Dogtown and Z-Boys

Dogtown and Z-Boys (2002) is Stacy Peralta's documentary about the birth of modern skateboarding, free to watch online on iFILM. Sean Penn narrates.

In the mid-1970s a crew of teenagers from the rough beach turf where Venice meets Santa Monica — Dogtown — rewired what a skateboard could do. They brought a surfer's low, carving style to concrete, then discovered that the empty backyard pools of drought-stricken LA made a perfect vertical playground. Jay Adams, Tony Alva and Peralta himself were among the Zephyr team that lit the fuse.

Peralta built the film from period Super-8 footage, Glen E. Friedman's photographs and interviews with the grown-up Z-Boys, all set to a snarling rock soundtrack. It picked up both the Directing Award and the Audience Award for documentary at Sundance. Essential viewing if you've ever wondered where extreme sports actually came from. Stream Dogtown and Z-Boys (2002) online on iFILM.