The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

Director:

Penelope Spheeris

Guionista:

Penelope Spheeris (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag...

Plot Keywords:

Cult | Cult Favorite | Beer Drinking | Mohawk Haircut | Anti Establishment

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Whatever happened to the little French guy?

Cast

Alice Bag Band	...	Themselves
Alice Bag	...	Lead Singer, The Alice Bag Band
Claude Bessey	...	Catholic Discipline / Vocalist
Black Flag	...	Themselves
Don Bolles	...	Drummer, The Germs
Exene Cervenka	...	'X' - vocals
Circle Jerks	...	Themselves
Philo Cramer	...	Fear Guitar
Darby Crash	...	Lead Singer, The Germs
John Doe	...	'X' - vocals, bassist
Lorna Doom	...	Bassist, The Germs
Frank Gargani	...	Appears as Himself
Bill Gazzarri	...	Himself
Michelle Baer Ghaffari	...	Herself
Greg Ginn	...	Black Flag / Guitarist
Greg Hetson	...	Himself / Circle Jerks Guitarist
Craig Lee	...	Guitarist, The Alice Bag Band
Lucky Lehrer	...	Himself
Jenny Lens
Keith Morris	...	The Circle Jerks member
Nicole Panter	...	Nicole - Germs Manager
Phranc	...	Catholic Discipline / Guitarist
Ron Reyes	...	Black Flag / Vocalist
Roger Rogerson	...	Himself
Rick Schmidlin	...	Appears as himself
Derf Scratch	...	Bass player for Fear
Pat Smear	...	Guitarist, The Germs
Lee Ving	...	'Fear' vocals / guitar
X.	...	Themselves
Billy Zoom	...	Himself

Duración:

100 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sonido:

Mono

Clasificación:

USA:Not Rated

Company:

Spheeris Films Inc.

Trivialidades:

After the film was screened in Los Angeles, punk music fans got into so many fights and caused so much trouble that then-L.A. Police Chief Daryl Gates wrote the filmmakers a letter asking them not to screen the film again.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Prey for Rock & Roll (2003)

Soundtrack:

Manimal

Whatever happened to the little French guy?

Kind of a guilty indulgence nowadays, this used to be required watching when i was in high school. It really is a great illumination of the burgeoning punk scene in LA in 1980. As the bands play, Spheeris prints the lyrics in subtitles, which is of course necessary if one really wants to know what the guy is screaming into the microphone. But also it turns the camera's POV into that of tourist, passing through this alien world. The band interviews reveal an honest approach to the music that really doesn't exist anymore. Then again, it's not as easy to come by $16/month former-church closets like Chavez of Black Flag does. How many unheard of bands do you know that aren't trying like the dickens to get a record deal? These guys just didn't care. And who can't love the commentary of the little French dude who used to be the "singer" for Catholic Discipline (of which Phranc was a member). His gritty voice delivers one of the best soliloquies ever captured on film: "I have excellent news for the world ... there's no such thing as New Wave." Whew! What a relief!