in the 70s, at the same time the Z-boys were carving their place in history, I felt closer to them then a lot of the kids in the audience. The lingo, music & dress were all integral parts of the plot.The Director, Catherine Hardwicke does a good job of capturing the vibe & the boys "70s essence." I have much more respect for the sport now because of this movie. The Z-Boys have had such an impact on our society today...it's almost unbelievable.

and rebellious sentiments. I think anyone can find something to like about this movie whether it's the friendship theme, growing up, fame at a young age, the exciting soundtrack, the surfing, or the skateboarding. I hope that audiences will recognize this as a really fun summer movie without explosions and go see it in droves.

you will get the true idea of what it was like then. Awesome job guys on this film! A definite classic!

but I was actually quite engaged the entire time. I am currently putting together a program in Seattle that will pair teen skaters with beginners in exchange for community service hours. Hopefully this film will reinvigorate the sport and draw more attention to the need for decent skate parks in the area.

distort the facts but that is irrelevant. This is still a movie, not a documentary. The purpose here is to entertain. I remember Roger Ebert gave "JFK" a great review and Walter Konkrite ripped him for it saying the events depicted were not fact based. Ebert responded by saying that the movie captured the nation's collective fears, paranoia, and cynicism about the government since the assassination and that's what a movie is supposed to do. I love the use of music in this movie and how the character's all have to come to grips in their own ways with their new found stardom. The ending is also very emotional and almost poetic. Overall, a fun, nostalgic glimpse into some of the skater's lives and what they did for their sport.

touching moments the welling of the eyes happened to me . Skating is very good actors do their fair share...nice dedication . Soundtrack is excellent.i have seen and loved "Dogtown and Z Boys". i grew up in Southern California and was familiar with Venice's reputation during the 70's and the legends that came out of there so i have some biases . i loved the throwback feel of a teenage film that chucks the bullsh!t conservative vibe most films representing teens has been putting out for the past 15 to 20 years. The freedom along with the recklessness portrayed feels more real and engaging than most of that "can i date the hot guy/girl, get into a good college, and be a responsible cog with a rebellious wink during the weekends" crap.i do have a minor problem that involves one scene that tries to cram too much in too little time. i see what was trying to be accomplished...it just didn't work for me The before and after that scene is great.i look forward to seeing "Lords of Dogtown" again.

Shop, a surf store run by Skip Engblom Heath Ledger , as their home away from the own dysfunctional homes. Engblom recruited the best skaters for the Zephyr Team. Including: Tony Alva Victor Rasuk , responsible Stacy Peralta John Robinson and troubled bad-boy innovator Jay Adams Emile Hirsch . With the introduction of urethane wheels revolutionary for the boys skating style as now the wheels gripped, they could "climb walls" and the timely South Cal drought meaning swimming pools were to be emptied, giving the boys perfect locations to practice their gravity-defying maneuvers, Zephyr became the be-all-end-all of the skateboarding scene."Lords of Dogtown" follows the rise and inevitable fall of the team, efficiently conveying the events with a flat accuracy that emphasizes history over character development. Director Catherine Hardwicke "Thirteen" does an outstanding job of re-creating the seedy '70s atmosphere so much so that you could be forgiven for assuming you were watching archival outtakes from "Z-Boys." Hardwicke really nails that sense of post-Vietnam, rejection of authority of SoCal.Hardwicke also understands the thrilling nature of speed for these kids. She employs a point-of-view camera from a skateboard's wheel to convey the rush. Hardwicke's most important achievement, however, was how she portrayed that skating was indeed these boys life. You really could see how skating for character Jay Adams was an outlet for the psychological pain he was experiencing. Hardwicke was very devoted to her character's individual portrayals. She has 3 contrasting personalities of main characters and shows this also through camera techniques. Jay being the more kinesthetic, hard, "go-go-go" character has many hand held shots and the zoom is employed more, creating a rough, jerky portrayal. Stacey Peralta being the strangely responsible one with a job has straight on, clean cut shots. Tony Alva, however, our most competitive Z-boy by far is filmed often from below, giving him a larger than life presence. The movie was composed exceptionally and not too 'Hollywood' that is focusing on unrealistic character relations and excruciatingly social-analytical . It moved just fast enough to stop you from being potentially bored by the many skating scenes if you did not fit that demographic. However, even there i felt Hardwicke handled this amazingly too. I have never thought in my life i would ever watch a skating movie but i simply adored this one. Character relations were conveyed so realistically. The boys relationships were almost to real, you could feel the unspoken tension between them as the Zephyr team starts to go their separate ways. Hardwicke shows that true, stereotypical male bonding, that is that their love of skateboarding in the end is what brings them together. Featuring a great soundtrack - including much Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and the classic Wish You Were Here, i gave this movie a real thumbs up.

