Dogtown and Z-Boys DVD Documentary Review

Dogtown and Z-Boys is a documentary that walks viewers through the history and lives of the legendary Zephyr surf and skateboarding team. The film, directed by the famous Z-Boy Stacey Peralta and narrated by Sean Penn, is full of vintage surf and skate video footage, photos, and interviews with the Zephyr team, Jeff Ho, Skip Engblom, Craig Stecyk, and plenty of other people involved in the story of Dogtown.

Overview

Dogtown and Z-Boys is a true video documentary, leading you the viewer from the earliest start of the Zephyr team, to where they are today. The video starts with an introduction to what became known as the "Dogtown Articles", written by Craig Stecyk. The video shows this famous quote, "Two hundred years of American technology has unwittingly created a massive cement playground of unlimited potential. But it was the minds of 11 year olds that could see that potential."

Dogtown and Z-Boys then walks through the history of Dogtown, talking about the surfers in the area and how rough and poor the locals were. The documentary explains how in 1972 a surf shop was opened in Dogtown called Jeff Ho and Zephyr Surfboards. It would be the surf team from this shop that would transition its aggressive surfing style to skateboarding, and change things forever. For more details on the history of Dogtown and th Zephyr team, read The True History of Dogtown and the Zephyr Team.

A Powerful Video

The Dogtown and Z-Boys documentary is extremely well made, full of high quality footage from the 1970s, photos, and mixed with fitting music. Sprinkled through the film are interview clips with all the Zephyr team members except Chris Cahill, who has been missing for some time. It's incredible to see these people and hear them talk about what they did and what they were thinking. Or in some cases, not thinking!

While watching Dogtown and Z-Boys I gained a new appreciation for the Zephyr team. I had always held them in high regard, of course, but to see and hear them talk about how things really were was incredible. To listen to Skip Engblom talk about the team's obsession with style, to hear Jay Adams talk about what he would change if he could go back, or to see Peggy Oki talk about being an aggressive female skater at the Del Mar Nationals - this video will change your perspective!

The Dogtown and Z-Boys video documentary ends with some in depth looks at certain Zephyr team members, and where they went - Tony Alva, Stacey Peralta and Jay Adams. These sections were great, and while it would be awesome to see more about the entire 13 person team, there's no way I could have paid attention that long. As it was, the section on Jay Adams felt a little too long already. Jay has been through some hard times, and the video pulls back and slows down a little at this point with a sense of sadness.

And at the very end of Dogtown and Z-Boys, text across the screen and video footage tells where all the members of the Zephyr team are today.

Special Features

The special features section of the Dogtown and Z-Boys video is fairly weak, with only an option for director commentary, an alternate ending with Tony Alva pool skating, and some trailers. However, there is one extremely cool feature listed. You can opt to have a small Zephyr icon appear on the screen during certain parts of the documentary. By pressing enter when the icon is on the screen, you can watch extended raw footage for that scene! For a documentary, this is a perfect feature to add!

The Final Word

The video is rated PG-13 - there is some cussing in the video, and discussion of a rough lifestyle, so people who would like to avoid that might not appreciate Dogtown and Z-Boys quite as much. But, the language is all from people who are being interviewed, talking the way they talk about the way they live. I still recommend giving it a try.

In fact, I would say that Dogtown and Z-Boys is a great DVD video, and I highly recommend it. Besides being packed with perfect footage, interviews, and information, Dogtown and Z-Boys is simply a well made documentary. Produced by Vans "Off The Wall" Productions and AOP Productions, directed by Stacey Peralta himself, Dogtown and Z-boys is by far the best skateboarding documentary on the market.