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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  • Dual Layer ( )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
  • None
  Extras
  • 5 Theatrical trailer
  • Audio commentary
  • 3 Featurette
  • Photo gallery
  • Animated menus
  • Jacket picture

Chlorine

Madman Entertainment/AV Channel . R4 . COLOR . 47 mins . M15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Back when I was a little tacker there were no ramps or skate parks so we had to make do with what little concrete we could find. Where I grew up there were no backyard pools and if there were they had that horrible pebble crap all over them and you can’t skate on that.

This is not the case for people south of Los Angeles. After the oil market crashed in 1974, thousands of people lost their homes and abandoned their resorts leaving hundreds of pools falling into disrepair. Then came the skaters who fed on the decay of civilisation. Posing as pool cleaners or mosquito control, they cleaned ‘em up, got in there and skated.

"After skating a pool the ramp seems kinda boring…"

It’s not like these places weren’t under surveillance though and even if some place is abandoned, the police don’t look favourably upon trespassers, so the underground pool movement began in earnest. This is where the old-school skaters still do their stuff, reminiscing on the old days when pools were it as far as skating goes. Actually, to these guys skating pools is still it, even if they’re older and wiser now with kids and homes of their own.

Shot in a documentary format with a shaky portable camera, the only real flaw with this documentary is that it’s too short! There is stacks of awesome pool skating footage but I wanted more. Running for 47 minutes it covers the underground pool skating movement in a fun and humourously law-breaking manner, but there just isn’t enough skating. Some of the best skaters in the world are all here doing crazy backyard stunts and break-ins and yet we are disappointed in skating content. There’s still some awesome stuff, don’t get me wrong, but I can watch dudes skate all day. There shoulda been more.

  Video
Contract

Shot to video, the film looks fairly okay for the most part, but is in that mildly grainy/mildly poor resolution documentary format. There’s plenty shot in poor light too or over-saturated light and the colour leans heavily on the greeny-blues, but it’s still pretty cool. This delivery suits the underground feeling anyway, so actually works in the doco’s favour.

We still manage to get a 1.85:1 transfer, but no anamorphic enhancement, unfortunately. The picture quality overall is fairly washed out, but as noted, it suits the film. There are plenty of well-captured skating moments where the camera's mobility is definitely a plus and this serves the purpose just fine.

  Audio
Contract

Only a Dolby Digital stereo delivery with the music emptying into the subwoofer and out again like gangbusters. Dialogue is often low when pool scouting is taking place, but occasionally the levels are out in the dialogue to music ratio. Some moments of playback from the phone or answering machines aren’t real good though, I gotta say. Too low.

Music is killer with plenty of metal tracks really amping up the volume and even an impromptu banjo performance in a second hand store gets thrown in for good measure. Julie Angel (a name that enters very many aspects of the film’s production) is credited with scouting the tracks and she’s chosen very judiciously to support the particular item of discussion or skating action. A score of sorts is performed by Pete Isaac and his hip-hop beats do the rest of the support work, bringing a very specific essence of rebellion to the piece.

Brilliantly, we get numerous previously unreleased tracks from Devo as well! These add serious weight to the film's quirky feel and to the non-conformist edge. I love the soundtrack and it comes across in the transfer beautifully.

  Extras
Contract

A few fun things are thrown in here, including an audio commentary by major interviewees Steve Alba (Salba) and Dave Reul (Reuler). These guys are having as much fun in the AC as they do in the film and they lend further detail to their dialogues within the film.

Inside the case, you'll discover a fairly large (coaster sized) Madman logo sticker of good quality that will look just gnarly on yer deck. Very thoughtful!

Secret Spots is a couple of surreptitious pool rides with Tony Burger who shoots his own video. And he gets busted, which is pretty funny even if the pools are disappointing to him. This runs for an edited 7:52 in 4:3.

Eye On L. A. is the complete original film footage from a million years ago used sporadically throughout the film. This details pool skating way back when and features Salba and Reul when they were young and had bad hairdos. Funny and authentic, this is a short bit from a show that turned up on The Simpsons as Eye On Springfield.

Lance Mountain’s Super 8 Diaries are home video he shot back in the ’80s. Lance Mountain, while an awesome skater, is sort of the skate nerd of the pool movement. As he also claims, he’s not a real pool skater because he’s never been busted. This is set to music, naturally without sound effects due to being Super 8, and runs for a comical and well-edited 3:34.

The photo gallery features many images from the film and photos shot on location. This runs like a short film for 6:41 and holds some truly great shots and images of disgraceful urban decay. Might I say Welcome Los Tieres and Dr. Norte.

Finally a bunch of related trailers for Chlorine in the Australian and US trailers, American Misfits which seems to be another in the Jackass mindset plus Warren Miller’s Storm which looks absolutely incredible. Lastly comes Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator, the popular figure of ’80s skating.

It’s a nice collection of extras here that adds weight to the shorter documentary of the film.

  Overall  
Contract

Chlorine is for anyone who ever got on a skateboard and felt the thrill of controlling it. It’s also for anyone who ever crashed and burned or ‘ate shit’ as the expression goes today. The good-natured criminal aspect of it all adds a certain charm that’s hard to resist and some of the skating is unbelievable. Just as unbelievable is the urban decay just 55 miles from Central Los Angeles where motels and hotels and private residences are literally laying uninhabited and rotting away.

This is just great fun for anyone who likes a little extreme in their sport or anyone who remembers their youth fondly, but wouldn’t really want to go back to it.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=3718
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      And I quote...
    "This is for anyone who remembers the feeling the first time they pulled off a semi-decent stunt on a skateboard… or busted their arm trying."
    - Jules Faber
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Teac DVD-990
    • TV:
          AKAI CT-T29S32S 68cm
    • Speakers:
          Teac PLS-60 Home Theatre System
    • Centre Speaker:
          Teac PLS-60 Home Theatre System
    • Surrounds:
          Teac PLS-60 Home Theatre System
    • Subwoofer:
          Akai
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          Standard Component RCA
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