Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Decline of Western Civilization Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 29, 2015

Note: This film is currently available as part of the box set The Decline of Western Civilization Collection.

It’s kind of a quaint exercise to read through reactions from the general (elderly) populace whenever a new music craze seemingly “infects” teenagers and other younger folks like a modern day St. Vitus’ Dance. Early 20th century movements like ragtime and even jazz were regularly decried as being “jungle music” or similarly pejorative (and racially charged) terms. World War II era parents were left slack jawed and scratching their heads at the ostensibly “hysterical” reactions of young Bobby Soxers to such phenomena as Frank Sinatra. A whole series of dances like the Lindy Hop which arose during the Swing Era also convinced the over 30 crowd that mass hysteria had overtaken the nation’s youth. The disconnect between staid parental units and perhaps admittedly slightly out of control teens only increased when the 1950s gave birth to both easy listening (for the elders) and rock ‘n’ roll (for the kids), with such iconic figures as Elvis finding their television appearances geographically centered above the waist so as to not incite riots. The early sixties gave rise to countless parents demanding that their kids “turn that noise down,” even though to modern day ears that so-called “noise” is surprisingly tame and well mannered. As the youth culture became a bit more pronounced (and probably more than a bit more arrogant), rock music became a bit more aggressive as well, though the seventies were still content to wile away the hours with such decidedly non threatening acts as the Carpenters, even if slightly more “dangerous” artists like David Bowie starting redefining what pop-rock and music stars could be like. But sometime in the mid-seventies, the really iconoclastic kids starting listening to (and, obviously, performing) punk rock, an all out assault on listening sensibilities that actually did make some parents’ worst nightmares come true, with actual riots breaking out at concerts with fair regularity. Penelope Spheeris started documenting Los Angeles’ punk scene in 1979, capturing early performances by future genre stalwarts like Black Flag, X and Circle Jerks. The Decline of Western Civilization premiered in 1981, and famously caused such a ruckus in Los Angeles during its initial theatrical exhibition that police chief Daryl F. Gates sought to have it banned. If The Decline of Western Civilization tended to portray a certain breed of underdog in the corporate music scene, 1988’s The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years took the opposite tack, focusing on much better known and mainstream performers like Steven Tyler and Ozzy Osbourne. Spheeris then ping ponged back to a more disadvantaged class for 1998’s The Decline of Western Civilization Part III, profiling a variety of basically homeless kids who were at least tangentially connected to a renascent punk scene. Shout! Factory has now assembled these three films, all reportedly sourced from new 2K scans, while also providing a bounty of new supplemental features, including commentaries by Spheeris (along with her daughter Anna Fox) and (on a separate commentary) Dave Grohl.

Spheeris bookends the film, as well as providing interstitial elements, with off the cuff interviews with various proponents, progenitors and “mere” fans of punk. She also provides what will become something of a trope in the subsequent films by having some of the performers read the “release” form that audience members had to sign in order to grant Spheeris permission to film them. As Dave Grohl mentions in his commentary, it’s possible to catch glimpses of various personae even in this seemingly “innocent” enterprise, with some band members seeming pretty nerdy, and others coming off as poseurs.

There’s an appealing scruffiness to a lot of what’s on display throughout The Decline of Western Civilization, though it must be admitted that many of the fans and a lot of the band members are not exactly at Noel Coward levels of articulateness or wit. There are some cogent observations from some talking heads, however, especially with regard to why punk creates such a manic energy. Not surprisingly, much of that frenetic quality comes from the mere speed, the “BPM”, that the idiom proffers. There’s actually some (probably unintended) humor when one observer mentions that the insane pace of much of punk is why the only “dance” that’s possible is the rapid up and down jumping that became known as pogoing.

