Lords of Dogtown (Unrated Extended Cut) DVD Review (Heath Ledger) Empire Movies

LORDS OF DOGTOWN (UNRATED EXTENDED CUT) DVD REVIEW

Lords of Dogtown (Unrated Extended Cut)
(Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment)

The Movie

The Extras

Reviewed by

4.5/10

7/10

Liam

I'll get this out of the way immediately. Lords of Dogtown was nowhere near as good as Dogtown and Z-Boys, the documentary upon which the movie was based.

Lords of Dogtown follows a group of skaters known collectively at the Z-Boys. It focuses specifically on three guys - Stacy Peralta (John Robinson), Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch) and Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk). As the movie opens, we catch up with the guys as they try to become part of the group lead by Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger) who regularly surf the waves of the Pacific Ocean Park. They soon discover some moves in skateboarding that are similar to surfing and they form the Zephyr Skate Team (hence the Z-Boys). From there, they compete in a skate competition, turn the world of skateboarding on its head and the rest is, as they say, history. The movie also follows some of the drama, like girls and the money that came hand-in-hand with their overnight fame, and how the girls and the money eventually drove them apart.

I'll say it again just to refresh your memories. Lords of Dogtown was nowhere near as good as Dogtown and Z-Boys, the documentary upon which the movie was based. If the original movie made these guys out to be heroes (even if some were tragic heroes), then this movie did everything to make them just look like selfish jerks. Well, all except Stacy Peralta, but he also wrote this movie (and made the original documentary). Basically, if I were to sum it up, the original documentary had heart and it won me over. This movie was a candy-coated version with no style and little to no heart. And the acting? Don't get me started on the acting. I cared about the people in the original, and although the characters in this fictional version are factually based, I found them all to be more than just a little bland. And I really couldn't care less about them. On the good side though, this movie only served to make me appreciate the documentary that much more.

This DVD is the "Unrated Extended Cut". What that means is that it's supposed to be more "hard-core" than the theatrical version. Director Catherine Hardwicke introduces this DVD explaining the differences as being related to language, drugs and alcohol that were inappropriate for PG audiences. I'll just say this. This edition was fluffy enough, so if this DVD is "unrated", I likely would've hated the theatrical cut. However, the differences between this DVD version and the standard disc don't end there. We also get several extras that are exclusive to this DVD. They include a Gag Reel, a great commentary by original Z-Boys Stacy Peralta and Tony Alva separating fact from fiction, a cast and crew commentary including Hardwicke, Robinson, Hirsch and Rasuk, a "Dogged on Dogtown" featurette showcasing some of the skateboarding injuries that happened on set, an "Alternate $#%@!" featurette showing some of the alternate (and for the most part funny) language shown to the MPAA. Rounding out the Unrated Edition DVD features, there's a music video for "Nervous Breakdown" by Rise Against.

Features that are included on both the Rated and Unrated DVDs include an in-depth "Making of Lords of Dogtown" feature which I actually found more compelling than the actual movie, a "Bails and Spills" featurette which again shows some of the boarding mishaps on set, an "Extended Pool Session" featurette, a look at the skateboarding bulldog, just under 20 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, a brief comparison of the actors and their stunt doubles, a look at the recreation of Pacific Ocean Park, a feature on the cameos by the original guys from Dogtown and finally three storyboard comparisons. There are also previews for some upcoming Columbia/Sony movies.

I think what really messed me up about this DVD were my original expectations. I went into Dogtown and Z-Boys expecting nothing and was blown away. With Lords of Dogtown, I went in expecting everything and was really let down. Personally, I blame Catherine Hardwicke. Based on what I've seen of her, she comes across as the one responsible for most if not all of the movie's shortcomings. And that's a shame for a couple of reasons. First, I saw and really liked Thirteen and I thought she could pull this off. And second, listening to everyone involved with the DVD extras, they have nothing but good things to say about her. So it makes me wonder what I'm missing?! I'll just wrap this up by saying this. If you haven't already seen the original Dogtown documentary, see it first before checking out this DVD. And if you've only seen this version, don't be fooled. There's a great story here that unfortunately just didn't come across as well as it could have.

Features
Over 4 Minutes Of Never-Before-Seen Footage, Introduction To Lords Of Dogtown By Director Catherine Hardwicke, Gag Reel, Dogged On Dogtown Featurette, Alternate $#%@!, Original Z-Boys Commentary, Director Catherine Hardwicke And Cast Commentary - Uncensored!, Nervous Breakdown Music Video By Rise Against, Deleted & Extended Scenes, The Making-Of Lords Of Dogtown Featurette, Bails & Spills Featurette, The Making-Of Pacific Ocean Park Featurette, Extended Pool Session Featurette, Dogtown Cameos Featurettes, Of Course We Want A Skateboarding Bulldog! Featurette, The Ocean Washes My Hair And Make-Up Test Featurette, Storyboard Comparisons, Previews

Video
Widescreen (1.85:1)

Audio
English

Subtitles
English, Closed-Captioned

Release Date
September 27, 2005

Rating
Unrated

Length
110 mins.

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