6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In this follow-up to the 1981 punk rock documentary "The Decline of Western Civilization," filmmaker Penelope Spheeris dissects the world of heavy metal.
Starring: Steven Tyler, Joe Perry (I), Alice Cooper, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley (II)Music | 100% |
Documentary | 87% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
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 (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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 Part II: The Metal Years is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. While manifestly clearer and more detailed looking than The Decline of Western Civilization, the elements utilized for this transfer show occasional age related issues like speckling. There's some minor wobble during the credits, though (again) less so than in the first film. Also it appears that on at least a couple of occasions dupe elements may have been utilized, for there are sudden upticks in grain and fuzziness which do not match the overall look of this presentation. Colors are nicely saturated and accurate looking and grain is intact and resolves naturally. There are occasional issues with minimal shadow detail in some dark or nighttime sequences, but generally speaking contrast is consistent and appealing looking. While not overly "sharp" by contemporary standards, there's a nice organic look to this presentation, and close-ups at least offer decent detail.
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years features both a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and 5.1 track. The 5.1 track offers a significantly wider soundstage for the musical elements, and the change in genres from punk to more mainstream rock means that the lower end on this release does not mask the midrange and higher frequencies as much as it did in The Decline of Western Civilization's surround track. As should be expected, the confessional and interview segments are basically interchangeable on both tracks, without much appreciable difference. Fidelity is very good on both tracks included on this Blu-ray.
Portions of the original B-Roll were lost, and the remaining elements have degraded over time. The following footage is the only surviving representation of the original work.
- Aerosmith (480i; 19:06)
- Alice Cooper (480i; 18:41)
- Chris Holmes (480i; 15:02)
- Gene Simmons (480i; 20:24)
- Lemmy (480i; 14:42)
- Ozzy Osbourne (480i; 21:43)
- Paul Stanley (480i; 16:18)
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years doesn't have the same emotional pull that the first and third films in this franchise do, but on its own goofy merits, it's rather enjoyable. Technical merits are generally strong and Shout! has put together some good supplements. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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