Classic Movie Review: The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998)

The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998)

Directed by: Penelope Spheeris.

 

The first two films in The Decline of Western Civilization trilogy became legendary, and almost impossible to see for a long time, then the third in the trilogy became even harder to see, but nowhere near as legendary. The film played the festival circuit back in 1998 – and then kind of disappeared, no real distribution of any kind. In a way, it’s easy to see why no one picked it up. Unlike the first two films, it’s only tangentially about music at all. The inspiration for Penelope Spheeris to revisit this world seems to be the re-emergence of punk in the mid-1990s. Bands like Green Day and The Offspring may not have been hardcore like the bands in the first film – but they became huge. But this time, Spheeris concentrates almost exclusively on the fans – sure, some of them are in punk bands, but not ones anyone has ever heard of – even two decades later. This is a film about the people who really do live on the margins – squatting in abandoned buildings, sleeping in cars, etc. – their lives a mixture of drinking, drugging, partying, violence and poverty. It is a grim film – one without much hope. When you get to the end, and find out that one of the main figures in the movie has been killed – and another one has been charged with the murder – you are not surprised, just saddened.

 

The film acknowledges its roots in its opening moments – asking the interview subjects if they had ever seen the original film. Many of them have – although they then acknowledge that they were only 1 or 2 when it came out – if they were born at all. This works to make Spheeris seem more on an elder statesman this time around – perhaps even a parental figure. She is concerned for these kids – as a parent would be – but also realizes she is powerless to stop them heading down the path they are going to inevitably go down anyway.

 

But mostly, Spheeris lets you draw your own conclusions about the differences between this group of punks – known as gutterpunks – and the group she filmed nearly two decades before for the first film. In the original, those kids were angry of course – but also determined. They poured themselves into their music – and even if they never made it big – never wanted to, they left a mark. This group seems more fragmentary – more isolated. They come together, sure, but there isn’t quite the sense of community there once was. These people are loners- and forever on the outside. They’re never going to get even the fame as the groups in the first film – and they’re barely even trying. They are too poor for that – and don’t have the ambition.

 

All of this probably makes it sound like this is a depressing film. It isn’t really. It is a sad film – I can only imagine where the last two decades have left most of the people in the film. And yet, at this time, they are young, dumb and hedonistic, and while Spheeris clearly has concern for them, she also doesn’t look down on them. She allows their dark, gallows humor to come through. They kids are nihilistic and dark – but they somehow manage to, if not smile through it all, at least accept it – and take what joy they can from it.

 

In a way, this is a proper way to end this trilogy. The first film was about these legendary punks bands – they may never have become super famous, but many of them went on to have long, influential careers. They didn’t become huge – but they did what they wanted. The second film is all about the excesses of rock – how the metal bands embraced that excess, and how its fans and wannabes want to. This last film is about the lowest rung of this ladder. These aren’t even wannabes really – they’re just holding on. They are punks almost by necessity – what else are they going to be.

 

The film that Spheeris has made here is funny and sad, gross and comical. And it ends, as is inevitable, in tragedy – because of course it does. This film doesn’t have the hook of the legendary punk bands of the first film, or the excessive idiocy of the second film. And yet, it may just stick in your head a little bit longer than either of the other films.

Classic Movie Review: The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)

Directed by: Penelope Spheeris.

 

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is a very different film from the first film. That film was about the punk scene in L.A. in 1979-80, and focused on bands who were outsiders, and seemed determined to stay that way. They weren’t going to break big, and didn’t really want to break big – that wouldn’t be punk aftermath. The second film focuses on Heavy Metal bands – all of whom seem very, very committed to breaking big – that’s their whole reason for being there. It contains interviews with people who are already big stars – Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Paul Stanley of KISS, Ozzy Osborne, etc. – as well as some up and comers. It’s a more purely enjoyable film than the first film – in large part because of the over-the-top ridiculousness on display.

 

Perhaps the genius moment for director Penelope Spheeris in filming this movie was the decision to let the people being interviewed at a place of their own choosing. While many choose the standard issue setup you would expect – you also get some genuine weirdness going on. Ozzy Osborne is filmed as he’s making breakfast for example. Paul Stanley is shot in an overhead shot, looking down on him as he is sprawled across a bed with a number of scantily clad women. Chris Holmes floats in a pool with his mother looking on scornfully at her son, who is clearly drunk and miserable.

