DOGTOWN AND THE Z-BOYS

COLUMBIA TRISTAR

RELEASED 5 July 2002

To most people, Tony Hawks may be the only name they associate with skateboarding. But back in the mid-seventies is where modern-day ‘boarding really began. This documentary looks at the kids from Santa Monica, Venice and Ocean Park and how they did it.

Combining stunning archive footage and narrated by Sean Penn, we are swept up into the world of the Z-boys, named after the trend-setting Zephyr Surf Shop. After ten in the morning, the shoreline surf would die off and so the street kids took their daredevil surfing skills onto the tarmac and incorporated them into a new form of skateboarding. Due to a drought, private swimming pools were drained and while people were at work, the Z-boys would make use of the huge wave-like curves in the pools to perform jumps and grabs. This would usually end with footage of the kids running for safety as the cops arrived, looking for the next vacant pool!

The best example of how radical their talents were for the time was a skateboarding competition in Del Mar where the old guard were performing boring tricks like handstanding as rigid as an ironing board. The energy and originality of the Z-boys was a wake-up call to the old guard - their day had gone.

All the boys are interviewed for their memories of the time and where their success took them. They really were pioneers and you’re left in no doubt that they well know it!

Set to a fantastic rock soundtrack of Alice Cooper, Jimi Hendrix, T Rex, Iggy, ZZ Top, and Rod Stewart, ‘Dogtown and Z-Boys’ is a fascinating trip into a genuine defining moment of what is now a multi-million dollar sport. Essential viewing for anyone with even a passing interest.

THREE OUT OF FIVE