Video Days

Last updated
Video Days
Video Days.jpg
Directed by Spike Jonze
Produced bySpike Jonze
Starring
Edited bySpike Jonze
Distributed by Blind Skateboards
Release date
  • 1991 (1991)
Running time
24 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Video Days is a skateboarding video by Blind Skateboards released in 1991, which is often credited as the most important skate video of all time. [1]

Contents

Video Days is the first movie/video directed by Spike Jonze and stars Mark Gonzales, Guy Mariano, Rudy Johnson, Jordan Richter, and Jason Lee. Legendary professional skateboarder Danny Way was briefly on Blind Skateboards from 1990–1991 and shot some footage for Video Days. However, he soon quit Blind, returning to his original team H-Street Skateboards and his footage for Video Days was omitted. A brief shot of Way can be seen during Gonzales' part in this video.

Synopsis

The film starts off with footage of all 5 skaters driving around in a Blue Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency accompanied to the song "Low Rider" by War; this car becomes the central theme for the video. Each skater's name is introduced while riding in the car which is then followed by footage of them performing a trick. The car then drives along a road until out of frame which then reveals a sunset overlooking a forest.

Guy Mariano's name is displayed in white writing in front of a black background thus beginning his part. Then footage of Guy performing several tricks is shown before the accompanied song ("I Want You Back" by Jackson 5) starts playing. Guy Mariano continues to primarily skate in places such as schools, car parks and streets. His part ends with him sliding a rail and being in disbelief about it.

Jordan Richter's name is then displayed while the accompanying song ("My War" by Black Flag) starts playing. Jordan then proceeds to skate primarily half-pipes and vert-based skateparks (with some footage of him skating in car parks). His part ends abruptly after he performs a no handed air and the song ends.

Mark Gonzales' name is then displayed; then footage of the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is shown with Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) saying "We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams". The accompanying song ("Traneing In" by John Coltrane and the Red Garland Trio) starts playing. Mark then proceeds to skate a wide variety of locations including car parks, streets, ditches, basketball courts, half pipes and plazas. Short and silent snippets of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory do appear throughout this part. The part ends when Mark frontside boardslides a rail and then loses his board. Then footage of a young British girl saying "I hope you've enjoyed the skateboarding and everything else, that's all folks, goodbye. And this is from...", she then gives a confused look to someone off camera.

Then footage is shown of all five skaters riding in the Blue Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency interacting with various "Support our troops" protesters on the sidewalk. Jason Lee yells to the protesters the infamous line "No War for Heavy Metal!".

Rudy Johnson's name is displayed while the accompanying song ("Just Like Heaven" by Dinosaur Jr.) starts playing. Rudy then skates such locations as streets, car parks, plazas and Embarcadero (in San Francisco). Rudy's part ends abruptly as he performs an Ollie one foot to lipslide on a rail and almost runs into the camera.

Jason Lee's name is displayed before he addresses the camera and says "You know I'll give you a hundred bucks and I'll take you out to Benihana's if you slide that 75 foot handrail". He then pulls a face at the camera and says "I'll give you 600 tries, I'll be back next week". Then he proceeds to skate when the accompanying song ("The Knife Song" by Milk) comes on. He skates various car parks, plazas, streets, schools etc. in his part. About 3/4 of the way through his part the song changes to "Real World" by Hüsker Dü. Then a newspaper reading "AMERICA GOES TO WAR: COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE GULF CRISIS" is shown, then Jason Lee proceeds to sing a song that goes:

"There's a war outside of your window
It's destroying our world
So take the hand of a boy and a girl
And walk down the street and sing a happy song to make the make the world better
Peace on Earth
Environment
Religion and pray to God"

His part then fades to black.

Then a voice is heard which says "There's a liquor right there, dude, so pull over, it's a yellow sign". Then "Lowrider" by War is played again as several shots of all 5 skaters drinking alcoholic beverages while riding in their signature Blue Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency. The car then drives onto a narrow dirt road where it slowly starts to lose control. The car then falls off the dirt road and rolls down a big hill where it then crashes into a pile of rocks.

The credits then roll, with each skater performing a trick in slow motion, with "Cancion mixteca" by Ry Cooder playing and with "(birthdate-1991)" under the name of each skater (except for Rudy Johnson which the number 1-900-810-3611 is displayed).

