Interview: Penelope Spheeris Talks Her Seminal Punk & Metal Documentaries ‘The Decline of Western Civilization’

Fans of '70s punk and '80s heavy metal have long held Penelope Spheeris' "The Decline of Western Civilization" movies as sacred texts. The first ‘Decline,’ released in 1981, is a vital document of the Los Angles punk scene, with performances by X, the Germs, the Circle Jerks, Fear and Black Flag. The music in ‘Part II: The Metal Years’ is less enduring, but the portrait of striving metalheads bent on success has a striking poignancy: You may not remember W.A.S.P.'s Spandex-clad hair metal, but you'll never forget Spheeris' interview with guitarist Chris Holmes, who floats drunkenly in a pool and douses himself in vodka while his elderly mother looks on blankly from the sidelines. The previously rare ‘Decline III’ takes that anthropological approach to the next level, focusing on L.A. gutter punks who beg for change by day and rock out by night. Although there are no continuing characters, the complete "Decline" feels like an American equivalent to the...