 

Like the first film, this one is a portrait of hedonism – and yet this time, in a more controlled and corporate ways. Those who have reformed from their drug days – Tyler, Ozzy, etc. – give lot of sound bites about the dangers of drug use, but they feel like the type of thing their publicists would want them to say, more than anything they truly feel. When you catch them in more unguarded moments, they seem to have enjoyed those early, drug fueled days. The up-and-comers as they were (most didn’t become anything) seem to be more focused on putting on the image of rock stars – even if they aren’t there yet. A lot of talk about drugs, booze and sex – but almost all the talk about women comes across as the preening and bragging of insecure men, desperate to have you think they are lady killers. The few women interviewed mostly kind of roll their eyes at this attitude – or at least admit what everyone is in it this for.

 

The first film is an invaluable document of a specific time and place – that if Spheeris hadn’t capture, probably wouldn’t have been captured at all. It was about legendary punk performers who are still legendary in that world, but never really sold any records or became big. They had brief, glorious moments “at the top” which was still fairly low down. The second film is about the same excess, but from a different point of view – those who are rich and famous, or those that want to be. I suppose you could argue that both sets of bands are all about image – but the punk performers seem to genuinely believe what they’re saying. For the metal guys, it’s all an act – a performance trying to convince of something. The punk guys didn’t care what you thought of them – that’s all the metal guys care about.

Classic Movie Review: The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) 

Directed by: Penelope Spheeris   

Featuring: Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, The Germs, X.

 

The Decline of Western Civilization films have been long being talked about, but not readily available for anyone to actually see – despite the fact that the first film in the series has long been seen as the definitive documentary about punk rock at the end of the 1970s. The film has become legendary in many ways – in part, because it has never really been available on VHS or DVD. The film, which is about the punk scene in L.A. in 1979 and 1980, screened twice in that city – before it was effectively banned by the Police Chief. I remember being a Nirvana fan in the 1990s – and hearing about this film. Bands that influenced bands like Nirvana and others – like Black Flag, Circle Jerks and The Germs – are shown here, alongside bands I haven’t really heard of like Alice Bag Band, Catholic Discipline, Fear and X. It’s a fascinating documentary.

 

It’s always odd to look back at previous generations and their music – and the furor that surrounded them. The film is entitled The Decline of Western Civilization after all, and was perhaps named after what Lester Bangs said about The Stooges. It’s hard to say that the film seems tame by today’s standards – this is a gritty, grimy film, full of violence, etc. – but it’s also hard to see why people thought these guys would destroy the world.

 

Directed by Penelope Spheeris, the film kind of takes a ground level view of these bands. Each of the bands in the lineup get to play a set – some of them extended sets, with a few songs, and some only get a couple. You get to hear the anger, rage and violence of their songs – their uncompromising vision of music, which made no concessions for commercial concerns. They have a purity of vision in their music – and lash out violently. The film depicts what it’s like at those concerts – the mosh pits, the violence, etc. there as well.

 

Interspersed throughout the film though is Spheeris talking to various people – sometimes, it’s members of the bands, many of whom have high turnover ratios – one of those interviewed would quit the band between when the film finished shooting, and when it came out. And this is a Black Flag before Henry Rollins even joined them. And then there is an interview with Darby Crash of The Germs – in his apartment, with his girlfriend – who would be dead by suicide before the film debuted. Some of the most fascinating interviews are right near the end – when Spheeris talks to the fans of the bands. There are some who love the violence – for whom the violence seems like a large part of the point of these bands. And there are those who are uncomfortable with the violence. The film doesn’t shy away from the racism – a white kid with a shaved head uses the word nigger with no hesitation, but doesn’t examine it – you have to do that.

 

It is the music though that is really legendary here – a chance to see these bands, that were huge in L.A., and have cult followings, but never really became the biggest bands in the world. They were too violent, too self-destructive for that. But it’s a great look at a subculture of L.A. – the opposite of the glitz and glamor normally associated with that city. Spheeris, who would go on to have a big hit with Wayne’s World, and then direct comedies, has her real legacy here – giving us a portrait of something that no one else has ever quite captured the same way.