Artist Dogtown And Z-Boys
Skateboarding is one of the few sports invented recently enough that its founders are still around and capable of participating in a conversation about its origins. That's why Stacy Peralta's 2001 documentary Dogtown And Z-Boys is so enjoyable; not only are most of the original members of the Zephyr Skate Team—which revolutionized the use of what was previously a kids' toy and turned it into a daring modern sport with the use of high-flying aerobatics—still around, but Peralta was one of them. He combines his intimate knowledge of the scene's social origins with a keen visual sensibility and a joyful mythologizing that never gets too self-serious. It all adds up to one of the finest sports documentaries in recent years.
Updated 11/02/2009
