Dogtown and Z-Boys

Contrary to popular belief, modern skateboarding didn't begin with Tony Hawk. Much of the elder generation of skaters will know this of course, but for those who have never heard, skating as we know it literally began in the early '70s with the Zephyr Skate Team, or 'Z-Boys' as they were commonly known. They had many things in common - a supreme love of surfing for one. But the biggest bond they had was that they all lived in an area rather accurately dubbed as Dogtown. As one of the worst areas in the slums of South-side L.A., Dogtown consisted of three beachfront towns including Venice, Ocean Park and South Santa Monica.

Beginning their lives as the Zephyr Surf Team, most of the Z-Boys were street kids, outcasts and victims of broken homes. Banding together as surfers, they took a particular liking to a stretch of beach known as P.O.P. (Pacific Ocean Pier) - which also just happened to be one of the most dangerous surfing locations in Southern California. This broken-down pier was situated next to the disused Pacific Ocean Park, and was home to all sorts of hazards. Despite the aggressive and territorial nature of the team themselves (let's just say they weren't exactly hospitable towards visitors), it was also likely you could be torn up on the shallow and debris-laden ocean floor or become knocked-out, or at worst impaled, on one of the many rogue pylons still standing out of the water.

Since surfing was only really possible in the mornings due to wind conditions in the area, many of the Z-Boys took up skating to alleviate their boredom. It was a pastime that wasn't really skateboarding as we understand it, more of a sidewalk substitute for surfing. But all that was about to change... big time.

While there was a short skating fad during the mid-'60s, it died quicker than it began, and was never really brought back into the limelight until the mid-'70s. It was 1975 at the Del Mar Internationals that the Zephyr Skate Team debuted their remarkably unique style. From the get go, their presence was attitude electric and style beyond compare, and their unconventional methods were greeted with as much controversy as awe. This was the birthplace of modern skateboarding.

Dogtown and Z-Boys is a labour of love project for Stacy Peralta. An integral part of the Z-Boys himself, Stacy has poured a lot of nostalgia into this project, and the pay off is truly a unique documentary experience. Consisting of recently filmed interviews, incredible surf and skate footage and a downright brilliant soundtrack, it's an engrossing film filled with humour and sorrow, at the same time managing to be an invaluable history lesson.

Without the Z-boys, there would have been no Tony Alva - recognised worldwide as something like the godfather of skateboarding. Also, there would have been no Stacy Peralta, which in turn means there would have been no Powell-Peralta Skateboards. And without Powell-Peralta, there may never have even been a Tony Hawk. The significance of Dogtown and the Zephyr Skate Team to modern day skateboarding is as important as the Lumiere Brothers are to cinema or as George Lucas is to Star Wars.

The film is presented in its original full-frame theatrical ratio of 1.33:1 and is non-anamorphic.

Much of the footage used for Dogtown and Z-Boys is extremely old. It is ridden with film artefacts, grain and all manner of aging effects. In fact, some of the super-16 footage hadn't even been developed until recently - making it over 30 years old. Given that fact however, the creators behind the scenes have done an extraordinary job in restoring and cleaning up the images to insert into the film. Besides, the footage is so remarkable the last thing you'll be doing is scoffing at the quality.

The general level of video quality for this DVD however, is quite good. Despite the heavy amount of grain throughout the film, it's actually more of a stylistic choice on the part of the filmmakers and, as strange as it may seem, would probably be somewhat less effective without it.

Other than that, there's really nothing else here to warrant complaining about besides some fairly severe, yet only momentary, instances of aliasing. These appear during the graphic overlays of the Dogtown area when the camera zooms in to specific areas.

While it's missing the sub-woofer channel, this Dolby Digital 5.0 audio transfer is entirely satisfying. As it's a documentary, there's not a whole lot going on besides talking and music.

The dialogue is clear and easy to understand throughout, and the post-production sound effects added to the various slams, voice-overs and skating noises have been superbly done - often to very amusing effect.

The stand-out feature in the audio section for this DVD has to be the soundtrack. Quite simply, it's one of the coolest selections of nostalgic music in a long time. Each tune is perfectly suited to its accompanying scene, and what we get in terms of material ranges from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Rod Stewart, Ted Nugent and Neil Young, just to name a few.

While there's certainly not a massive amount of extra features here, it's nice to have a little bit on offer after the already magnificent feature.

The Audio Commentary featuring director Stacy Peralta and editor Paul Crowder is a great listen. Because Stacy was a Z-Boy himself, as well as the film's director, he's certainly got a lot to say. Paul Crowder had a large hand in the overall design of the film as well as being the editor, so his comments are extremely valuable for anyone curious about how they went about putting many of the sequences together.

The alternate ending mentioned on the back of the packaging is actually just raw skate footage. It shows Tony Alva and some close friends skating in a pool some time in 2000. It's still interesting viewing nonetheless, if anything for comparing present and past skating styles.

A branching feature allows the viewer to check out some more raw skating footage during the film. When the logo pops up on the screen, press 'enter' on the remote and the footage will be revealed (similar to the 'white rabbit' feature on The Matrix). It's only available at three sections during the film, but the footage is definitely worth the effort.

Two Theatrical Trailers are also included on the disc. The first is for Dogtown and Z-Boys while the second is more of a teaser for the Grateful Dead documentary Grateful Dawg.

Last of all there are some DVD-ROM Weblinks.

Along with the yet to be released Scratch and We Sold Our Souls For Rock'n'Roll (somebody please pick up the rights), Dogtown and Z-Boys is one of the finest documentaries I’ve seen in a long time.

It is absolute lore for any skating aficionado to pick this up, but even if you're the slightest bit interested in what went on in Dogtown, then I guarantee this will be fascinating viewing.