Dogtown and Z-Boys Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
Skateboarding has crossed over into the mainstream population due in large part to the
humble beginnings of a group of eight teenagers in an area of Santa Monica called Dogtown.
It was there that this mismatched gang of kids from broken homes formed a group known
as the Zephyr Team aka Z-Boys. They rode surfboards in the morning and skateboards in
the afternoon, creating a style all their own. Desperate to ride, they used guerrilla tactics
such as illegally skating abandoned swimming pools in upscale Los Angeles neighborhoods.
But by the mid-70s, the skateboard phenomenon had caught on, and a few of the Z-Boys
were scooped up by corporate sponsors and offered large sums of money to skate on their
behalf. This elevated them from freewheeling street punks to celebrity skaters; they
traveled the world, showing off their cutting-edge moves. Director Stacy Peralta, one of the
original Z-Boys, reunites the original crew 25 years later to hear in their own words what it
was like.
Few sports have enjoyed such a rapid ascent in popularity as skateboarding. Seemingly every
neighborhood, every playground, every school, every church has their own community of skaters
that come together for a shared love of the thrill, the rush of adrenaline, the hope of conquering
that half pipe. Beginning in earnest in the run-down "Dogtown" area of Los Angels in the 1960s
and now a centerpiece of ESPN's "X-Games" competition and even discussed as a possible
addition to the Olympic's roster of games, there's more incentive than ever to hop on a board and
learn the tricks of the trade, to become the next Tony Alva or Tony Hawk, and to cash in on the
financial freight train that was born of surfing and started in earnest with a bunch of talented kids
with but boards, wheels, and time to kill in Los Angeles. Still, and despite the money, fame, and
fortune to be made and enjoyed, there's at the core of the skating lifestyle the thrill, the
emotion, the bonding, and the highs of not only the brief ascent into the heavens with board
underfoot but the soaring spirit the comes along for the ride, the knowledge that when board
loses contact with wood, pavement, or urethane that, for one brief moment, a skater can be at
the top of the world only a few feet from the ground.
Whatever.
It was dirty, it was filthy, it was paradise.
Dogtown -- an area of Los Angeles encompassing South Santa Monica, Venice, and Ocean Park --
was a slum, a nowhere, a place where nothing could blossom and grow. The urban concrete
jungle seemed good for nothing but as a haven for junkies and a popular spot for surfers,
but a band of young teenagers would forever transform both the landscape of Dogtown and
indeed the landscape of American teenage culture in the 1970s when they formed the
"Z-Boys" ("Z" for "Zephyr"), a group of skaters who would come to define the skating culture
that thrives even
some several decades later. Their exploits chronicled by journalist/photographer Craig Stecyk and
immortalized in Skateboarder magazine, their inventive moves -- many born of the
California droughts of the 1970s that left swimming pools empty of water and primed for
skateboarding -- have left an indelible mark on the sport and ascended them all to celebrity
status. Young men from nowhere, USA like Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta, and Jay Adams became
overnight sensations, idols to thousands of young skating enthusiasts and prized by mega-dollar
corporations that sought to capitalize on their influence and inventiveness both in the concrete
jungle and in the minds of influential spenders eager to become the next skating legend.
Through the triumphs and the tragedies, Dogtown and Z-Boys examines the lives of
several young men and women who would transform a culture with nothing but a board, four
wheels, guts, and plenty of inventiveness.
We were doing it because we loved doing it.
Director Stacy Peralta (Riding Giants),
himself a member of Z-Boys, tackles Dogtown and Z-Boys
with a balanced and steady approach that never feels self-serving or partial towards Peralta's own
experiences rather than those of the entire Zephyr team. Though something of a partially biopic
film, most viewers would probably not even
realize that one of the team's own directed the movie were it not for his name in the credits.
Peralta instead focuses on the entire Zephyr team, much to the benefit of the film and
skateboarding's heritage and future. Peralta
infuses both history and biography into the picture, not only because they both prove fascinating
but because, in this instance, they're more often than not one and the same. The Z-Boys, as the
film demonstrates, were pioneers of skateboarding, their exploits, style, and attitude setting the
tone for the future of the skating revolution that still lives on today. Indeed, Dogtown and
Z-Boys, at its core, isn't really about skating; it's about a culture and a community, people
and
their ideas, innovations and inspirations that were born of skating and the desire to achieve not
fortune and glory but simply for the rush of the moment and the love of the style.
Like Peralta's Riding Giants,
Dogtown and Z-Boys' thematic, visual, and aural
tone are not of the traditional documentary style but instead spring from the rough-and-tumble
grimy world of Dogtown and the adrenaline-packed and adventuresome spirit of skateboarding.
Both documentaries prove incredibly informative, though Dogtown and Z-Boys seems
the slight favorite amongst the two, the picture a bit more engaging from a purely contextual
point of view, but there's no denying that Riding Giants enjoys a more diverse and
indeed entertaining group of interview subjects. Additionally, both films highlight the ups and
downs of their respective and similar worlds, focusing both on the triumphs and the tragedies,
both from a collective point of view as they pertain to the respective activity, and at a more base
and personal level as well. Dogtown and Z-Boys, however, enjoys a slightly more
personal tone;
it doesn't stem from Director Peralta's close association with the skaters and skateboarding, but
there's a more intimate feel to the movie despite a more kinetic visual style. Dogtown and
Z-Boys' visual style is hectic but fits in perfectly with the world of skateboarding; it's
seemingly forever
in motion, the picture one of the most fluid and organic ever produced, a triumph of filmmaking
considering its heavy reliance on otherwise static interview clips, still photographs, and choppy
and of otherwise poor quality archival footage.
