Penelope Spheeris, the director best known for the famous comedy "Wayne's World", made this film mostly for money, while her real passion is documentaries and music videos. She is the founder of the first LA production company for music videos, she signed several Megadeth videos, and probably her most important legacy is the documentary trilogy "The Decline of Western Civilization."
The first film, from 1981, deals with the punk scene of the late seventies, the third, from 1998, deals with the lifestyle of homeless teenagers, and the second, which is discussed here, shows the LA metal scene of the eighties, from the musicians' point of view.
There is not much music itself in this film and it relies mostly on interviews with promising bands of the time, as well as with already famous musicians, such as Aerosmith, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Motörhead, and Ozzy Osbourne. Topics range from motivations for playing music, attitudes towards money, success, sex, to the darker aspects of the rock scene, such as drugs, alcohol, and depression.
As a big fan of eighties music, especially glam and thrash metal of this period, this film was a real treat for me, even though I generally don't like documentaries. But it seems to me that "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years" is not a real documentary. I think that the interviews are not spontaneous, but carefully staged to achieve the desired effect. Also, the choice of bands shown in the film is quite suspicious. As if the author was trying to portray the whole thing in a negative light, the film alternates between transfers of shame and those stereotypes of rock life that cause prejudice in people who are not familiar with this world.
I recommend it as entertainment, but as a source of information, it should be taken with caution.
7/10.
The first film, from 1981, deals with the punk scene of the late seventies, the third, from 1998, deals with the lifestyle of homeless teenagers, and the second, which is discussed here, shows the LA metal scene of the eighties, from the musicians' point of view.
There is not much music itself in this film and it relies mostly on interviews with promising bands of the time, as well as with already famous musicians, such as Aerosmith, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Motörhead, and Ozzy Osbourne. Topics range from motivations for playing music, attitudes towards money, success, sex, to the darker aspects of the rock scene, such as drugs, alcohol, and depression.
As a big fan of eighties music, especially glam and thrash metal of this period, this film was a real treat for me, even though I generally don't like documentaries. But it seems to me that "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years" is not a real documentary. I think that the interviews are not spontaneous, but carefully staged to achieve the desired effect. Also, the choice of bands shown in the film is quite suspicious. As if the author was trying to portray the whole thing in a negative light, the film alternates between transfers of shame and those stereotypes of rock life that cause prejudice in people who are not familiar with this world.
I recommend it as entertainment, but as a source of information, it should be taken with caution.
7/10.