[.ca] Suburbia

The version released in 2000 by Concorde wasn't too bad:
I don't know why this dvd was re-released again especially if it wasn't improved sound or picture.I rented the one that came out in 2000 by Concorde and the problem I had was that it was presented in full screen.For an older film the picture quality of this dvd wasn't too bad.It was better then vhs quality.It was described as being digitally re-mastered.I used to have Suberbia on VHS so I noticed the improvement on this dvd released in 2000.I wanna check out the other one released in 2005 and compare.I did hear it was open-matte so hopefully the quality is ok and not as bad as some people say it is. Wow! Did it ever bring back memories seeing it after all these years.It was my generation since I was in my early teens when it came out.It has held up pretty good.They don't make movies like this anymore.After watching it I realized I sure miss those days and the 80's.

SUBURBIA:
I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST CAME ACROSS THIS MOVIE WHILE SEARCHING FOR THE DAMNED. I FIRST SAW THIS MOVIE WITH MY OLDER BROTHER AND I THOUGHT IT WAS AN AMAZING MOVIE IT SEEMED SO REAL. I WAS REALLY YOUNG I HAD TO ONLY BE 12 OR 13 MAYBE YOUNGER BUT IT BLEW ME AWAY. I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS MOVIE FOR YEARS. I HAVE SEARCHED FOR IT AT LOCAL VIDEO STORES NEVER COULD FIND IT. THIS MOVIE IS A MUST SEE. YOU WON'T FORGET IT.

One person's version of 80's punk and L.A.:
Before I became a christian, this movie was like my mantra of life. Im not kidding, this movie was that important to me at age 14/15 back in 1985. However, now that I am 32 and it's no longer the 80's, it's the year 2004, I'll say some stuff about this film. This movie depicts a story of kids in the LA area in the early 80's, who due to family problems end up running away and becoming punks. These characters are "rescued" in different ways by a group of punk kids called "TR"-"the rejected"..they live in a house in the middle of an abandoned suburban neighborhood "out by the 605" freeway in Downey, CA (which is actually a predominantly latino community in real life)..these kids are punks with spiked hair, leather jackets, ripped army surplus clothes and run down cars with the names of punk bands spray painted on them...in other words, they dont look like others. They're opposed by local "redneck" type adults who seem to have it out for the TR kids, until a showdown..in between are various concert performances from 80's LA punk bands DI, the Vandals, and tsol...a very young Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers is in the movie as Razzle, a kid who shoots cockroaches with his slingshot and loves his pet rat. Also in the movie is Chris Petersen as Jack, one of the main characters, and an actor who's only other role was a small part in Oliver Stone's Platoon I will say that this film is not entirely realistic...it's a somewhat "punk rock romanticized" version of LA. Southern Cal in this movie is seen as this place where wild dogs run around like coyotes and people sit by bonfires at night..as if LA in the early 80's was some sort of wild west frontier. Also, anyone in this movie who's not a punk rocker has no fashion whatsoever...all the non punks in the film wear random polo shirts and slacks from the discount section of Mervyn's. There's no breakdancers, pop lockers, mods, low riders, or any other style of person to compete with the punk lifestyle (styles that actually were around in real life in LA at the time)-it's either punks or t.v audience-looking "maniquins"...in a way, it's a teenager's view of the world, there's me and my group, and then there's everyone else. However, Suburbia shows the value of being a friend to others, and shows the problems of prejudice and dysfunctional families, which is somewhat the moral of the film..It's not 100% realistic as some feel, but it will show Penelope Sheris's vision of 80's punk culture-- before it was turned into the "MTV Jackass/Blink 182" "corporate version" of punk that exists now

Great Movie But Poor Transfer To DVD:
Suburbia does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the hardcore punk scene of the early 1980's. All of its music and fashion (long before the goth look became trendy) is accurately portrayed. Whereas in SLC punk where you had actors portraying punk rockers, the kids in Suburbia were actually part of the hardcore music scene. My biggest disappointment with this DVD though is it's quality. As this was one my favorite movies from my teen years, I was hoping that the DVD would be a nice clear print of the film. Instead, it looks like the film was transferred from a VHS tape. Very poor sound and video. The commentary by director Penelope Spheeris is also lacking in that she should have included some of the "punk" actors. It would have been interesting to hear their take on this film (and the hardcore scene) 20 years later. I would have given this DVD 5 stars but have subtracted two points for the poor quality of the transfer.

Good Movie, Bad DVD:
I bought this movie because I saw it on sale at the local Farm & Fleet. It was actually a very good movie and I enjoyed it, I don't care too much about content of the movie itself because I'm sure everyone else will already be reviewing it. I just cared about the DVD itself. The sound and picture is really bad and looks like it was just copied from an old VHS tape. I would expect DVD quality from a movie that has just been rereleased