Dogtown & Z-Boys

This kinetic, spirit-capturing documentary recounts with vivid enthusiasm the history of a group of teenage surfers who took their wave-riding athletic style from the beach to theFilm    Film Review hot asphalt of a dilapidated south Santa Monica neighborhood in the 1970s and led a revolution in skateboarding that continues to influence youth culture to this day. Narrated with dry ebullience by actor Sean Penn, Dogtown & Z-Boys is occasionally a tad self-important ("children took the ruins of the 20th century and made art out of it""), but it absolutely transports the viewer into the Z-Boys clique. Energetically edited and obligingly reminiscent, it's brimming with 8mm footage of a dozen soon to be legendary skateboarders taking over drought-emptied swimming pools and literally inventing half-pipe skating right before your eyes. It's no wonder this cool, crowd-pleasing documentary took home the Audience Award and the Director's Award at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras on the film (unfortunately presented full screen here) include an option for "Freestyle Experience" (in which icons can be accessed during the movie for extended "raw footage"), commentary from director Stacy Peralta and editor Paul Crowder, and a three-minute alternate ending entitled "Tony Alva 2000." Bottom line: shame on Columbia TriStar for releasing one of the year's most memorable docs in full-screen rather than widescreen format.] (R. Blackwelder)[DVD Review--May 3, 2005--Sony, 91 min., PG-13, $19.95--Making its second appearance on DVD, 2002's Dogtown and Z-Boys is being double dipped to promote the new Lords of Dogtown release. An exclusive sneak peek and two webisodes on Lords of Dogtown are included, along with a free movie ticket for Lords of Dogtown and all the original special features from the first release. Bottom line: if you already own the original "special edition," there's no reason to add this.][Blu-ray Review—Jan. 19, 2010—Sony, 91 min., PG-13, $24.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2002's Dogtown & Z-Boys boasts a great transfer and a 5.1 DTS-HD soundtrack. Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Stacy Peralta and editor Paul Crowder, “The State of Pool Skating with Tony Alva and Bucky Lasek” (14 min.), webisodes for the 2005 Lords of Dogtown companion feature film (6 min.), a “Tony Alva Art Show” (4 min.), an alternate ending (3 min.), a deleted scene (3 min.), a “Mar Vista 2000” scene (3 min.), a “Jeff Ho 2000” scene (2 min.), a “Bicknell Hill Session” photo montage (2 min.), brief outtakes, a “Freestyle Experience” viewing option in which icons can be accessed during the movie for extended “raw footage,” the BD-Live function, and trailers. Bottom line: an excellent Blu-ray debut for one of the last decade's best docs.]