and emotional frustrations into constant movement on first surfboards then skateboards.This film fills in many of the gaps in their personal lives that were frustratingly missing from the documentary, with evident artistic license as some characters are composites. Some rough edges are left out or smoothed over to keep it from the usual sex, bad contracts and rock 'n' roll biographies.I had no idea that suburban-sweet little Emile Hirsch from "Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" and "Imaginary Heroes" was a Venice Beach sk8ter boy in his real life, albeit New School, so that he could so naturally embody the lithe, rebellious Jay Adams, who starts from and rolls to darker places than his cohorts.Brought much more to the fore is Tony Alva's Chicano family and Victor Rasuk shows that as in "Raising Victor Vargas" he can passionately portray youthfulness and growing into maturity.Screenwriter Peralta may be a bit self-serving in how he lets his almost too nice younger self be so sunnily portrayed by John Robinson as the very image of a Southern California beach boy, but an incongruously responsible one -- he actually wears a watch to get to a real job. We learn even less here about his background than any of the other kids.Heath Ledger transforms himself into a stoner surfer Fagin, revealing better than the documentary the rise and collapse of the odd mentoring relationship the sponsor of the Zephyr Team created with boys who needed some kind of father figure in their lives.The restless, jangly cinematography races after them like a helmet-cam from the opening shots, on land, sea and especially in empty swimming pools, soaking up their vibes and momentum with quick editing.While this is more a clear-eyed cautionary ode to too-much too-fast adolescence than to testosterone, the women in their lives are given only a little more acknowledgment than in the documentary. Rebecca De Mornay, who started her career as a teen boy's lust object in "Risky Business," ironically now plays Jay's unstable mom, but she is not drawn as substantively as the similar mom in "Thirteen." Just as most rockers admit that they first slapped on a guitar to get chicks, this film is up front that the boys attracted groupies, and makes a half-hearted effort to personalize a couple of the young women for whom they compete, or maybe Nikki Reed is just miscast as Alva's sister. Even the concluding scroll about their futures, much more upbeat than in the documentary, leaves out their detritus of the women in their lives.The re-created settings and production design of the notorious Pacific Ocean Park Pier well illustrate the class differences between these outlaw locals vs. beach blanket surfer movies and the owners of those prized pools.The period music is mostly used just for atmosphere, from the opening riffs of Jimi Hendrix's guitar, but occasionally hits home with a character's mood, particularly Neil Young's "Old Man" and Rod Stewart's "Maggie May." The hair styles, clothes and make-up are also much better done, including the wigs, than most '70's period movies, though why cover up the countless bruises the cast suffered, as presumably in real life the guys must have been banged up besides the one incident shown.Stay through all the credits to see clips of the real folks, including a sweet tribute to Jay as the font of the style.

skating and in some scenes surfing. Watch the movie again with Peralta and Alva's commentary running and you will see and hear how close they got it to the real life these guys had. How can you say Emile Hirsch is one dimensional? John Robinson does most of his own skating. Peralta himself doubles for the multiple 360s in the Delmar contest scene. The real Alva does some as well. I've never even skated, but I lived through the seventies and I thought it was like stepping back into the past. Very convincing. The only thing I would have done differently would be to develop Wentzle's character more-he is a hoot in the documentary.