The Decline of Western Civilization

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

1981 1h 40m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🔥

100%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 119🍅100%Rotten Tomatoes●93Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 5,309

DocumentaryMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

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

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Cast

Eugene Tatu
Self
Alice Bag
Self
Claude Bessy
Self
Dinah Cancer
Self
Exene Cervenka
Self
Lorna Doom
Self
Darby Crash
Self
Don Bolles
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Penelope Spheeris
Writers: Penelope Spheeris
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Decline of Western Civilization Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Penelope Spheeris, shot by Steve Conant. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Charlie Mullins shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Eugene Tatu and Alice Bag and Claude Bessy carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0082252 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Penelope Spheeris directs. Steve Conant behind the camera. Charlie Mullins cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
245 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "The Decline of Western Civilization Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Penelope Spheeris, shot by Steve Conant. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Charlie Mullins shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Eugene Tatu and Alice Bag and Claude Bessy carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "See it in a theater.... where you can't get hurt.".
8IMDB entry: tt0082252 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 15 themes, including "rock 'n' roll", "nihilism", "self-destruction", "interview".

The technical file

Cinematography: Steve Conant
Editing: Charlie Mullins
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $100,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 93/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 5,309 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

1 win total

Part of

The Decline of Western Civilization Collection

A trilogy by Spheeris depicting life in Los Angeles at various points.

Also by

Penelope Spheeris

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-01-15
★ 9/10
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.

Production companies