Something went wrong
Try again later.
The Decline of Western Civilization
The documentary of director Penelope Spheeris surveys the Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 with Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.
1957, Los Angeles, California, USA
5 August 1966, Los Angeles, California, USA
8 December 1955, Burbank, California, USA
26 September 1958, Los Angeles County, California, USA
30 October 1951, Monmouth, New Jersey, USA
30 July 1956, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
20 February 1948, Savanna, Illinois, USA
13 April 1953, Ventura County, California, USA
15 January 1953, Riverside, California, USA
June 20, 1945 in Normandy, France
1 February 1956, Chicago, Illinois, USA
25 February 1953, Decatur, Illinois, USA
July 18, 2016
This was the first time anyone had seen a mosh pit on-screen, and Spheeris somehow gets right in the scrum, capturing a blur of flailing bodies.
June 21, 2015
...a perfect symbol for the nihilistic hardcore punk rock that developed in Los Angeles - an angry and unwholesome scene that grew parallel to the more intellectual New York scene
February 13, 2017
You can't put a price on a filmic document such as this one.
July 18, 2016
This often-fascinating slice of rock history wisely avoids high-profile punk groups, and instead opts for bands who are still struggling to pay their rent.
June 10, 2005
the documentary is quite enjoyable
January 26, 2006
The interviews are mostly very funny, probably not always intentionally so. It's far from unmissable, but it's valuable rock history with some great noise.
August 03, 2015
The result is both insanely funny and very frightening.
July 18, 2016
This is the first in a trilogy of rock documentaries made by Spheeris that, viewed today, seem like valuable cultural documents. But your granny won't like it.
August 30, 2004
The Decline of Western Civilization' is a shrewd and engrossing documentary even for audiences who have absolutely no patience for the music it includes.
March 26, 2009
A bracing, stimulating and technically superb close-up look at the LA punk scene, pic is pitched at a perfect distance to allow for simultaneous engagement in the music and spectacle, and for rueful contemplation of what it all might mean.
January 01, 2000
[A] still potent 1981 documentary about Los Angeles punk rock.