Dogtown and Z-Boys rides onto Blu-ray with a solid 1080p, 1.33:1-framed transfer that's
reflective of the quality of the material assembled for the film. Aside from the presentation
retaining the film's original aspect ratio by placing vertical black bars on either side of a 1.78:1
display, Sony's Blu-ray transfer also keeps in-tact the film's original and intended gritty and rough
texture
that replicates Director Stacy Peralta's vision nicely. Though plagued by a plethora of artifacts,
pixelation, noise, jagged edges, and any number of additional visual eyesores, there's no getting
around the quality of the source material utilized throughout, and Sony has smartly preserved
the
rough-and-tumble feel of the movie for what is currently the hallmark visual representation of
the
film for home viewing consumption. Even newer interview clips with members of the Z-Boys and
others -- many of which appear in black-and-white -- are overlaid with an abundance of grain
that
allows them to seamlessly blend in with the visual tone of the remainder of the film. There's not
much to critique here; the source material is what it is, and even though it's not of the same
pristine quality as brand-new releases filmed on high-dollar 35mm Hollywood cameras, it looks
just as it should and
therefore earns an appropriately high score.
Dogtown and Z-Boys rolls onto Blu-ray with a quality, but not extremely active, DTS-HD MA
5.0 lossless soundtrack. Generally speaking, this one's of the nuts-and-bolts variety, offering up a
typically clear and precise soundtrack that's reflective of the film's fine but not wholly immersive
sound design. Made primarily of dialogue and musical cues, there's little room for extra ambient
or supportive back-channel accompaniments; however, the track does spread its wings on several
occasions, offering a loud but seamless surround presentation in support of some of the throwback
visuals and sound effects, and the sparse use of the surround channels makes their implementation
all the more enjoyable. Musical numbers are exceptionally reproduced, all enjoying a full and
gratifying presence with pinpoint clarity throughout the entire range, regardless of the style of
music. Additionally, dialogue is soundly reproduced throughout, whether Sean Penn's (Casualties of War)
narration or the interview contributions of the many subjects highlighted throughout the film.
Though not a soundtrack that will turn heads or be remembered in the years to come for some
exceptionally active or boomy presentation, this lossless soundtrack is fantastic in its own right,
delivering every syllable, note, and effect with ease and within the track's established parameters.
Dogtown and Z-Boys skates onto Blu-ray with a fine selection of extras. First is a
commentary track with Director Stacy Peralta and Editor Paul Crowder. A fine and balanced
track, the participants cover a myriad of topics, speaking on the technical aspects of the
production while also recounting the interview process and the participation of the interviewees.
Like the film, the commentary is honest, covering the artistic decisions that went into the
film, the assemblage of the footage, and more of the real-life history of the era and the people. A
recommended listen for fans of the film and the people involved. Next is an alternate ending
entitled Alva 2000 (480p, 3:04) and a deleted scene entitled Craig Stecyk
(480p, 3:38). The State of Pool Skating With Tony Alva and Bucky Lasek (1080i,
13:25) features the two title skaters speaking on their pool preferences, the positives of
skate parks,
the history of pool skating, the best skaters then and now, the evolution of skating, and more.
Tony Alva Art Show (1080i, 3:31) looks all-too-briefly at how the world of skating and art
intersect. 'That Question Sucked' (480p, 0:28) is a brief compilation piece of
interviewees thumbing their noses at some of the questions they're asked. 'Lords of
Dogtown:' Webisodes (480p, 5:58) features Lords of Dogtown Director Catherine
Hardwicke hosting a collection of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews as they relate to the
feature-length film centered on the Z-Boys. Freestyle Experience (Raw Footage) is an
interactive piece that allows viewers to watch extended footage separate from the film when a
red icon appears on-screen during the feature film's playback. Bicknell Hill Session
(480p, 1:41) is a collection of still photographs shot by Pat Darrin in 1974. Jeff Ho 2000
(480p, 1:54) features the famed designer in a video montage prior to a 2000 interview. Mar
Vista 2000 (480p, 2:35) features Director Stacy Peralta, Editor Paul Crowder, and Assistant
Editor Scott Jurgens skating at the Mar Vista School while taking a break from the grind of the
filmmaking process. Also included is BD-Live functionality and 1080p trailers for The Da Vinci Code,
Ghostbusters, Michael Jackson's This is
It, 2012,
Armored, and The Stepfather.
Dogtown and Z-Boys is an exceptional documentary that's engaging and kinetic,
every frame drawing audiences in closer to the world of skating as they come to know those that
pioneered a new style for future generations while discovering the ups and downs of fame and
fortune born from nothing but a board, a few wheels, empty pools, and some air. Evenly-keeled,
Dogtown
and Z-Boys never shies away from the pains in the midst of the many great pleasures, closely
and movingly examining the triumphs and the heartbreaks of the Z-Boys both then and now and
the world they birthed. A documentary for all viewers -- longtime skaters and novices alike --
Dogtown and
Z-Boys is simply must-see filmmaking. Sony's Blu-ray release, much like that of Riding
Giants, remains faithful to the source, delivering a rough but accurate 1080p video transfer, a
fine lossless soundtrack, and a solid array of extras. Highly recommended.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have announced that they will bring the Stacy Peralta films 'Dogtown and Z-Boys' and 'Riding Giants' to Blu-ray on January 5th. For both films, video will be presented in 1080p AVC (1.33:1 for 'Dogtown' and 1.85:1 for 'Giants') ...
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