Reception

Video Days has had a positive feedback from critics and is considered an important part in skateboarding history and culture.

Trashfilter.com has praised Video Days stating that " 'The best skate video of all time? Really?' When you take into a number of factors into account, then you soon realise that it's a deserving title. The story behind the first video from the Blind skateboard team back in 1991 is a much-fabled tale. But strip everything back to the raw skating within and it still holds its legendary status". [2]

Thrasher has inducted 3 out of the 5 skateboarding parts (Jason Lee, Mark Gonzales and Guy Mariano) in Video Days into their "classics" video section. [3] [4] [5] Thrasher has praised Video Days saying "The Blind guys didn't set out to make skate history in 1991, and that makes this video's legendary status even better." [6]

Huck writer Jay Riggio both praised and described his history with Video Days stating "The video was almost too much to take in. From the mind-blowing skating to the documented personalities of my heroes, absorbing it in small intervals was my only option. I can’t go as far as to say that I recognized the genius of Video Days off the bat, nor can I say that I even placed much importance on Spike Jonze’s onscreen credit back then – I had only recognized his name from photo credits in skate mags. All I knew was that Video Days made me want to skate like never before. There was magic in it that to this day seems difficult to place." [7]

SkimTheFat reviewer "Thrashathon" [8] rated Video Days 5 stars (out of five), stating "Video Days has become a standard for skate videos for the last 10 years and will continue for the next 10. The street skating is amazing and still fires me up to this day. It features some of the all-time best skaters, and skating that is excellent even when compared with today's standards. Throughout the 360 flips, handrails, gaps, manual variations, and bluntslides, the eclectic soundtrack fully complements the video. I would highly recommend watching this video over all other videos." [9]

Jason Lee's impromptu song at the end of his part caught the attention of Clerks director Kevin Smith, who would later cast Lee in Smith's follow-up film Mallrats , thus launching Lee's acting career. [ citation needed ]

Although the car crash at the end was not intended to be serious, at the time, many people thought the team had actually died.[ citation needed ].

20th anniversary reunion

For their February/March 2011 issue, Skateboarder Magazine organized a reunion photo shoot with all 5 skaters to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Video Days. [12]

Skateboarder Magazine's photographer John Bradford quoted on skateboardermag.com "To tell you the truth I was a little jealous of Jaime Owens when he told me he’d be shooting the Video Days guys for the article. He’s usually the one holding everything together down in the office while photographers like me and Mehring are out and about shooting what needs to be shot. Plus, I’m of an age where I grew up in the ’90′s (like Jaime), and can vividly remember the earth figuratively shaking when Video Days first dropped. I have a 2 decade old nervous tick of starting to whistle the John Coltrane song from Gonz’ part, which often reminds me of how many times I watched it before and after school, and on the weekends before I went skating… so I of course started drooling over the shoot when I first heard it was coming together. Anyway I digress. As the shoot happened I tagged along to be a fly on the wall (and to help out where I could) while these dudes all got together for the first time in many years to reminisce about how they innocently and unwhittingly (sic) changed skateboarding forever. My jealousy of Jaime instantly faded and the day became one of my favorite days of my career to date, just given who was in the room and what they were all collectively there to celebrate." [13]

A 3 part "Behind the Scenes" video series was then uploaded onto skateboardermag.com, [14] one of which had an interview with Guy Mariano about the early days of Blind Skateboards and Video Days.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack includes many types of music, including rock, jazz, pop and punk.

(In order of appearance):

  1. War: Low Rider
  2. Jackson 5: I Want You Back
  3. Black Flag: My War
  4. John Coltrane and the Red Garland Trio: Traneing In (Credited as "Some damn good jazz")
  5. Dinosaur Jr.: Just Like Heaven
  6. Milk: The Knife Song
  7. Hüsker Dü: Real World
  8. Jason Lee: There's A War Outside Your Window
  9. War: Low Rider (reprise)
  10. Ry Cooder: Cancion Mixteca

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Templeton</span> American skateboarder and artist

Ed Templeton is an American professional skateboarder, contemporary artist, and photographer. He is the founder of the skateboard company, Toy Machine, a company that he continues to own and manage. He is based in Huntington Beach, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Lee (actor)</span> American actor, producer, writer, photographer and skateboarder

