The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

Special guest: Penelope Spheeris; other guests to be announced

New 35mm print

Penelope Spheeris delves into the clubs and bars of late 80's Hollywood to reveal the absurd heights (or lows?) of rockstar debauchery in Part II of her Decline of Western Civilization trilogy. The Metal Years finds marquee hard rockers such as Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy Kilmister and Kiss’s Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley sharing the screen with such aspiring acts as Odin, London and Lizzy Borden. Interviewing her subjects with disarming candor, Spheeris documents the booze-fueled braggadocio and lurid theatrics of musicians blinkered by their aspirations to achieve platinum-certified immortality. Throughout her 30-year directing career, Spheeris has worked in both studio pictures (such as the smash hit Wayne’s World) and independent productions. The Decline trilogy, which began in 1981 when Spheeris filmed Los Angeles’ punk scene, remains an indelible landmark of American cinema.

1988, 93 minutes, color, 35mm | Directed by Penelope Spheeris; with Aerosmith, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and W.A.S.P.