Michael_Elliott The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998) **** (out of 4)This third and to date final entry in Penelope Spheeris' series takes us back to the punk rock scene just like the first film but instead of looking at the people on the stage this here takes a look at the punk kids who are mostly homeless and living on the streets.This third film in certainly a lot different than the first two in the series and if you're looking for a fun time you're aren't going to find it here. I say that because these "kids" are all a rather sad bunch and I can't help but be somewhat judgmental here. Sure, the film itself doesn't judge this kids and that's what makes it great because the director really digs into the subject but as a viewer you can't help but form an opinion.The film takes a honest look at the subjects and that includes some of them that were abused by their parents as well as many who see only death in their future. The film shines a spotlight on these kids who are homeless, living in the streets and bugging people for a little change to try and earn a few bucks for alcohol. They steal what food they eat and they have very little to no plans to be an adult, get a job or do something with their lives.As I said, I respect Spheeris for not being judgmental and instead just showing the kids and their situation as is. Of course, it's rather ironic that the kids are constantly badmouthing the police yet look at how they live. It's easy to see why these kids would hate the "establishment" and it's because they don't want rules and instead want to do things their way. Watching this twenty-years after its release I can't help but wonder what happened to these kids.

julian kennedy The Decline of Western Civilization Part III: In the third of the Decline films, director Penelope Spheeris revisits the punk scene she illuminated in her first Decline film. Here she finds the struggle of street kids and young adults in West Hollywood trying to make it day by day, fighting off attacks from skinheads and following the ever decreasing number of punk bands that remain in the scene.The Good: Like her previous two films Spheeris highlights some bands and one of them is actually pretty good. Naked Aggression led by lead singer Kirsten Patches seemed like America's answer to Chumbawamba. The band even shows their not inconsiderable classical music chops. As Todd in the Shadows would say they deserved better.The Bad: In 1999 Rory Kennedy made a documentary about a family in Appalachia that had been beset by poverty for the last 100 years. Being the youngest daughter of Robert F Kennedy this was a topic that was close to her heart. Her film American Hollow would expose us to the real people behind the poverty and help bring in a new age of help for those folks dependent on handouts whom the American Dream had passed by.Unfortunately for Rory, her film features the laziest bunch of yokels this side of Jerry Springer. Rory simple didn't see it. One cannot watch her film and not think we need to cut welfare of yesterday and get these people a clue.Spheeris doesn't see it as well. Yes, the kids featured are broken. In reality, many of them are pretty horrible people. There is a scene where they all crash at a poor black man's apartment. He is in a wheelchair from an auto accident, doesn't drink and lives in a humble one bedroom. About sixty of these street hooligans pile in there as if it was a scene from Aronofsky's Mother!. They trash the place beyond recovery and the look of pain in the man's eyes is haunting. He just wanted a friend.Spheeris does her interviews like the previous two films and once again most of her subjects are understandably about as deep as a puddle. She seems interested in the dirt about how they left home but leaves some obvious questions on the table. Starting with why are they dressed in fashions that went out of style before they were born.In conclusion: Punk is long dead by the time the documentary starts. The bands, with one exception noted above, are barely garage bands and the fans are begging for a dollar to buy a pint of MD 20/20. Apparently, there are skinhead Nazis that prey on these youth but we never see one and Spheeris really drops the ball not getting one to sit down and tell their story.On some level, it is an interesting look at a slice of life on the margins but the combination of bad people and bad music make this an unpleasant ride. One wishes for a filmmaker who could see what she really was looking at.

ReganRebecca Having now watched the entire Decline of Western Civilization series, newly restored and released as one, I can officially say Part III is my favourite of the trilogy. While the previous films focused on beginner punk bands in L.A. (part I), and then the heavy metal following of the 80s (part II), part III nearly completely abandons the musical aspect of the series to instead focus on the punk followers. Spheeris engages with a group of homeless youth living in downtown L.A. They are mostly teens and mostly look healthy and okay but as she interviews the children they reveal, with unflinching honesty, the abuse that led them to the streets, the boredom of their lives, and their total lack of hope (in one truly touching sequence Spheeris asks her group of misfits where they think they will be in 5 years; most of them reply that they'll be dead. A truly heartbreaking look at the forgotten youth of America.

verbusen I needed to clean my DVR for space and I saw I recorded this. Out of the hundred choices I had I started to watch this one, because I had much younger memories of the first film, I decided to watch this one 35 years after I watched it in a Midwest town I was driving through at the age of 17 or 18 transferring bases in the Navy. I was into punk back then but also into new wave more. There were like a dozen people my age in the theater, I had no luck finding a party afterwards and slept in my car in the theater parking lot before heading out on the road. Fun times. Anyway, as far as this film goes, I thinks it's pretty well made. There are a few grainy video scenes but it's acceptable. It's really interesting in that I watched it all, but I was interested in how this scene in 1998 was so different then the late 70- early 80's (I grew up in NYC so was slightly exposed to punk since I was 13). The politics has gone completely to the left wing, and it's like a political movement now in many regards. Before (to me), punk was rebellion against the grind of the working class, the band Naked Aggression (which has too much film time) was clear cut militant left, the whole burn everything down thing. I heard the band Fear in the film recording of Have Another Beer, but she didn't go to one of their concerts who I'm sure was touring at the time, they are definitely right wing. It would have been cool to see Fear's audience and contrast it with Naked Aggression's audience, probably a big difference. I just remembered that I had bought all the Fear CD's around the time this was made, I was in my late 30's and listening to Fear. It's also interesting for me to see the left associated with a lifestyle that is so depraved. These are young youth mostly but the older ones are really looking pretty grim after years of this lifestyle which probably includes things that will destroy your brain. Flea is interviewed also, he says basically that things suck on the streets now compared to the early 80's. He doesn't really elaborate much. The first singer for Black Flagg, Keith Morris, is also interviewed and he blamed the GOP, which I found amusing. Maybe he was railing against the state government at the time headed by Pete Wilson, but Bill Clinton was President, lol. Punk bands do that but it was lame that he went after the GOP like that. Good time capsule and if you are interested in punk music it is very interesting to watch. I was entertained. FYI, there is not much on Wikipedia about the people in this film but a blog of a women who interviewed Squid and Spoon the same time this film was made had a commenter say she killed herself in prison Sep 10 2001.