7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.
Starring: Exene Cervenka, John Doe (I), Keith Morris, Pat Smear, Lee VingMusic | 100% |
Documentary | 96% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.34:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
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.
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 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.
- X Signs Contract (480p; 2:48)
- Tour of the Masque (480i; 7:55)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
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.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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