Jason Michael Lee is an American actor, filmmaker, photographer, and former professional skateboarder. He is known for playing Earl Hickey in the television comedy series My Name Is Earl, for which he was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy TV series in 2005 and 2006 by The Golden Globes, and Dave in the live-action films, Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011) and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daewon Song</span> American skateboarder

Daewon Song is an American professional skateboarder. He is co-owner of Thank You Skateboards, and skates for the company. Song was named the 2006 "Skater of the Year" by Thrasher magazine, an award that is widely considered to be one of the most significant honors in skateboarding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoff Rowley</span> English professional skateboarder

Geoffrey Joseph Rowley Jr. is an English professional skateboarder, former co-owner of Flip Skateboards and owner of the Civilware Service Corporation. He received Thrasher Magazine's "Skater of the Year" award in 2000.

Guy Mariano is an American professional skateboarder. Mariano first gained recognition at the age of 14 for his video part in the Blind Skateboards video Video Days (1991).

Andrew Reynolds is an American professional skateboarder known for co-founding Baker Skateboards in 2000 with artist Jay Strickland. He is now Baker Skateboard's sole owner. Reynolds established Bakerboys Distribution with Erik Ellington and Jim Greco in 2007. Bakerboys Distribution provides distribution for closely related in-house skateboard companies such as Deathwish Skateboards and Shake Junt. He is also the head of design at Altamont Apparel. Reynolds primarily skates street. He has been called one of the most influential skaters of all time.

Deluxe Distribution is an Ermico Enterprises, Inc.-owned skateboarding company founded in 1986 with limited partner Brian Ware in San Francisco. Deluxe was formed to distribute the Beware Record label, and other small record labels popular with skateboarders, along with Thunder Trucks and Supercush Bushings. Deluxe distributes six skateboard brands and owns DLXSF, a retail outlet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blind Skateboards</span> American skateboard company

Blind is a skateboard company founded by Mark Gonzales in 1988 under Steve Rocco's World Industries distribution company. Gonzales has since left the company and today the company continues under the ownership of Dwindle Distribution. The company produces decks, wheels, soft goods and accessories. The company's logo for many years was a stylized grim reaper.

Mark Gonzales, also known as "Gonz" and "The Gonz", is an American professional skateboarder and artist. A pioneer in the development of modern street skating and considered the first street-only skateboarder alongside Natas Kaupas. Gonzales and Kaupas are also credited with the first known boardslides on a handrail. Gonzales pioneering influence on skateboarding has caused him to be known as one of the key pioneers of modern street skateboarding and was named the "Most Influential Skateboarder of All Time" by Transworld Skateboarding magazine in December 2011.

Crailtap is a skateboarding distribution company based in Torrance, California, United States. The distribution company is home to Girl Skateboards, Chocolate Skateboards, Royal Skateboard Trucks, and Fourstar Clothing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Haslam (skateboarder)</span> Canadian professional skateboarder (born 1980)

Chris Haslam is a Canadian professional skateboarder whose natural stance is right foot forward, or 'Goofy'. He is recognized as an innovative skateboarder whose skateboarding is defined by creativity and progression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakai Limited Footwear</span>

Lakai Limited Footwear is an American footwear company based in Torrance, California, that creates shoes designed for and inspired by skateboarding. Lakai was founded in 1999 by the professional skateboarders Mike Carroll and Rick Howard, who co-founded Girl Skateboards.

Alien Workshop (AWS) is an independent American skateboarding company that was founded in 1990 by Chris Carter, Mike Hill, and Neil Blender in Dayton, Ohio. Following periods under the ownership of the Burton snowboard company and original team rider Rob Dyrdek in 2012, the company was acquired by Pacific Vector Holdings in October 2013. Alien Workshop produced skateboard decks, wheels, apparel, and other skateboard accessories prior to its closure in May 2014. In 2015, Alien Workshop was revived with an all-amateur team and distribution through Tum Yeto. They released a series of new skate decks and Bunker Down, the brand's sixth video. As of 2016, Alien Workshop, led by Mike Hill phased out working with Tum-Yeto and moved all operations back to the Mound Laboratories in Miamisburg, Ohio. After a tumultuous ownership history they have returned to operations as an independent company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallenberg Set</span>

The Wallenberg Set, also known as the Wallenberg Four or simply Wallenberg, is a popular location in the skateboarding community. Located at the Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High School in San Francisco, California, it consists of four tiers of pavement and curbing, adjacent to a stairway and next to a parking area. The section notable for skateboarding measures 4 feet 4.8 inches (1.341 m) in height and 16 feet 6 inches (5.03 m) in length.

