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 & 6 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Sub-titled "The Birth of Extreme", this documetary takes a look at the transformation of skateboarding from its former image as a land-bound pastime for surfers to its status today as an extreme and acrobatic sport in its own right. Starting from the California surf community of Dogtown, the film follows the evolution of modern skateboarding through it's 70's heyday, its decline during the 80's, and its eventual (and highly lucrative) return in the 90's.

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Plot Keywords:

skateboarding | surfer | california | playground | drought | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of Sean Penn's reasons for signing on as the 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

Glen E. Friedman: There were no precedents, they set precedents everyday when they went out and rode.

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Crazy Credits

Empty backyard pools & pool skateboarding for sound recordings by Toby Burger.

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Connections

Featured in 50 Documentaries to See Before You Die: Episode 2 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Ezy Ryder
Performed by Jimi Hendrix
Written by Jimi Hendrix
Courtesy of Experience Hendrix LLC

User Reviews

These guys changed everything. Many of them are now forgotten.

I have seen this movie twice now on cable. The first time I saw it, it caught me by suprise. The skaters I was seeing were the guys we followed in the pages of Skateboarder magazine back in the late 70's. These were the guys we copied and tried to become while skating. I am glad that a film was finally made that gives an accurate account of how it all came to be. I am almost 40 years old now and I guess a pretty uptight kind of guy with all of life's problems, however; this film did a great job of taking me back. Back to the vacant pools, the backyard halfpipes and the road trips to Cherry Hill NJ. I suspect that in order to really understand this movie and appreciate it, you had to live it. Otherwise, it probably won't have the impact on you as it did me. But for those of you (and you know who you are), who did live it, you know exactly what I am talking about! In any event, I don't care who you are, if you get a chance to see this movie...do it! I give thanks to the Z-Boys of Dogtown for the memories of my youth and thanks to Stacy for making this movie! JOB WELL DONE!

Details

Official Sites:

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

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dogtown and Z-Boys

Filming Locations:

Mike's Pool, Orange County, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$103,355, 28 April 2002

Gross USA:

$1,300,682

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,523,090

Company Credits

Production Co:

Agi Orsi Productions, Vans

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1