The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years: Difference between revisions
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==Synopsis== |
==Synopsis== |
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The documentary follows the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on the [[glam metal]] sub-genre. Spheeris explores the more famous musicians, including [[Alice Cooper]], Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, [[Dave Mustaine]] and [[Paul Stanley]]. She then explores unknown bands, such as [[London (heavy metal band)|London]], [[Odin (band)|Odin]] and [[Seduce (band)|Seduce]]. The film also features interviews with members of [[Poison (band)|Poison]], [[Tuff (band)|Tuff]], [[Vixen (band)|Vixen]], [[Faster Pussycat]], [[W.A.S.P. (band)|W.A.S.P.]], and more. Serious issues such as drug usage, alcohol abuse, and censorship are tackled, as well as vanity issues like celebrity and sales. |
The documentary follows the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on the [[glam metal]] sub-genre. Spheeris explores the more famous musicians, including [[Alice Cooper]], [[Aerosmith]], [[Ozzy Osbourne]], [[Dave Mustaine]] and [[Paul Stanley]]. She then explores unknown bands, such as [[London (heavy metal band)|London]], [[Odin (band)|Odin]] and [[Seduce (band)|Seduce]]. The film also features interviews with members of [[Poison (band)|Poison]], [[Tuff (band)|Tuff]], [[Vixen (band)|Vixen]], [[Faster Pussycat]], [[W.A.S.P. (band)|W.A.S.P.]], and more. Serious issues such as drug usage, alcohol abuse, and censorship are tackled, as well as vanity issues like celebrity and sales. |
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The film is well-known for its many scenes featuring rock star excess. The scenes include: |
The film is well-known for its many scenes featuring rock star excess. The scenes include: |
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Revision as of 04:50, 15 July 2008
| The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years | |
|---|---|
 Dave Mustaine of Megadeth is featured on the VHS cover and movie poster. | |
| Directed by | Penelope Spheeris |
| Produced by | Jonathan Dayton Valerie Faris Guy J. Louthan |
| Starring | Aerosmith Kiss Megadeth Motörhead Ozzy Osbourne W.A.S.P. |
| Cinematography | Jeff Zimmerman |
| Edited by | Earl Ghaffari |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
Release dates | June 17, 1988 |
Running time | 93 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is a rockumentary film directed by Penelope Spheeris about the Los Angeles heavy metal scene of 1986, 1987 and 1988.
The film features footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne, W.A.S.P, and Alice Cooper.
Tagline: It's more than music...it's a way of life.
Synopsis
The documentary follows the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on the glam metal sub-genre. Spheeris explores the more famous musicians, including Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Mustaine and Paul Stanley. She then explores unknown bands, such as London, Odin and Seduce. The film also features interviews with members of Poison, Tuff, Vixen, Faster Pussycat, W.A.S.P., and more. Serious issues such as drug usage, alcohol abuse, and censorship are tackled, as well as vanity issues like celebrity and sales.
The film is well-known for its many scenes featuring rock star excess. The scenes include:
- Chris Holmes of W.A.S.P. is interviewed in a swimming pool beside his mother while extremely intoxicated. He stumbles through the interview, and pours a bottle of vodka both in his mouth and on his head.
- The unsigned band Odin talks about being more famous than The Doors and expects to become millionaires (It should be noted that Odin's guitarist, Jeff Duncan, while not topping the Doors' popularity and arguably not becoming a millionaire, managed later to secure a guitar slot in the more well-known band Armored Saint).
- An interview with club owner Bill Gazzarri (deceased) who used to organise a 'sexy rock and roll' dance contest, which was presented as being sleazy and sexist.
- Discussions with various musicians about the bad way women in general, and groupies in particular, are treated in the metal scene.
- Riki Rachtman and Taime Downe, then owners of the Cathouse club in L.A., discuss how girls get entry to the club faster if they dress 'sleazy'
- Paul Stanley of Kiss is interviewed in a bed while surrounded from head to toe with girls.
- Steven Tyler of Aerosmith talks about spending millions of dollars on drugs.
- As Ozzy Osbourne cooks eggs in a kitchen he spills orange juice all over the table, apparently due to uncontrollable shakes. However, in a 1999 interview for 'A.V.Club', Spheeris admitted that the orange juice spill was faked and the kitchen was not that of Ozzy Osbourne.[1] Spheeris also interviews him about sobriety, to which Ozzy replies, "It fucking sucks."
- An interview with Lemmy from Motorhead. In his autobiography, he claims that Spheeris interviewed him from a distance, possibly in an attempt to make him look stupid..{Page 210}
- Lastly, Spheeris takes her cameras to Sunset Strip to film the nightlife in 1980s Los Angeles.
Musical Performances
- Lizzy Borden – "Born to be Wild"
- Faster Pussycat – "Bathroom Wall", "Cathouse"
- Seduce – "Crash Landing", "Colleen"
- London – "Breakout", "Russian Winter"
- Odin – "Little Gypsy", "12 O'Clock High"
- Megadeth – "In My Darkest Hour"
Influence
It has been claimed in recent years, most notably in the VH1 documentary series Heavy: The Story of Metal[2] that this film was partially responsible for the death of glam metal and the subsequent rise of Grunge. The suggestion made in the VH1 documentary is that kids were so disgusted by the scenes of excess that they decided to look for something else.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released on Capitol/I.R.S Records, and includes tracks from Armored Saint, Faster Pussycat, Seduce, Lizzy Borden, Metal Church, Rigor Mortis, Megadeth, Motörhead, and Alice Cooper, featuring Axl Rose, Slash, and Izzy Stradlin of Guns N' Roses.