Jason Lee Jessee Martinez, professionally known as Jason Jessee, is an American professional skateboarder and automotive designer best known for his stint with Santa Cruz Skateboards in the late 1980s. He was identified as the 24th most influential skateboarder of all time by TransWorld SKATEboarding magazine in 2011. The feature documentary Pray for Me: The Jason Jessee Film was released in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Koston</span> American professional skateboarder

Eric Koston is an American professional skateboarder and company owner. He has been featured in the Tony Hawk's video game series and the Electronic Arts (EA) video games Skate 2 and Skate 3.

Henry Sanchez, also known as Henpunt, is a goofy-footed former professional skateboarder from the San Francisco Bay, California. Sanchez gained widespread recognition for his part in Blind Skateboards' "Tim and Henry's Pack of Lies" (1992) with Tim Gavin, Rudy Johnson, Brian Lotti, and Guy Mariano. He appeared on the cover of Thrasher (magazine) in July 1993.From his sponsorship by Spitfire and Thunder, which came about in a humorous and unexpected way, to his appearance on the cover of Thrasher magazine. Henry's influence and skill were impossible to ignore.

John Joseph Cardiel is a former professional skateboarder and snowboarder who has been a core member of the AntiHero Skateboards company since it was founded in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis Marnell</span> Professional skateboarder

Lewis Kristian Marnell was a professional skateboarder from Melbourne, Australia who was Slam Magazine's 2008 "Skater of the Year". Marnell died in January 2013, following complications related to type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, a condition that was diagnosed when he was 10 years old. Numerous tributes were published following Marnell's death and his longtime skateboard deck sponsor, Almost Skateboards, continues to use the hashtag "#LewisMarnellForever"—on 15 and 29 July 2014, the company published the hashtag with 2006 video footage of Marnell skateboarding in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliché Skateboards</span> Skateboard company based in Lyon, France

Cliché Skateboards was a skateboard company based in Lyon, France, and distributed by the American company Dwindle Distribution. The company was established in 1997 by French professional skateboarder Jeremie Daclin. In 2001, Cliché was purchased by the France-based Salomon Group which in 2005 became a part of Amer Sports. In 2009, US-based Dwindle Distribution purchased the company from the Salomon Group. In November 2016, Dwindle announced that they would be discontinuing the brand.

References

  1. ↑ https://stokedrideshop.com/blogs/stoked-school/50-best-skateboard-videos-of-all-time
  2. ↑ "Blind 'Video Days' skate video". Chris. Archived from the original on 2011-01-14. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  3. ↑ "Classics: Guy Mariano Video Days". Thrasher Magazine. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  4. ↑ "Classics: Jason Lee Video Days". Thrasher Magazine. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
  5. ↑ "Classics: Mark Gonzales in Video Days". Thrasher Magazine. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  6. ↑ "Classics: Jason Lee Video Days". Thrasher Magazine. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
  7. ↑ "Jay Riggio: Video Days". Jay Riggio. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  8. ↑ "Reviewer Profile: Thrashathon". Thrashathon. Retrieved 2003-01-24.
  9. ↑ "Your Video Guide To: Video Days". Thrashathon. Retrieved 2002-07-16.
  10. ↑ "King of the Road: Webisode #10". Thrasher Magazine. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
  11. ↑ Palms Trax - Equation . Retrieved 2024-04-25– via www.youtube.com.
  12. ↑ "FEBRUARY/MARCH 2011". Skateboarder Magazine. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  13. ↑ "DAILY FILM BLOG 01.27.2011 – BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE VIDEO DAYS SHOOT". John Bradford. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  14. ↑ "BEHIND THE SCENES: VIDEO DAYS REUNION SHOOT". Skateboarder Magazine. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.