Decline of Western Civilization 1-3

The Decline is a series of films that explore the life styles and culture of a very vibrant music scene in LA over the course of three decades. Part 1 starts in the early 80s with the emerging punk movement. Reflecting on the new found ambition of a thermal movement. A movement that expelled an almost star like energy. Bands like Black Flag, X, Circle Jerks and others flew into the dynamic rage felt by the young and the angry. Part 2 moves to the Hair metal scene and its variety of mega star groups and personalities. Ozbourne, Kiss, Cooper, Megadeath and more are all here. Outrageous events spiral into drink and sex and the revived excess at the core of the scene. Bands mired in misogynistic activity that went hand in hand with the sex, drugs and rock and roll. Part 3 is an eye opening, wake up call to the youth that were lost to the world. Gutter punks that had no ability to make life better for themselves. These are the kids with nothing and going nowhere. They fight, drink and squat in the spaces others run from. All to the music of Final Conflict, Litmus Green, Naked Aggression and more.

The documentary film is my favorite film form. It has as a form exposed and explored many facets of real life and modern art that are unknown to many. It opens doors to worlds that are everyday but still very are unfamiliar to its audience. Think of those films from the Direct cinema movement or Cinema Veritie and you cannot help but be in awe. I love Welles take on the documentary, Nick Bloomfields punch in the face films and Werner Herzog own masterpieces of questions and thesis. The reason why so many are so good is they reveal to us the very nature of the beast we call life and cinema. The function of capturing the event and the way it is recorded is unique and also so meditative.

these collection of films are about as good as you can get in documentary. People are given voice and we understand why they are there. This is to say that we understand what has driven their connection to the events we are watching. Take the punks in the first film, they are young, angry and above all feel disconnected. We connect to this disillusion. It is hard to do such a thing in a setting like this but we do. The music underlines this but I felt Spheeris has captured the personal and in doing so made the human. A hard thing to do. Filming with a care and consideration. A care for the subject and a consideration of the topic. I loved it and found I just could not stop watching it. Part 2 is harder to watch as the people become loathsome and comical. I felt such rage that I rejected it. This is the emotion that Spheeris is going for again. Part 3 is just a sad piece of humanity. A touching film that will hurt you. Captured again with beauty and resolve of an artist.

Now the discs have been given much and deservedly so. This makes the films so much more...

- New 2K scan of each film supervised by director Penelope Spheeris
- Never-before-seen footage, interviews and performances.
- Vintage interviews with director Penelope Spheeris
- Audio Commentary with Penelope Spheeris
- Audio Commentary with Dave Grohl
- 40 Page Book featuring rare stills