unfiltered.

The characters are funny, loveable, sad, pitiful, admirable, inspiring, bewildering, all at the same time. A very odd, strangely fascinating and mystifying mix of moods and emotions and realness that is stranger than fiction.

Like Paul Thomas Anderson and other great filmmakers, Spheeris has this talent of having compassion for her subjects, rather than judging them in some way. It is what it is. She gets out of the way and lets an utterly fascinating and at times "un-real" segment of life tell its own story. A timeless piece of rock documentary.