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Lords of Dogtown

Play trailer Poster for Lords of Dogtown PG-13 Released Jun 3, 2005 1h 46m Biography Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
55% Tomatometer 146 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
A drought in 1970s Southern California has an unexpected side effect: as people empty their swimming pools, a group of teen surfers from the Dogtown area of Venice Beach move in with skateboards, and a new sport is born. Based on a true story, this film follows Z-Boys skate team members Stacy Peralta (John Robinson), Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk) and Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch), plus manager Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger), as their fearless pool surfing leads to fame, fortune -- and misfortune.
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Lords of Dogtown

Lords of Dogtown

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Critics Consensus

Lords of Dogtown, while slickly made and edited, lacks the depth and entertaining value of the far superior documentary on the same subject, Dogtown and Z-Boys.

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Critics Reviews

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Empire Magazine Rated: 3/5 Sep 16, 2005 Full Review Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle Rated: 3.5/5 Jun 12, 2005 Full Review Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com If anything, Lords of Dogtown is an incredibly standard rise and fall tale of a friendship pushed to its limits by unforeseen superstardom. If you're looking for anything different or unusual, it might be best to take a look someplace else. Rated: 2.5/4 Jun 11, 2005 Full Review Marya E. Gates Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack) Heath Ledger is like a shot of lightning in his early supporting role as surf shop owner Skip Engblom, who co-formed the Zephyr skate team aka the Z-Boys. Aug 16, 2024 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies The outfits, the cars, the lingo, the fantastic soundtrack – it’s all used seamlessly to recreate a highly believable 1970’s. Rated: 3.5/5 Aug 23, 2022 Full Review Mattie Lucas The Dispatch (Lexington, NC) The feelings, emotions, language, every nuance and every frame comes alive with astonishing authenticity. Rated: 3.5/4 Jun 5, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Gareth v Not a bad movie, but not a great one either. If you're into skateboarding this will be right up your alley. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/24 Full Review Nawt W As a rear-view look at the beginning of the new progressive skateboarding style pioneered by a few street rascals from Santa Monica who incorporated their surfing skills into their enthusiasm, it's pretty palatable. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/19/23 Full Review Bruce S This really makes you wanna go out and skate with your homies Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/12/23 Full Review Ryan O Great movie. Based on a true story. Good peice of history for the kids. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/16/23 Full Review Dave Admittedly not as good as the documentary Dogtown and z boys but if you like the subject matter you'll enjoy the film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Good acting. Not a fan of the writing Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/12/22 Full Review Read all reviews
Lords of Dogtown

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Cast & Crew

Lords of Dogtown

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Pool Skating Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Pool Skating 2:16 Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Skip's Troubles Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Skip's Troubles 2:56 Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Fame and Fortune Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Fame and Fortune 1:29 Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Skateboard Championship Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Skateboard Championship 2:57 Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - No Team Anymore Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - No Team Anymore 2:17 Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Skating with Sid Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Skating with Sid 3:30 Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Not Looking Good Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Not Looking Good 2:17 Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Surfing the Streets Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Surfing the Streets 3:17 Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Sorry I Left Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Sorry I Left 2:55 Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Bailing on Skip Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Bailing on Skip 2:59 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis A drought in 1970s Southern California has an unexpected side effect: as people empty their swimming pools, a group of teen surfers from the Dogtown area of Venice Beach move in with skateboards, and a new sport is born. Based on a true story, this film follows Z-Boys skate team members Stacy Peralta (John Robinson), Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk) and Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch), plus manager Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger), as their fearless pool surfing leads to fame, fortune -- and misfortune.
Director
Catherine Hardwicke
Producer
Joseph Drake, John Linson
Screenwriter
Stacy Peralta, Catherine Hardwicke
Distributor
Columbia Tristar, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co
Indelible Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Drug and Alcohol Content|All Involving Teens|Violence|Language|Reckless Behavior|Sexuality)
Genre
Biography, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 3, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$11.0M
Runtime
1h 46m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.37:1)
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