''The Decline of Western Civilization III'' is a 1998 documentary film, directed by
Penelope Spheeris, that chronicles the
gutter punk lifestyle of homeless teenagers. It is the third film of a trilogy by Spheeris depicting life in
Los Angeles at various points in time. The first film, ''
The Decline of Western Civilization'' (1981), dealt with the
punk rock scene during 1980–1981. The second film, ''
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years'' (1988), covers the Los Angeles
heavy metal movement of 1986–1988.
Spheeris later credited the 1998 film with having a profound effect on her. She began a relationship with a man she met while filming the movie, signed up to be a foster parent, and eventually fostered five children.
Synopsis
The film involves
gutter punks who take the anti-establishment message with extreme seriousness and tune out society completely. Spheeris talks to homeless teenagers living on the street or squatting in abandoned buildings in Los Angeles, an unstable mother,
Los Angeles Police Department officer Gary Fredo, and a paralyzed youth living on
disability benefits
Disability benefits are funds provided from public or private sources to a person who is ill or who has a disability.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom disability benefits are covered by Department for Work and Pensions. There are numerous ben ...
.
Musicians interviewed include
Keith Morris (
Black Flag,
Circle Jerks
Circle Jerks (stylized as Ciʀcle JƎʀᴋs) are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The group was founded by former Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson. To date, Circle ...
) and
Flea (
Fear,
Red Hot Chili Peppers).
Performances by four bands were filmed:
Final Conflict,
Litmus Green
Litmus Green are an American hardcore punk band from Southern California, United States, who played from 1991-2002 and 2009–2017. They play short, fast political themed songs. They were featured in the award winning documentary The Decline of W ...
,
Naked Aggression
''The Decline of Western Civilization III'' is a 1998 documentary film, directed by Penelope Spheeris, that chronicles the gutter punk lifestyle of homeless teenagers. It is the third film of a trilogy by Spheeris depicting life in Los Angeles at ...
, and The Resistance.
Reception and distribution
The film premiered at the 1998
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
where it won the Freedom of Expression Award. It was screened at the
Cannes Film Festival and the
Chicago Underground Film Festival, where it received a jury award. However, it never went into general release and was not available on VHS or DVD until the release in 2015 of a box set containing all three films on DVD and blu-ray. This was partly due to Spheeris refusing to relinquish the rights to the first two parts of the trilogy in order to enable the third to be released. According to an article by Laura Snapes, "there was little demand to see such a depressing movie, and the few distribution offers that Spheeris got required her to hand over the rights to the first two movies, which she refused to do".
''Decline III'' was also released separately via streaming video.
References
External links
Official site of the series*
*
*
1998 films
American documentary films
Films directed by Penelope Spheeris
Documentary films about punk music and musicians
Punk films
Films about social issues
1998 documentary films
Documentary films about Los Angeles
Music of Los Angeles
Documentary films about homelessness in the United States
1990s English-language films
1990s American films
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