After scoring a critical hit with Thirteen, indie helmer Catherine Hardwicke turned her attention to the 70s skateboarding scene in Lords Of Dogtown. This "elegant rags to riches yarn" was penned by ex-skating pro Stacy Peralta who tackled the subject once before in award-winning documentary Dogtown And Z-Boys. Heath Ledger is the biggest name in the line-up, which ensured a few bums on seats.

Skating On Thin Ice

In her introduction, Hardwicke explains that this version of the film includes all the "spicy, racier" language and scenes of "illegal substance abuse" that were excised for the theatrical cut. Indeed there are a few eyebrow-raising moments, including one where Jay (Emile Hirsch) sexually harasses an old lady. Nice...

A half-hour look at the making of the film gives a quick history of the 70s skating craze before explaining how the project got off the ground. The script was shopped around for years until Hardwicke crashed onto the scene with Thirteen - a saviour for Peralta who didn't want the film to become "another Porky's or a Fast And The Furious". As well as notes on location scouting and production design, the actors chip in with their thoughts on the story, eg Ledger describes his character as a "Faginistic" type who plays father to the younger skaters.

Six more featurettes offer nuggets of behind-the-scenes action, including all the "bails and spills", ie actors falling off their skateboards. Inevitably there were a lot of injuries, but surprisingly it was Hardwicke who took the hardest fall, fracturing her orbital bone after she drove into an empty swimming pool. For comedy relief, there's fantastic footage of a skateboarding bulldog and makeup tests that play like really bad shampoo ads. Elsewhere, there's a tribute to Peralta and his old cohorts as they prepare to shoot their cameos.

Freewheeling

The cast show off more of their mad skating skills among nine deleted scenes, which are otherwise made up of rather bland transitional scenes. Hardwicke doesn't provide commentary for these, but she does guide us through the main feature along with actors John Robinson, Victor Rasuk and Emile Hirsch. Although the word "rad" pops up now and then, this is a fairly incisive track where Hardwicke reveals the tricks of the trade. For instance, 80s skate icon Lance Mountain took to his board with a film camera to shoot the mobile action.

Wrapping up the extras package is a gag reel (where Rasuk shamelessly pees in his wet suit!), a music video and three storyboard-to-scene comparisons. Overall Heath Ledger fans might feel a little short-changed by his reluctance to talk, but this Dogtown DVD still covers a lot of ground.

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