Lords of Dogtown

Play trailer

Lords of Dogtown

PG-13

2005

1h 46m

Biography

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

06/11/2005

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.

Go to Full Review

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

06/06/2005

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

Go to Full Review

Nell Minow

Movie Mom

06/05/2005

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.

Go to Full Review

Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

08/16/2024

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.

Go to Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

08/23/2022

3.5/5

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

Go to Full Review

Mattie Lucas

The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)

06/05/2019

3.5/4

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

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Stephen C

@bob25009 Nov 4

Based on a true story in 1 hour and 46 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ages 13 and older!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The worldwide gross is $13,411,957.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See more

Janis E

@JansEd Oct 13

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.

See more

thiago s

@Thiagostone Sep 25

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

See more

Mourning K

@RT13706623 Jul 21

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

See more

Emily C

@RT81644051 04/05/2025

Absolutely love this film. Yes it’s not the best film ever made but it’s highly entertaining and the soundtrack is wicked. Always love rewatching this.

See more

Glen L

@RT65232538 03/24/2025

This might not hit as deep as the documentary, but it is well acted and has a great score

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

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

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Skip's Troubles

2:56

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Fame and Fortune

1:29

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Skateboard Championship

2:57

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - No Team Anymore

2:17

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Skating with Sid

3:30

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Not Looking Good

2:17

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Surfing the Streets

3:17

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Sorry I Left

2:55

Lords of Dogtown: Official Clip - Bailing on Skip

2:59

View more videos

Cinderella Man

80%

91%

Cinderella Man

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Cinderella Man

The Sea Inside

85%

92%

The Sea Inside

Watchlist

Flash of Genius

62%

55%

Flash of Genius

Watchlist

The Blind Side

66%

85%

The Blind Side

Watchlist

Beyond the Sea

43%

64%

Beyond the Sea

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

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)

Most Popular at Home Now