Lords of Dogtown

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Lords of Dogtown

PG-13

2005

1h 46m

Biography

Drama

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Popcornmeter

55%

Tomatometer

146 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

A drought in the 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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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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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Jun 11, 2005

2.5/4

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.

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Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Jun 6, 2005

These kids can act, and they can ride those boards.

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Jun 5, 2005

B

They maintained their balance on dangerous skateboard stunts but wiped out the way anyone who has ever watched an epsiode of VH1: Behind the Music knows all too well.

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Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

Aug 16, 2024

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.

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Aug 23, 2022

3.5/5

The outfits, the cars, the lingo, the fantastic soundtrack – it’s all used seamlessly to recreate a highly believable 1970’s.

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Ellie Lucas

The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)

Jun 5, 2019

3.5/4

The feelings, emotions, language, every nuance and every frame comes alive with astonishing authenticity.

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andrea C

@Charst May 28, 2026

Vero film underground che non si accontenta di essere un classico biopic sulla storia di alcuni personaggi famosi con una storia da raccontare, ma rimane fedele alle origini dello skateboard e dei suoi interpreti senza mai scendere a compromessi sullo stile di regia e di montaggio. Può piacere o no, ma la scelta della regista è coraggiosa e viene ripagata da un film che si vive ad alta velocità, con primi piani movimentati, dialoghi urlati ed acrobazie folli. Il racconto dei tre protagonisti è schietto e poco romanzato, tra birra, divertimento e risse si trova anche lo spazio per qualche momento più personale e drammatico. Almeno mezzo punto in più per un finale emozionante ed intimo, perfetta chiusura del cerchio.

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Ian R

@RT23899272 Apr 20, 2026

I lived through this skateboard craze as a child. They exploded overnight. No carpark or building front was without skaters. That part of the 1970's was really well recreated. Otherwise, this film was rather routine. I'm Australian 🇭🇲 and Heath Ledger sucked in this movie. He ponced around in dark sunglasses trying to act cool. He came off as a bit of a looser. The backstory is more interesting than what is left in this movie. It's a shame, because the cast could of been given more to do.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Nov 4, 2025

The worldwide gross is $13,411,957.00.

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Janis E

@JansEd Oct 13, 2025

Lords of Dogtown is an interesting look at the start of an ever increasingly more popular part of American youth culture, but often settles for surface gloss instead of introspection.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Sep 25, 2025

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Mourning K

@RT13706623 Jul 21, 2025

An awesome slice of life movie that brought me back to skating.

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Catherine Hardwicke

Director

Emile Hirsch

Jay Adams

Victor Rasuk

Tony Alva

John Robinson

Stacy Peralta

Michael Angarano

Sid

Nikki Reed

Kathy Alva

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Pool Skating

2:16

Now Playing

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Skip's Troubles

2:56

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Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Fame and Fortune

1:29

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Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Skateboard Championship

2:57

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Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - No Team Anymore

2:17

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Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Skating with Sid

3:30

Now Playing

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Not Looking Good

2:17

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Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Surfing the Streets

3:17

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Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Sorry I Left

2:55

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Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Bailing on Skip

2:59

Now Playing

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Synopsis

A drought in the 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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