The Decline of Western Civilization
Essential Documentaries
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1h 40m
Directed by Penelope Spheeris | 100 mins | 1981
Without doubt one of the great rock docs, Penelope Spheeris’s headily discordant portrait of West Coast punk—her directorial debut—showcases such hardcore luminaries as X, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Germs. As pure and pungent a time capsule as they come, it’s only fitting that the premiere—a jam-packed and rambunctious affair—was followed by a letter from the Los Angeles Chief of Police requesting that the film never be screened in the city again.
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The Decline of Western Civilization P...
Directed by Penelope Spheeris | 93 mins | 1988
The scummy, lightening-in-a-bottle Los Angeles punk scene that Penelope Spheeris captured in the first “Decline of Western Civilization” (1981) had morphed considerably by the time of this second instalment, nearly a decade later: the hair was bigger... -
The Decline of Western Civilization P...
Directed by Penelope Spheeris | 86 mins | 1998
After a detour into the high heady heyday of Sunset Strip hair metal in the second film of her essential social history of rock ’n’ roll in southern California, Spheeris returned to the hardcore punk roots of her first Decline, embedding herself amon... -
The Dells
Directed by Nellie Kluz | 72 mins | 2024
The resort town of Wisconsin Dells, the self-appointed “Waterpark Capital of the World,” is located about 200 miles northwest of Chicago. Filmmaker Nellie Kluz (“How to with John Wilson”) goes behind the scenes of this kitschy oasis to mingle with the peop...
