Unavailable on home video for many years (except perhaps as a grainy, nth-generation VHS bootleg), Penelope Spheeris' seminal document of the young 1979-1980 Los Angeles punk scene includes chaotic live performances by now-legendary groups like Black Flag (with short-lived lead singer Ron "Chavo Pederast" Reyes), X (giving themselves stick-and-poke tattoos) and the Germs (whose unpredictable lead singer Darby Crash would commit suicide before the film's release) interwoven with talking-head interviews with teenage punks and, most entertainingly, older club owners trying very hard to describe a growing form of music they were clearly unprepared for. The footage of Fear's confrontational set would later grab the attention of John Belushi, who snagged the band a 1981 appearance on Saturday Night Live (and resulted in $20,000 in damage to the studio). - Tom Fritsche

Unavailable on home video for many years (except perhaps as a grainy, nth-generation VHS bootleg), Penelope Spheeris' seminal document of the young 1979-1980 Los Angeles punk scene includes chaotic live performances by now-legendary groups like Black Flag (with short-lived lead singer Ron "Chavo Pederast" Reyes), X (giving themselves stick-and-poke tattoos) and the Germs (whose unpredictable lead singer Darby Crash would commit suicide before the film's release) interwoven with talking-head interviews with teenage punks and, most entertainingly, older club owners trying very hard to describe a growing form of music they were clearly unprepared for. The footage of Fear's confrontational set would later grab the attention of John Belushi, who snagged the band a 1981 appearance on Saturday Night Live (and resulted in $20,000 in damage to the studio). - Tom Fritsche

The third (and seemingly final) installment in Penelope Spheeris' Los Angeles music trilogy, THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION III follows not the punk acts of Los Angeles from 1996-1997 but their homeless teenaged fans. Musician interviews in this DECLINE are fewer but include interesting musings from Keith Morris from the Circle Jerks and Flea (credited as the "ex-bass player of Fear"). DECLINE III lives up to its title as Spheeris explores every facet of the gutter-punk life, from their damaged upbringings (nearly all were abused or neglected as children) to the self-destructive lives they lead on society's fringe (alcoholism, homelessness and run-ins with skinheads, among others). - Tom Fritsche

The third (and seemingly final) installment in Penelope Spheeris' Los Angeles music trilogy, THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION III follows not the punk acts of Los Angeles from 1996-1997 but their homeless teenaged fans. Musician interviews in this DECLINE are fewer but include interesting musings from Keith Morris from the Circle Jerks and Flea (credited as the "ex-bass player of Fear"). DECLINE III lives up to its title as Spheeris explores every facet of the gutter-punk life, from their damaged upbringings (nearly all were abused or neglected as children) to the self-destructive lives they lead on society's fringe (alcoholism, homelessness and run-ins with skinheads, among others). - Tom Fritsche

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is a documentary film directed by Penelope Spheeris about the Los Angeles heavy metal scene from 1986 to 1988.

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is a documentary film directed by Penelope Spheeris about the Los Angeles heavy metal scene from 1986 to 1988.

We are in East Berlin, 1978. It’s summer, three years after Wassilly’s death. Nelly’s boyfriend and Alexei’s father died in a car accident in Russia. Since he is dead, Nelly wants to leave too. Away from the GDR, to leave the grief and the memories behind. To get a fresh start. That should be possible in the West, or so Nelly believes.

We are in East Berlin, 1978. It’s summer, three years after Wassilly’s death. Nelly’s boyfriend and Alexei’s father died in a car accident in Russia. Since he is dead, Nelly wants to leave too. Away from the GDR, to leave the grief and the memories behind. To get a fresh start. That should be possible in the West, or so Nelly believes.

The new series on Renaissance painting, written and presented by Matthew Collings, begins with an artistic investigation into one of the most radiant and beautiful images in all of art history, The Madonna of the Meadow, painted in 1505 by Raphael. 　　Renaissance art has become part of the 21st-century heritage industry but when Raphael was alive, it was a startling new form of visual expression, and Raphael's vibrant 'realism' was striking and fresh. It became the model for western art for the next 400 years, right up until the birth of Modernism. 　　As much as it was a cultural 'rebirth', the Renaissance was also a revolution in ideas about reality. Matthew Collings sets out to remind us of how radical Renaissance paintings were when they were made, as well as opening our eyes to what is still truly great about them. In this programme he deconstructs The Madonna of the Meadow with the help of the very latest high-resolution digital technology, which allows him to explore the inner secrets of Raphael's painterly effects with a clarity and at a level of detail never before seen on television. 　　As Matthew says, it is a journey 'to the other side of an illusion', revealing how Raphael created the alluring images that were so appealing to his wealthy Renaissance clients - including the Pope - and which entranced artists for centuries after his death. Matthew explains the secret to Raphael's vibrant colour harmonies, which the artist grasped intuitively, long before the advent of colour 'theory'; and Raphael also knew how to exploit colour effects to create the impression of extraordinary depth in his paintings.

The new series on Renaissance painting, written and presented by Matthew Collings, begins with an artistic investigation into one of the most radiant and beautiful images in all of art history, The Madonna of the Meadow, painted in 1505 by Raphael. 　　Renaissance art has become part of the 21st-century heritage industry but when Raphael was alive, it was a startling new form of visual expression, and Raphael's vibrant 'realism' was striking and fresh. It became the model for western art for the next 400 years, right up until the birth of Modernism. 　　As much as it was a cultural 'rebirth', the Renaissance was also a revolution in ideas about reality. Matthew Collings sets out to remind us of how radical Renaissance paintings were when they were made, as well as opening our eyes to what is still truly great about them. In this programme he deconstructs The Madonna of the Meadow with the help of the very latest high-resolution digital technology, which allows him to explore the inner secrets of Raphael's painterly effects with a clarity and at a level of detail never before seen on television. 　　As Matthew says, it is a journey 'to the other side of an illusion', revealing how Raphael created the alluring images that were so appealing to his wealthy Renaissance clients - including the Pope - and which entranced artists for centuries after his death. Matthew explains the secret to Raphael's vibrant colour harmonies, which the artist grasped intuitively, long before the advent of colour 'theory'; and Raphael also knew how to exploit colour effects to create the impression of extraordinary depth in his paintings.