The X-Games are being held in my native Philadelphia for a second consecutive year, and while I'm generally a fan of skateboarding culture, I'm not entirely motivated to attend this bombastic spectacle. Something has been noticeable missing from the current skating landscape for some time: let's call it style. This wasn't always the case, however, as I recently found out in the documentary film Dogtown and Z-Boys. A visual history of early skating evolution, Dogtown deftly recounts a bygone time when style was king and innovation was mandatory. Like the liner notes say, "Before there were X-Games, there were Z-Boys."

Narrated by Sean Penn, Dogtown and Z-Boys is a slick documentary directed by skating legend (and former Z-Boy) Stacy Peralta. Along with long-time skating photographer Craig Stecyk, Peralta has crafted an honest and detailed look at the evolution of skating culture in the dilapidated slums of Venice, Santa Monica and Ocean County California (known together as "Dogtown"). The film dissects this decidedly urban way of life, from its roots as an extension of surfing to its stylistic revival at the hands of the Zephyr team (the Z-Boys). Under the guidance of surfboard designer Jeff Ho, the Zephyr team of skaters relentlessly assaulted the dilapidated local landscape, in the process inventing the low-to-the-ground Bertelman style, sessioning the first empty pools, and pulling off the very first vertical air maneuvers. They did this all with an uncanny flair, adhering to the motto "Going big only works as long as you look good doing it".

Through vintage film footage and a plethora of high-quality still photographs, Dogtown provides a rich visual exploration of the Southern California skating culture in the 1970s. The excellent skating montages are accompanied by hard-rocking tunes from the likes of the Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, The Rollins Band and Fugazi, and the soundtrack is filled with punk and metal staples that capture the free-form energy of the skate culture quite well. Despite its infectious enthusiasm, Dogtown manages to provide a detailed historical record of the Z-Boy era. Knowing only of current legends, it was fascinating to see the true innovators in the sport like Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta carving drained swimming pools and busting previously unheard-of tricks in the mid-70s. These guys skated with a surf-inspired sense of fluidity and a healthy dose of fuck-you attitude, and their unorthodox style is something that is visibly missing from the modern skating landscape.

All told, Dogtown and Z-Boys is an excellent film that is enjoyable throughout the length of its 91 minute running time. The candid interviews are funny and enlightening, providing great insight into a lifestyle that must seem completely alien to most people. The segments focusing on Jay Adams are particularly poignant, and though he never made it as big as Peralta or Alva, those guys still treat him with a reverence that is almost impossible for outsiders to understand. The film does miss at least one avenue of inquiry, though, as there is very little time spent with Peggy Oki, the lone female member of the Z-Boys. It would have been interesting to hear more from her about the whole Z-Boy phenomenon. This version of the film has undergone some additional editing compared with the longer version I saw in the theater earlier this year. Those additional seven minutes seemed misplaced and only served to dilute the impact of the film, so I'm happy to see the producers go back and edit the film for its DVD release. This cut of the film is a definite improvement and feels much tighter, and it wraps up at just the right time.

Dogtown and Z-Boys appears in a Special Edition DVD from Sony Pictures Classics, and features a translucent toilet-bowl blue case that I find strangely fascinating. The film itself is presented in its original full-frame ratio and contains both color and black-and-white footage. Much of the movie is vintage Super 8 footage from the mid-1970s that looks remarkably clean and vibrant considering its age. While some film grain and minor imperfections are noticeable here and there, the film looks incredibly sharp, and there is very little compression on the DVD to further detract from the quality. Dogtown has never looked so good. The Dolby 5.0 audio track is crisp and clear throughout; dialogue is clearly audible over background sounds, and the hard rock tunes that accompany the surfing and skating sequences are loud, deep and free of distortion. While this probably isn't going to be a showpiece for your audiovisual system, Dogtown and Z-Boys is nonetheless a great-sounding, great-looking DVD.

While I usually find animated menus more trouble than they're worth, the menus on the Dogtown and Z-Boys DVD are quite attractive, and manage to effectively capture the energy and attitude of the skaters. The most visible extra on the disc is the Extended Skate Footage, an "interactive" feature that places an icon onscreen during certain skate sequences. Pressing Enter on your remote will show you some extra footage which, while cool, tends to break up the flow of the movie a bit too much. I would rather see these clips edited together as a single montage, but what are you gonna do? There is a single Deleted Scene (listed as an "alternate ending") which depicts a private pool skating session with Tony Alva and some friends. A cool theatrical trailer shows some early cuts of the film alongside trailers for other Sony Pictures films (XXX? Yeeargh!). The disc also contains some DVD-ROM content (most notably Production Notes) which is completely unaccessible on my Macintosh. Drat.

Dogtown and Z-Boys is a high-quality DVD filled with sharp video and kickin' audio. The vintage skate footage alone is worth the price of admission, but the slick editing and honest interviews really turn the film into something special. This is requisite viewing for fans of skateboarding, and will likely find favor with fans of documentary films. I know it's one of the most entertaining documentaries I've ever seen, and Dogtown and Z-Boys comes highly recommended. I guaranteed this is one history lesson that won't bore you to sleep.