Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)

Documentary about the pioneering 1970s Zephyr skating team.

Director:

Stacy Peralta

Writers:

Stacy Peralta, Craig Stecyk

Stars:

Sean Penn, Jay Adams, Tony Alva

7 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Sean Penn	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jay Adams	...	Himself - Zephyr Skate Team
Tony Alva	...	Himself - Zephyr Skate Team
Jeff Ament	...	Himself
Bob Biniak	...	Himself - Zephyr Skate Team
Steve Caballero	...	Himself - Skateboard Champion
Paul Constantineau	...	Himself - Zephyr Skate Team
'Baby' Paul Cullen	...	Himself - Zephyr Skate Team
Skip Engblom	...	Himself - Zephyr Co-Founder
Steve Freidman	...	Surfer (archive footage)
Tony Friedkin	...	Himself
Glen E. Friedman	...	Himself
Marty Grimes	...	Himself - Dogtown Skater
David Hackett	...	Himself - 70s Skateboard Champion
Tony Hawk	...	Himself

Storyline

The Film is a Fantastic historical account of skate boarding in the 70's. If you were in the Santa Monica, Huntington Beach area at the time you know. I think it's a shame the owner of "The Dog Bowl Pool" is just briefly mentioned as "The kid with head cancer". The Dog Bowl Pool was the epitome of the Z Boys and Dogtown, and the owner that let them ride, is "Some kid with cancer". I believe he deserved a little more recognition and to be remembered for his donation of the pool.

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Plot Keywords:

dog | california | skateboarding | surfer | skateboard | 

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Taglines:

A Film About The Birth Of The Now

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Genres:

Documentary | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and some drug references

Details

Official Sites:

Sony [us] About the film, history, news, gallery (Flash)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 January 2002 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Dogtown and Z-Boys - Onde Tudo Começou

Filming Locations:

Santa Monica, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$103,355 (USA) (26 April 2002)

Gross:

$1,293,295 (USA) (2 August 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Agi Orsi Productions, Vans Off the Wall

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of 'Sean Penn''s reasons for signing on as Narrator was that he himself had lived and surfed in and near the Dogtown area.

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Goofs

A brief shot of a news article/photo of the Z-Boys is flopped (so that the text is backwards).

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Quotes

Skip Engblom: Children took the ruins of the 20th century and made art out of it.

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Connections

Version of Lords of Dogtown (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Paranoid"
Performed by Black Sabbath
Written by Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward
Courtesy of Castle Communications

User Reviews

Great Movie, Interesting Story & History

First off, the movie was great. It did what it was supposed to do.. and that was to tell the story of a certain time, place and people. Maybe the Z-Boys weren't choir boys (and one girl) but they were real people (kids) and they took the whole idea of skateboarding to new levels... I absolutely enjoyed this movie.. not only because I am from Dogtown (Venice/ Mar Vista/ S.M (south of Wilshire)), used to skateboard (I sucked) and that I dealt with the Z-Boys a few times when they were using my aunt's pool and were scaring my grandma.. but because this movie was about them (the Z-Boys) and the time and the place. Sure there was a semi skateboard culture in the 60's that died out pretty quickly... but the Z-Boys restarted the whole skateboard thing again.. and not only did they restart it; they resurrected and recreated it. Nowadays it is almost a regular thing to see some guy flying out of a pool or a half pipe getting air, etc.. But back then it was something new. They revolutionized the whole thing. There were electric guitars and guitar players before Hendrix but he took it to a whole different level and what he left in his wake is the same thing the Z-Boys left in their's.

To the people who seem to want to criticize the movie or the Z-Boys for talking about themselves.. well the movie was about them.. Remember what it is like to be young and invincible.. and to revolutionize something that they loved by just doing what they loved.. sure it is easy to get an ego.. just ask a kid who learns how to finally play a Hendrix song on a guitar... it is the same thing except the Z-Boys defined the revolution that was to come. They were young, brash and from a place that was a slum by the shore. Sure it was wrong to trash and terrorize people who came to their beach or whatever.. but by the same token.. people from this side of the hill would get a lot of abuse when they went to the Valley or other areas. That doesn't make it right but it does make it what it was. There was a sectional divide in the greater L.A. area. The Z-Boys just happened to be at the forefront of the beach wars.

The Z-Boys rocked and they weren't perfect angels but they were real.. look what happened to Jay Adams.. They were part of the times and places that was the L.A. beach scene.

Finally, I think the style of this movie fit the subject very well. Stacy Peralta was part of the Z-Boys and he did this film as a tribute to what they were all about. It was a rebellion not for the sake of ego but for the sake of something they all enjoyed doing. The camera work, the (killer) soundtrack and the memories were great. The best part, though, might have been the fact that they themselves seemed to document their own history with still pictures and film.

To quote the Surf Punks, "My beach, my waves, my chicks, go home".

Rock on!!!!