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The Decline of Western Civilization

"See it in a theater.... where you can't get hurt."

1981-07-01 Documentary 1hr 40m

The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.

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Trailer
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The Decline of Western Civilization
Amazon Prime Video

Watch on Amazon Prime Video

Storyline

The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.

  • Released
    1981-07-01
  • Revenue
    n/a
  • Budget
    $100,000
  • Runtime
    1hr 40m
  • Genre
    Documentary, Music
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    English
  • imdb-logo
    7.5
  • Production
    Spheeris Films Inc.

Crew

Penelope Spheeris
Director
Penelope Spheeris
Writer
Penelope Spheeris
Producer
Keywords:
nihilism self-destruction midnight movie interview punk rock los angeles, california subculture punk band woman director teen rebel live music diy culture underground music independent cinema slam dancing

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Cast

Eugene Tatu

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Alice Bag

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Claude Bessy

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Dinah Cancer

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Exene Cervenka

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Lee Ving

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Greg Ginn

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Chuck Dukowski

Chuck Dukowski
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Ron Reyes

Ron Reyes
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Pat Smear

Pat Smear
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Greg Hetson

Greg Hetson
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Keith Morris

Keith Morris
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Nicole Panter

Nicole Panter
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Penelope Spheeris

Penelope Spheeris
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Videos and Photos

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The Decline of Western Civilization
The Decline of Western Civilization
The Decline of Western Civilization
The Decline of Western Civilization
The Decline of Western Civilization
The Decline of Western Civilization
The Decline of Western Civilization

Movie Reviews

Reviews for The Decline of Western Civilization
reviewer avatar

A Review by talisencrw 9

Written by talisencrw on 2016-01-15

Though I both am neither a punk aficionado (I have seen X live in Detroit in 2008) nor an expert on Spheeris' films (I have seen and enjoyed... read more

Though I both am neither a punk aficionado (I have seen X live in Detroit in 2008) nor an expert on Spheeris' films (I have seen and enjoyed both 'Wayne's World' and 'Little Rascals'), this was very satisfying. The energy and spirit of these rebellious youths really comes across well, and the clever assertion from one of the interviewees that punk is simply another form of folk and protest music, albeit with different instruments and at a faster speed, rings true. Though I'm not privy to the Los Angeles scene (I'm from Windsor, Ontario, for crying out loud), it appears to be quite an accurate depiction, although it doesn't seem to grab hold, perhaps, of the underground movement. Seeing this, I look forward to the latter two parts of the trilogy, and only wish over the years that Spheeris had expanded her sights, and made documentaries of other, vital, forms of music in L.A., such as folk, hip-hop, rap, jazz, classical, experimental, even soundtrack work for films, since Hollywood is right nearby, and as someone already part of the filmmaking scene, she would have had access to some of the greats of our time.

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by talisencrw

Though I both am neither a punk aficionado (I have seen X live in Detroit in 2008) nor an expert on Spheeris' films (I have seen and enjoyed both 'Wayne's World' and 'Little Rascals'), this was very satisfying. The energy and spirit of thes...

reviewer avatar

A Review by talisencrw 9

Written by talisencrw on 2016-01-15

Though I both am neither a punk aficionado (I have seen X live in Detroit in 2008) nor an expert on Spheeris' films (I have seen and enjoyed both 'Wayne's World' and 'Little Rascals'), this was very s...

read more