In 2001 Stacy Peralta made the documentary Dogtown and the Z-Boys. It was a very personal film for Peralta as he was one of the leading lights of the Zephyr skateboarding team. A team which took the sport of skateboarding by storm, against the backdrop of the poverty of ‘Dogtown’. Taking their influences from surfing and surf culture, the Z-Boys helped turn something of a niche interest into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Peralta joined up with director Catherine Hardwicke to make a film version of their exploits: Lords of Dogtown.
Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger) runs the Zephyr Surf Shop. He’s a local legend to young surfers Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk), Stacy Peralta (John Robinson), and Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch) whose skills buy them membership into his crew. When polyurethane wheels are delivered to the shop, it opens-up a whole new world for the boys. They can now take what they’ve learnt on the waves and apply it to skateboarding. They form the Zephyr Skateboarding Team and soon wow with their skills, but their rough and ready upbringing doesn’t go down well with the establishment. When offered a way out of poverty, they must each decide between loyalty and money.
Dogtown and the Z-Boys is a hard act to follow. The documentary itself paints a vivid picture of a group of teens who turned skateboarding into a punk movement. However, Hardwicke manages to capture the energy and excitement of the time whilst digging deeper into the personal stories and emotions. Lords of Dogtown is a vibrant film which captures the spirit and whirlwind success of young men swept-up in a scene.
Special Features:
- 1080p High Definition transfer on the Blu-ray, with a progressive encode on the DVD
- Uncensored director and cast commentary
- Introduction to Dogtown by director Catherine Hardwicke
- 7 featurettes about the making of the film
- Deleted / alternate scenes
- Blooper reel
- Storyboard to Screen comparisons
- Music video “Nervous Breakdown” by Rise Against
Lords of Dogtown is released on Dual Format by Eureka Entertainment today.
