Slideshow
THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION
U.S., 1981
Directed by Penelope Spheeris
With Eugene Tatu, Alice Bag Band, Black Flag
Approx. 100 mins. DCP.
“In the late 1970s, a couple of insurance salesmen from the San Fernando Valley asked Penelope Spheeris if she was interested in directing a porn film. “No, absolutely not,” she told them, “but how about a punk rock movie?” Spheeris took the suits to see Germs, the notorious L.A. band that typified the scene’s frenzied youth culture. At the gig, frontman Darby Crash dazzled them with one of his chaotic performances (which typically ended with him smeared in peanut butter or blood, or both). It wasn’t sex, but it was violent, and violence sells, too. Spheeris had a deal.” – Pitchfork
Reviews
“Featuring performances by X, the Germs, Black Flag, and the Circle Jerks, the film is frantic, caustic, electric, imbued with all the rage and love of a pogoing teen throwing punches at his friends”
– Slant Magazine
“Producer and director Penelope Spheeris... lets the bands and fans speak for themselves; and it is their message, rather than the music, that makes DECLINE so fascinating.”
– Lynn Van Matre, Chicago Tribune