When a couple of San Fernando Valley insurance salesmen asked Penelope Spheeris if she'd direct a porn film, she countered with something entirely different: a punk rock movie. That pitch became The Decline of Western Civilization (1981, 100 min), capturing Black Flag, X, Germs and other bands at the raw, DIY heart of the Los Angeles punk scene as the decade turned. Entertaining and deeply thorough in equal measure, it remains one of the most influential documentaries ever made about punk rock. English language. Free entrance.
