The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
Essential Documentaries
•
1h 33m
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 pants, tighter, and the sound, more ornate. Divided between footage of heavy metal hopefuls and their idols, including Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Lemmy, and Kiss, “Decline: Part II” is a bracing chronicle of the era’s legendary decadence.
Up Next in Essential Documentaries
-
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... -
The French
Directed by William Klein | 130 mins | 1982
“For me, this film encapsulates everything I loved and love about the tennis of that moment; and in the hands of the great and singular William Klein, it is at once a gripping sports page, a fascinating piece of reportage, and a work of art.”—Wes ...
-
The Image Book
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard | 84 mins | 2019
A cinematic collage, an esoteric essay film, a wide-reaching, freewheeling ontological history of the moving image, and a sorrowful survey of the fallen world at the beginning of the 21st century, Special Palme d’Or winner The Image Book is a labyrinth...