Some aspects of the confessional segments are surprisingly charming, as when the members of Black Flag give a little tour of their crash pad, which just happens to be in an abandoned church (presaging a similar scene found in R.E.M. by MTV). But there’s also some frankly disturbing material on display as well, not necessarily relegated to some of the more potentially offensive tunes the bands sing. One of the sadder sequences involves Darby Crash, singer with the Germs, whose battles with drugs and alcohol are at least fleetingly documented in the film. Crash’s incoherent, bruised visage served as the poster image for the film, but sadly the singer had already died from substance abuse by the time the film came out.

The visceral aspects of punk are vividly captured in this documentary, though in hindsight the film seems knitted together a bit more loosely than might be expected. At least some of the monosyllabic confessional efforts of some of the participants probably could have gone by the wayside without materially affecting the outcome. But the incredible manic intensity of the music is caught in full force and is still as stunningly powerful now as it was when the film was first released.

The Decline of Western Civilization Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Decline of Western Civilization is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.34:1. As is discussed in Spheeris' commentary, the negative for this film evidently no longer exists, and so a certain leeway must be granted for a transfer culled from secondary elements. While a lot of this presentation has a "dupey" quality, with fuzziness and rather heavy grain most of the time, its appealingly lo-fi ambience seems to only add to the film's scrappy appeal. There's some significant telecine wobble in the opening credits which calms down once the actual film starts (though occasionally there are minor instability issues with superimposed names of participants). Colors are generally fairly accurate looking, if a bit drab at times, something that's probably exacerbated by slightly anemic looking contrast. Detail is decent if never overwhelming, popping best in the most brightly lit moments, as should be expected. There are some fairly recurrent issues with crush, though some talking heads sequences, including the lengthy interview with the Germs' manager, actually provide clear if faint delineation between black clothing and a shrouded backdrop. This is another one of those releases where those who have a history with this release, especially former home video incarnations, will probably feel my score is too harsh, while those who have never seen this film before may well feel it's too generous.

The Decline of Western Civilization Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Decline of Western Civilization features both a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track as well as DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track recreating the film's original theatrical exhibition. There are occasional very minor age related pops and the like which have not been completely removed, but overall fidelity is excellent on both of these tracks. The 5.1 track does open up the music sequences significantly, but ironically its increased lower range only tends to further bury already hard to hear lyrics. The confessional and interview sequences obviously benefit very little from the surround mix.

The Decline of Western Civilization Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Never Before Seen Footage:

  X Signs Contract (480p; 2:48)

  Tour of the Masque (480i; 7:55)

• Never Before Seen Performances:

  FEAR - We Destroy the Family, No More Nothing, Waiting for the Gas, Fresh Flesh (480i; 7:23)

  Germs - Lexicon Devil, Let's Pretend (480i; 4:55)

  The Gears - Elk's Lodge Blues (480i; 2:08)

• Additional Extras:

  Henry Rollins Interviews Spheeris (480p; 5:06)

  Announcements (480i; 2:44) contains some pre-show chatter, including the "release" spiel.

  Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:54)

• Extended Interviews:

  Black Flag (480i; 16:44)

  Darby's Apartment (480i; 15:16)

  X (480i; 10:28)

  Brendan Mullen (480i; 8:36)

  Nicole, Germs Manager (480i; 16:40)

  Light Bulb Kids (480i; 8:03)

• Audio Commentary with Penelope Spheeris and Anna Fox is an interesting tour not just through "memory lane," but what happened to some of these kids in the intervening years. Nicely conversational but more than adequately informative, fans of the film should enjoy this very much.


• Audio Commentary with Dave Grohl is a little less compelling, amounting to more of a personal response to the film, but Grohl aficionados at least should enjoy this.

The Decline of Western Civilization Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As a time capsule, The Decline of Western Civilization is unforgettable and unmissable. As an actual documentary, the film may be a bit too loosey-goosey for its own good, content to merely, well, document rather than express a point of view. Video quality is a bit spotty here (though understandably so), but audio and supplemental material are excellent. Highly recommended.